Study areas and eligibility criteria for Postgraduate Research Scholarships

Priority study areas for postgraduate scholarships

Applications for scholarships must directly contribute to the Centre’s core research themes:

• communities and workforces and of the future
• sustainable, safe and healthy natural landscapes in a changing environment
• resilient and sustainable built environments
• resilient communities
• situational awareness
• operational response and innovation
• evidence-informed policy and strategy
• learning from disasters

Applications must also show strong potential for an outcome that will improve disaster risk reduction or disaster resilience. More detail on our research themes and associated research priorities can be found in the Biennial Research Plan 2023-25, accessible here. 

Detailed eligibility criteria

Applicants must meet the following criteria to be eligible to apply for a Natural Hazards Postgraduate Research Scholarship:

1. Applicants who are Australian citizens or permanent residents that either:
   1. are enrolled in a research higher degree at an Australian or New Zealand university
   2. have been offered a research higher degree position at an Australian or New Zealand university, with a commencement date no later than 12 months after the date on which the application is submitted.
2. Applicants who are international students must be enrolled in their course of study before applying for a scholarship. These applicants must also provide evidence of their ability to use their own separate funding to cover any university tuition fees, as our scholarships are not provided to cover these expenses.
3. Applicants must have (or expect to receive) an Honours degree of at least class 2A or equivalent.
4. Applicants must be studying full time, however where there is a compelling reason, part-time student applications will be considered on a pro-rata scholarship basis.
5. Applicants must have developed a project proposal (no longer than two pages) that focuses on a research area aligned with the Centre’s published research themes and research priorities, found in the Biennial Research Plan 2023-25. 
6. Applicants are expected to undertake their research with the support of a research team and provide evidence that the proposed project is aligned with that of the supervisor and research team.
7. All successful students will be required to have an industry sponsor, with whom they can discuss their project and how the outcomes of the research can be used. This can be arranged independently by applicants during the application process, or with the Centre if your application is successful.

The Centre particularly encourages applications from Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people, women, culturally and linguistically diverse people, people with disability, LGBTIQ+ people, and people with family and caring responsibilities.