Australian Research Council (ARC) Future Fellowship Project PhD Scholarship - Social and economic impacts of drought in rural Australia

We are seeking one qualified and passionate candidate for PhD scholarships for an ARC Future Fellowship Project entitled: Social and economic impacts of drought in rural Australia. The overarching aim of the project is to understand and quantify the economic and social impacts of drought in rural Australia and gain a deep understanding of farmer preferences for market incentives to implement various drought adaptations, such as carbon farming.

The PhD candidate is expected to learn and use quantitative research methods and various data sources provided by the Australian Bureau of Statistics. The specific PhD topics can be determined by discussions with the supervisors. The project is expected to generate critical knowledge on the scope and scale of the social and economic impacts of drought on Australian rural communities and insights into building drought resilient rural and regional communities in Australia. 

The project will be based at the Centre for Social Impact (CSI) Flinders, College of Business, Government and Law, Flinders University (Principal supervisor Prof. Alec Zuo, and Co-supervisor Professor Sarah Wheeler). The PhD candidate will be supported by the Fellowship project funding to carry out research activities such as data collection, field interviews and national and international conference presentations.  

The scholarship includes:

• a stipend valued at $34,210 per annum (indexed each year) tax free
• The scholarship will be awarded for 3.5 years
• a Research Training Program Fee Offset Scholarship to cover tuition fees for Australian Citizens, NZ Citizens and Permanent Residents.
• International students will be considered, and eligible candidates will be supported by the supervisor to apply for a Research Training Program Fee waiver. 

To be eligible for the award of this scholarship a student must:

• meet PhD admission requirements including: have an Australian Honours degree Class 1 or 2A or equivalent qualification (at least AQF Level 8), including a research component of at least 6 months’ full-time study achieving Distinction (75%) OR including evidence of equivalent research experience, such as a substantial first-author refereed publication or track record as an investigator on a competitive grant; and
• be available to commence as a full-time PhD student at Flinders University in semester 1, 2025;
• International students will be considered, and eligible candidates will be supported by the supervisor to apply for a Research Training Program Fee waiver.