Research Team

PhD student scholarship available: Join our team at Macquarie University

Expressions of interest are invited from qualified applicants to undertake a PhD project that complements an Australian Research Council funded study on Informal Sport, Urban Diversity and Social Resilience. The research is led by Professor Amanda Wise (MQ) Associate Professor Selvaraj Velayutham (MQ), and Dr Kristine Aquino (UTS), under whose supervision the successful candidate will work.

The research program aims to understand how informal sport shapes and responds to inclusion and exclusion of diverse Australians; to explore what kinds of urban citizenship emerge from informal sporting participation; and the relationship to public space, urban design and governance. Fieldwork is currently underway in Sydney and Singapore, and the team is working with ESRC funded academic collaborators in the UK who are conducting research in London and Sheffield. The research investigates informal participation in team sports like basketball, soccer, cricket and volleyball. It employs a qualitative mixed-methods approach including ethnography, interviews, and Participatory Action Research and focuses on new migrants—especially refugees, temporary migrant workers and international students—as well as racialized/stigmatised ethnic minorities.

The PhD candidate will develop an original aspect for their own project, selecting their focus from a range of areas broadly complimentary to the above research program. Indicative topic areas include, but are not limited to:

· Informal sporting cultures in regional Australia

· Women, informal sporting participation and public space

· Urban planning around sport and recreation and culturally diverse residents

· ‘Parallel’ amateur community ethnic leagues and migrant infrastructures

· National, State and local sporting organisations and their approach to engaging diverse communities

The student will be based in the School of Social Sciences (Sociology discipline). Supervision team: Professor Amanda Wise (MQ) Associate Professor Selvaraj Velayutham (MQ), and Dr Kristine Aquino (UTS).

Availability

This scholarship is available to eligible candidates to undertake a direct entry 3-year PhD program.

Scholarship Components

The scholarship is comprised of a Tuition Fee Offset and a Living Allowance Stipend. The value and tenure of the scholarship is a “MQRES” full-time stipend rate of $28,854 per annum (in 2022 tax exempt for up to 3 years - indexed annually).

HOW TO APPLY:

- New applicants to Macquarie University

o MUST complete the Online HDR Candidature and Scholarship Application via the Online Application System and arrange for two academic referee reports to be submitted to the Graduate Research Academy.

o MUST indicate the reference number 20225215 under the scholarship details question

- Current applicants with a successful candidature offer less than 12 months old and currently enrolled Macquarie University candidates:

o MUST submit a Scholarship Only Application form with supporting documents. Please refer to a Guideline on "How to submit a Scholarship only application".

o MUST indicate the reference number under the scholarship details question

Further information can be found on the How to Apply page.

To be eligible for a scholarship, applicants are expected to have a record of excellent academic performance and preferably, additional relevant research experience and/or peer-reviewed research activity in line with the University’s scholarship rating guidelines. Refer to the Rating Scholarship Applicants section for more information about these guidelines.

Macquarie University will advise the successful applicant of entitlements at the time of scholarship offer.