International Research Excellence Scholarship

The University of Southern Queensland is offering 20 scholarships valued at AUD8,000 per year for partial payment of the registered on-campus international student tuition fee for the  Doctor of Philosophy (PhD) program.  The scholarships are competitive and are awarded to outstanding students intending to study in one of the University's areas of research concentration.

Five full fee scholarships are also available to outstanding students working on selected PhD projects that are already supported by some form of competitive grant funding.

Scholarship Value

Each scholarship for the PhD has a total value of AUD24,000 (AUD8,000 x 3) which can be used only for the payment of tuition fees.

Eligibility

Applicants must:

• not be an Australian citizen, New Zealand citizen or Australian permanent resident (*Note: Australian permanent resident includes holders of Australian permanent humanitarian visas);
• enrol in their PhD studies on-campus, full-time at the University of Southern Queensland;
• commence full-time study for the PhD degree program in the year for which the award is to be allocated;
• be researching a topic that has been identified as a high priority area by USQ;
• satisfy all institutional academic entry requirements for the PhD program, including the English proficiency levels set by USQ for international students;
• not already hold a degree deemed the equivalent of an Australian PhD degree;
• not be studying currently on a scholarship sponsored by the Australian Agency for International Development (AusAID) or hold any other fee scholarship.  Holders of ARC scholarships or other scholarships  that cover living allowance are eligible.

Conditions

International Research Excellence Scholarships:

• are for a period of three years;
• are not transferable under any circumstances;
• are not redeemable for cash.

International Research Excellence Scholarships remain valid whilst the recipient:

• is enrolled in full-time study in the PhD program at USQ;
• pays all additional fees and other costs according to USQ policy; and
• meets the conditions of his/her student visa

International Research Excellence Scholarships may be withdrawn within 10 days written notice should the:

• student named on the letter of offer fail to demonstrate satisfactory progress in the Phd program;
• breach any the conditions outlined above or any other USQ policies.

The USQ reserves the right not to award all or some of the scholarships in a given year.

Scholarship applications must be received along with the student application form provided.

All applicants will be advised in writing of the outcome of their application.

Terms and conditions may be changed at any time and the University will provide 12 weeks written notice of all such changes to all International Research Excellence Scholarship recipients.

Selection criteria

Applicants must:

• have applied for enrolment in the Doctor of Philosophy (PhD) program on-campus  at USQ.
• have a First Class Honours degree (or equivalent);
• meet the eligibility requirements;
• demonstrate outstanding research potential.

Scholarships will be awarded on the basis of academic merit, research capacity and relevance of proposed research to USQ’s areas of research concentration.

Projects involving human or animal experimentation, including social/psychological research, must conform to NH&MRC guidelines and ethical clearance will be required prior to commencement of any such project.

Research Projects

USQ offers a variety of research projects from the following research concentrations:

• Accounting, economics and finance
• BioInformatics
• Biomedical science 
• Crop science
• Education
• Engineering
• Information systems
• Management and marketing
• Physical sciences

Submitting an application

To apply for this scholarship, applicants must complete International Student Higher Degree Research Application Form along with a International Scholarship Application Form and forward both to:

Closing Date

Whilst applications for this scholarship can be received and will be assessed at any time throughout the year, the final date applications can be submitted for Semester 1, 2008 commencement is 30 November 2007. Any applications received after this date will go into consideration for Semester 2, 2008 commencement.

Further information

Further information about this scholarship can be obtained from orhd@usq.edu.au at the Office of Research and Higher Degrees.