Bourse de doctorat McKinnon-Walker 2027 à l’UOW – 18 octobre 2026

Contexte

The University of Wollongong (UOW) is offering the McKinnon-Walker Research Fellowship for outstanding PhD candidates commencing in 2027. The fellowship is valued at more than $200,000 and provides a substantial stipend, research funding, tuition fee support and professional development opportunities.

Two fellowships will be awarded for the 2027 commencement. Established through a $5 million philanthropic gift from Suzanne Walker and the late Emeritus Professor Ken McKinnon AO, the fellowship supports researchers whose work can generate meaningful benefits for Pacific Islander, Aboriginal or Torres Strait Islander peoples, including through improvements in health, education, law or public policy.

Missions et responsabilités

La bourse soutient des recherches doctorales de haut niveau ciblant l’impact social et communautaire :

• Mener des recherches doctorales de haute qualité démontrant un impact potentiel mesurable pour les communautés des îles du Pacifique, aborigènes ou des Torres Strait Islander.
• Contribuer à des domaines tels que la santé, l’éducation, le droit ou les politiques publiques (sans s’y limiter).
• Participer à des opportunités de développement professionnel, d’ateliers de leadership et de mentorat.
• S’engager dans des activités de service communautaire, de leadership et d’initiatives sociales.

Profil recherché

The fellowship is open to domestic and international students, including prospective PhD candidates commencing at UOW in 2027, as well as current UOW PhD candidates in their first year of study. Applicants will be assessed on:

• Academic excellence and research achievement.
• Quality and feasibility of the proposed research.
• Potential impact of the research.
• Relevance of the research to Pacific Islander, Aboriginal or Torres Strait Islander peoples.
• Leadership and initiative.
• Capacity to contribute to positive change.
• Service and community engagement.
• Mentoring, advocacy or other contributions beyond academic achievement.

Conditions et avantages

The fellowship provides a total value of more than AUD $200,000, detailed as follows:

• Annual stipend of AUD $55,537 for up to 3.5 years (based on the maximum RTP rate stated by UOW).
• AUD $20,000 in total project/research funding.
• A tuition fee waiver for up to four years.
• Professional development opportunities, leadership workshops, mentoring, and fellowship events or networking opportunities.

Dossier de candidature

Pour les nouveaux candidats au doctorat, l’admission au PhD via le portail UOW HDR doit inclure une proposition de recherche de 3 à 4 pages. Pour la bourse spécifique (Step 2), les candidats doivent préparer un fichier PDF unique contenant :

• CV of up to four pages, including research experience and outputs.
• One-page statement describing leadership, service and community contributions.
• One-page statement explaining which Pacific Islander, Aboriginal or Torres Strait Islander communities the research will benefit, how it will benefit them and how those communities will be involved in the research.
• Email from the proposed supervisor supporting the fellowship application.

Comment postuler

UOW requires PhD applicants to have a confirmed supervisor before submitting their application.

New PhD Applicants: Complete two stages by 31 October 2026. Stage 1: Apply for PhD admission through the UOW HDR application portal (indicate the wish to be considered for the fellowship). Stage 2: Submit the completed fellowship application PDF via email to the UOW Graduate Research School.

Current UOW PhD Students: First-year candidates do not need to reapply for PhD admission; they only need to complete the fellowship application and submit the required documents as one PDF to the Graduate Research School by the deadline.

Application deadline: 31 October 2026.