How to apply
Please note, applications have now closed for the 2023 cohort.
1. Check your eligibility
The Global Challenges PhD Scholarship is open to domestic students and international onshore students, i.e. international students who are currently residing in Australia.
International students living outside Australia are not eligible for the 2023 cohort of the scholarship. IMB has other scholarships and projects available if you are not eligible for this scholarship.
2. Gather your documents
You will need to compile the necessary documents. UQ will accept scanned copies of original documents, but you will need to keep all original documents for the duration of your studies.
The UQ Graduate School will require you to upload all documents as PDFs, and name your files like this:
LASTNAME_firstname_document-name.pdf
If any of your documents are in a language other than English, you will need to send both the original document and an official translation.
In case you wish to begin preparing these documents, below is a list of some of the documents you will need to supply:
Academic curriculum vitae (CV)/resume
An academic CV assists us to determine your readiness to commence a higher degree by research. For the purposes of this application, your academic CV should be current (i.e. no more than 6 months old) and include information under the following headings:
Personal details
Include:
- your full name
- your contact details (phone number, email address, city and country of residence)
- nationality
- languages spoken and proficiency level for each
- your ORCID ID or other research output identifier (such as Google Scholar) if you have one (see the ORCID ID and research identifiers information provided by UQ Library).
As the purpose of this academic CV is to determine your academic suitability for a higher degree by research program at UQ and your competitiveness against other applicants, we only require information that is of direct relevance to our decision-making processes. With this in mind, please do not include the following in your academic CV:
- photographs/head shot
- marital status
- driver’s license
- date of birth/age
- hobbies and interests.
Educational qualifications and academic awards
List each of your formal educational qualifications in reverse chronological order (i.e. with the most recent formal educational qualification listed first). For each qualification, include:
- the commencing and end dates (month and year) for the qualification
- the full title of the qualification (e.g. Bachelor of Arts instead of B.A.)
- the institution attended and the enrolling school/administrative unit
- the city and country where the institution is located
- your Grade Point Average (GPA) for the overall qualification
- any academic achievement awards (e.g. Dean’s awards, subject prizes, University medals, thesis prizes etc.) received for the qualification
- if a research thesis was part of the qualification, include the title and word length of your dissertation.
As part of your application, please submit academic transcripts and degree certificates for each educational qualification you list.
Please do not include:
- high school qualifications
- the individual subjects/courses undertaken throughout your qualifications or the grades awarded for these
- training courses/professional development activities not resulting in a formal qualification.
Professional affiliations and memberships
List any professional/disciplinary associations or committees that you a member of and include:
- the commencing and end date (in years) for the affiliation/membership
- the name of the professional association or committee
- your membership type (e.g. student member, affiliate member, full member etc.) or role (e.g. committee member, secretary, president etc.).
Employment history
List each of your previous employment roles in reverse chronological order (i.e. with the most recent/current employment listed first) and include:
- the commencing and end dates (month and year) for the employment
- the title of each position
- the name of the employing organisation, the city, and country where you were based
- your main duties or accountabilities in that role, providing detailed information on any research-related activities
- any achievements during that role that are relevant to your proposed field of research.
Other research experience
List any voluntary, unpaid, or extra-curricular research-related projects or experiences you have undertaken (e.g. summer research projects, internships etc.) and include:
- the commencing and end dates (month and year) of the experience
- the name of the organisation, the city, and country where you were based
- your main duties or accountabilities in that role, providing detailed information on any research-related activities
- any achievements during that role that are relevant to your proposed field of research.
Research outputs
In reverse chronological order (i.e. the most recent output first) list your research outputs, including for example research published or accepted for publication, research reports, and research by creative practice.
If needed, use sub-headings to separate refereed journal articles, published conference proceedings, edited book chapters, books, creative works, industry reports, invited papers, patents, media commentary, conference presentations and posters, invited talks etc. If applicable, use additional sub-headings to indicate if outputs are published, accepted for publication (but not yet in print), or (submitted but) under review.
