C. S. Soper and Joan Rydon Scholarship

Key scholarship details

Application status

Open for automatic consideration

Benefit amount

At least $8,000

Eligible study level

Honours

Eligible student type

Domestic and international students

Eligible study stage

Current study

Benefit duration

One-off

Summary

The C. S. Soper and Joan Rydon Scholarshipis offered to talented Honours students studying Economics who are specialising in economic theory or mathematical economics

About the donor

The C. S. Soper Scholarship was established in 1998 by a philanthropic gift from Emeritus Professor Joan Rydon in memory of her husband, Emeritus Professor Charles Samuel Soper, Chair of Economics at the University of Melbourne and Dean of the Faculty of Business and Economics from 1974 to 1975. Joan was a professor in Political Science at La Trobe University and was the first woman in Australia to be appointed to a Chair in Politics. In 2011, their son John Soper established the C. S. Soper and Joan Rydon Scholarship in memory of his parents.

Benefits

This scholarship is funded by the Net Annual Income of the Trust and provides a one-off payment to the awardee.

Eligibility and selection criteria

Eligibility

To be considered for this scholarship you must be commencing the Bachelor of Commerce (Honours) in Economics specialising in economic theory or mathematical economics.

Selection criteria

The Head of Department of Economics will nominate a recipient based on all eligible student's subject choice in their Honours year (i.e. those related to mathematical economics and economics theory), thesis topic and academic merit (as determined by undergraduate results in the Bachelor of Commerce).

Application

How to apply

You are automatically considered if you have applied for admission for commencement in the award year.

When will I know the outcome?

The awardee will be notified by email.

Recipient feedback

I was privileged to undertake the Bachelor of Commerce (Honours) program at the University of Melbourne, supported by the C. S. Soper and Joan Rydon Scholarship. The rigorous, intellectually stimulating academic training, coupled with the opportunity to undertake independent research, made the program an immensely enjoyable and rewarding experience. Under the guidance of my advisor, Professor Simon Loertscher, I wrote my Honours thesis on the competitive effects of vertical integration in supply chains. Motivated by the many supply chain disruptions that occurred during the COVID-19 pandemic, my thesis used tools from economic theory and mathematical economics to shed light on how to design supply chains to be more resilient to external shocks, particularly in environments with asymmetric information.

The rich intellectual ambiance of the department and the outstanding mentorship of the Faculty cemented my passion for research in Economics, and it was a great privilege to graduate from the program with the William Noall and Son Prize (awarded to the top student across all disciplines of the Bachelor of Commerce Honours program) and the Jean Polglaze Memorial Prize for the best Honours thesis in Economics. The C. S. Soper and Joan Rydon Scholarship not only provided me with financial support for my degree, but receiving this award also gave me the confidence to pursue my dream of undertaking a PhD in Economics at a top US school. I am now in the second year of my Doctoral studies at the University of California, Berkeley, which has been an excellent fit for my interdisciplinary research interests. Looking back, I am immensely grateful to the donors of the C. S. Soper and Joan Rydon Scholarship for supporting my Honours studies and thereby giving me an outstanding platform from which to commence my research career.

Anand Bharadwaj

The information listed here is subject to change without notice. Where we have listed information about jointly run scholarships programs, please also see our partners' websites. Information describing the number and value of scholarships awarded is indicative.

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