PhD Scholarship in Disability and Policy

The Melbourne Social Equity Institute and the Melbourne School of Population and Global Health at the University of Melbourne invites applications for a PhD scholar to work as part of a major new research initiative – Centre of Research Excellence in Disability and Health (CRE-DH) – funded by the National Health and Medical Research Council (NHMRC).

 About the CRE-DH

 The first research centre of its kind internationally, the CRE-DH will generate the evidence required for policy reform to improve the health of Australians with disabilities.  The CRE-DH involves leading researchers from across Australia and internationally with expertise in epidemiology, health economics, health and social policy, psychology, psychiatry, public administration and public health and the CRE will further develop the future research leaders in disability and health.

The CRE-DH has four work programs: 

  1. Mapping inequities in social, economic and health outcomes between people with and without disabilities
  2. Identification of the social determinants of health of people with disabilities
  3. Health economic modelling of health and social polices
  4. Policy research to identify the key emerging issues in health and social policy related to people with disabilities
 
The PhD scholarship

Your research will primarily be part of the CRE-DH’s policy work program. You will develop and conduct a project with the Brotherhood of St Laurence (BSL) which is responsible for the implementation of the National Disability Insurance Scheme (NDIS) in the North-Eastern region of Melbourne through a Local Area Coordination Unit. The Brotherhood and the University of Melbourne share a history of collaboration that spans at least 50 years. In 2003 the organisations formalised this relationship as a partnership underpinned by a Memorandum of Understanding and currently there are three joint academic appointees working across both the BSL and the University of Melbourne

The project will focus on the intersections between the NDIS and the mainstream service sector. You will be supervised by Chief Investigators on the CRE-DH and academics at the BSL. The project would suit someone with a strong research background in social and political sciences or related disciplines.

  • Scholarship applicants must be eligible for acceptance by the University of Melbourne into a PhD programme.
  • The PhD eligibility process must have commenced at the time of submitting the scholarship application.
  • The scholarships will be offered to successful applicants, conditional upon acceptance into a PhD programme.
  • Applicants must have an Honours 1, Honours 1 equivalence, or have completed a degree in a relevant discipline and have an outstanding record of professional or research achievements since graduation.
  • Each scholarship is worth up to $26,916 per annum for full time students (2017 pro-rata rate), and is available for three years

This PhD scholarship is provided by the Melbourne Social Equity Institute at the University of Melbourne. In addition to the stipend, the Institute provides additional funding of $2,000 per annum for research support and automatic entry into its interdisciplinary Doctoral Academy.

People with lived experience of disability are strongly encouraged to apply.

How to Apply

Please send your CV, a copy of your academic record and a 1-2 page outline of your research skills, experience and understanding of disability-related issues, and a summary of your goals for a PhD.

If you are not a current student at the University of Melbourne and would like information about how to apply to become a PhD candidate at the University, please visit the Future Students website.

Further enquiries

If you have any questions about the PhD Program or the application process please contact Professor Anne Kavanagh
Email a.kavanagh@unimelb.edu.au or +61 3 8344 0717

Closing date: Friday 29 September 2017


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