Centre for the Integrative Study of Animal Behaviour

Postgraduate Research Information

CISAB members all have large, active, research programs. These offer a wide array of opportunities. Postgraduate students are an important part of the CISAB community and are very well supported. Students interested in pursuing a PhD or Masters research degree in CISAB are encouraged to familiarize themselves with the information below and then contact a staff member with matching interests. More detailed information about Postgraduate opportunities and regulations can be obtained from the Macquarie University Higher Degrees Research Unit and Macquarie International.

Funding

• Australian Postgraduate Awards (APA) (2008 Applications open June 2007)

These awards are for full-time study towards higher degrees by research. Maximum tenure of award, subject to satisfactory progress, is 2 years for a Masters and 3 years for a PhD. Up to a further six months may be granted to PhD candidates where, for reasons related to the nature of the research and beyond the student's control, an extension of tenure is required. From January 2007 the full-time base rate stipend level is $19,696 per annum tax-free.

The Higher Degree Research Committee may approve up to 12 months research undertaken overseas while on award, provided that adequate supervision is available. Award holders in full-time study are entitled to 20 days paid recreation leave each year. There is provision for sick leave and maternity leave. Award holders are permitted to undertake a limited amount of paid employment provided that it does not interfere with their full-time study program. Tutoring or other academic employment are not an obligation of the award. Applicants must be Australian or New Zealand citizens, or have been granted Australian permanent residency status by no later than the application closing date.
Competition for the APA scheme is intense; only applicants with a high first-class honours degree or equivalent will be offered an award. Application material is available from the Higher Degree Research Unit from August and the closing date for applications is 31 October.

• Macquarie University Research Excellence Scholarships (MQRES)

The conditions of award for the Macquarie University Research Excellence Scholarship scheme are generally the same as the Australian Postgraduate Award Scheme (APA). These PhD scholarships are available to fund students of exceptional research promise. International applicants will receive tuition funding for the tenure of their award, with domestic applicants having access to research training scheme (RTS) placement for their tuition funding. Applicants must provide evidence of high Australian first class honours or equivalent research qualifications/background.

Interested candidates should discuss the availability of MQRES scholarships with their proposed supervisor before applying. Available positions are advertised under the current scholarships section across the year.

• Endeavor International Postgraduate Research Scholarship (E-IPRS)

Macquarie University will fund a living allowance for up to 3.5 years to E-IPRS awardees. Applicants must be citizens of countries other than Australia and New Zealand, and must not hold permanent residency of Australia. Application material is available from the Higher Degree Research Unit

Other support

CISAB provides each PhD student $6,000 per annum for consumables, small items of project-specific equipment, and other research expenses. Each of the CISAB laboratories is already well equipped and able to support a wide range of projects with existing infrastructure.

The Macquarie University Research Office offers Postgraduate Research Fund (PGRF) grants of up to $4,000, which are most often used to support travel to conferences and to learn techniques in overseas laboratories. The primary goal of PGRF grants is to provide the University’s postgraduate students with the means to enhance their postgraduate experience and add value to their thesis. The PGRF scheme is run biannually (March and August) and applications are considered on a competitive basis, taking into account individual merit and need.

Macquarie International offers an International Travel Grant Scheme. All Macquarie students, both undergraduates and postgraduates, are eligible. The aim of these grants is to subsidize the cost of a student's international activity, not to cover the entire cost.

Students may also apply for external funding from Australian Geographic or Sigma Xi.

Co-tutelle PhD enrolment

Macquarie University encourages joint co-tutelle PhD enrolment with other research active international universities. In the co-tutelle scheme, a PhD student is enrolled at two universities and completes two PhDs with a single thesis. The student is expected to work toward a coherent body of work for their thesis, with some portions carried out at the overseas institution and other portions carried out at Macquarie. A minimum of one year, or a quarter of the candidature, should usually be spent at Macquarie by international candidates. Variations to this can generally be accommodated on a case-by-case basis.

For oversight, the student has a supervisor at their overseas institution and another in CISAB. They do not need to be enrolled at Macquarie from the beginning of the overseas PhD, but can enrol at Macquarie part-way through their candidature. The same thesis is then submitted to two examination processes, one at each institution, and the student is awarded a separate PhD from each institution (having met the requirements of PhD from both).

For the period spent at Macquarie, overseas co-tutelle students in CISAB are typically eligible for MQRES scholarship and fees support. Co-tutelle students also receive the full allocation of financial and infrastructure support, on the same basis as other postgraduates. For example, in CISAB, this would mean an allocation of $6,000 per annum toward research expenses.

Internships / Visits

Some overseas universities have schemes that allow their Postgraduate students to spend time gaining experience at another institution. Subject to the availability of suitable supervision and projects, CISAB encourages students from overseas universities to consider Macquarie as a host for such schemes.

Other Links

Macquarie University Higher Degrees Research Unit
Macquarie University Research Office
Macquarie International
International postgraduate guide
Postgraduate Scholarship Database for Australia
The Australian: Scholarship Links
Study In Australia: Research Scholarships

Postal Address:
Centre for the Integrative Study of Animal Behavior
Macquarie University
Sydney, NSW 2109
Australia