Do not include any outputs/publications that are ‘in preparation’.
For all research outputs, include:
- the output/publication reference using an official bibliographical style (such as Turabian/Chicago, APA, Harvard), including listing all authors in the order that they appear in the work with your name in bold
- the Digital Object Identifier (DOI), PubMed Identifier (PMID), International Standard Book Number (ISBN) or URL where applicable
- any metrics and/or measures of esteem relevant to the output and your discipline (see the metrics information provided by UQ Library for more information), for example:
- the standing of the journal or conference and the impact of the work (e.g. impact factors, citations and other metrics indicators)
- relevant indicators of national or international significance
- rejection rates for the outlet etc.
- a brief statement (maximum 50 words) outlining your specific contribution to any multi-authored outputs/publications, including:
- how much of the original research you were responsible for (i.e. what was your role in the conception and design of the project and how involved were you in the analysis and interpretation of the research data on which the publication is based?)
- the extent to which you authored the paper.
Research grants and relevant awards
Include only those research grants and relevant awards that you have received at the time of making your application (i.e. do not list grants or awards that you applied for and did not receive or are awaiting a decision on). For each research grant/award, include:
- the name of the granting/awarding body and the country in which they are based
- the name of the grant/award
- the year(s) in which the grant was active or the year in which the award was made
- the amount of the research grant/award
- if relevant (e.g. for research grants), the title of your application.
Applicants from creative and professional-based disciplines may also include non-research grants and awards related to their creative or professional practice.
Research achievements relative to opportunity (optional)
In recognition of the diverse personal and professional pathways that applicants have experienced, you are invited to provide information (maximum 200 words) to contextualise your research outputs and achievements, relative to the opportunities that you have had to participate in research-related activities.
This section of the CV is optional and should only be included if you believe there are factors relevant to your research achievements that you would like the selection panels to know. Examples of factors include (but are not limited to):
- study/career disruptions due to illness, caregiving, natural disasters etc.
- non-linear academic or career progression, or a change in career direction
- reduced ability to take up research-related opportunities (e.g. attend conferences) due to caregiving responsibilities.
Academic referees
Please provide us with two referees who can comment on your academic work. For each referee, include their:
- honorific and name
- role title
- employing organisation and the city and country where they are located
- contact details, including office address, telephone, fax and email (preferably an institutional, rather than private, email address)
- an indication of the capacity in which you know this person (e.g. were they a lecturer or thesis supervisor, an employer, how long you’ve known them etc.).
If possible, please include at least one:
- senior person (preferably your supervisor or the head of your organisational unit) closely associated with your current work, and
- person who is not a member of your proposed advisory panel/supervisory team.
Formatting and document specifications
We recommend that you use the below formatting settings to improve the readability of your CV:
- margins of at least 1.5 centimetres
- single line spacing
- no smaller than 12 point Times New Roman font (or equivalent)
- left justify text (not full justify)
- include your name and page number on each page
- be consistent in your formatting and spelling throughout
- limit the use of bold, underline, italics, and multiple font types.
Please proofread your CV carefully before uploading it to your application.
Save as a PDF and name your file: LASTNAME_firstname_CV.pdf
There is no page limit to your academic CV – it can be as long as required to include the information requested here.
Please include in your CV all the headings listed above – if you do not have any content to add for a particular heading please list ‘None to date’ under that heading.
An academic CV for employment purposes within Australia would not include the information requested here outlining your three most significant publications or your research achievements relative to opportunity. It would, however, include information about professional and service activities undertaken and may include a summary of your relevant research/teaching interest areas and skill sets – this information is not required in the CV you submit here for application to an HDR program.
References/letters of recommendation
Include the contact details of two referees who will support your application. These referees will need to provide insight into your research experience.
We may contact your referees and may ask them for a formal report depending on how your applications progresses. To begin with, you will enter their details into the application form.