Nick Christopher PhD Top-up Scholarship

Eligibility and selection criteria

Eligibility

To be considered for this scholarship, you must:

• Have an enrolment date between 1 Jan and 31 Dec of the year prior to application.
• Have obtained a competitive peer-reviewed Scholarship (e.g. RTP, MRS-INT) or equivalent competitive scholarship from NHMRC or external organisation, and accepted the offer to study in the Department of Medicine at RMH.
• Be awarded a Full time scholarship for at least 3 years (or duration) of the PhD.

Please check eligibility with the GR Programs Coordinator before you apply. Students obtaining any of the scholarships mentioned and meeting eligibility criteria will be invited to submit an application. Applications are to be no more than 6 pages in total.

Selection criteria

The prize honours the incoming PhD student who was judged the most outstanding, based on the following criteria:

1. Academic excellence:

   High scoring applicants on this criterion will have demonstrated an upward trajectory of academic achievement relative to opportunity. This can include but is not limited to formal academic results from their qualifying degree, awards, prizes, and previously held scholarships.

2. Scientific output:

   High scoring applicants on this criterion will have demonstrated excellence in scientific output, relative to opportunity. This can include, but is not limited to, peer-reviewed academic publications, posters presented at scientific conferences, work presented at research symposia, and datasets published on open science platforms.

3. Engagement within an academic environment:

   High scoring applicants on this criterion will have demonstrated engagement with their academic environment that extends beyond academic excellence and scientific output. Example of such engagement are participation in student societies (e.g., as a committee member), volunteering at academic events (such as conferences), or participating in broader organisational activity (e.g., assisting with events designed to support fellow students).

4. Engagement beyond the academic environment:

   High scoring applicants on this criterion will have demonstrated community engagement beyond the academic environment, relatively to opportunity. This can include, but is not limited to, community-based volunteering and similar roles. Such engagement must be above and beyond usual employment duties and would typically be unpaid.

All criteria will be equally weighted and assessed as ‘relative to opportunity’. As per the NHMRC guidelines, relative to opportunity means that assessment processes should accurately assess an applicant’s track record and associated productivity relative to stage of career, including considering whether productivity and contribution are commensurate with the opportunities available to the applicant. It also means that applicants with career disruptions should not be disadvantaged when determining their eligibility. For the purpose of this scholarship, relative to opportunity will be considered as the number of years since completing the qualifying degree that the applicant has been in an active research environment. Specifically:

1. For clinically qualified applicants, the number of years will commence from the completion of the primary clinically qualification (e.g., MD, DPT, OD, DPsych). For fundamental science applications, this time will commence from the completion of the Honours year (or Masters degree for applicants with a 3-year undergraduate degree).
2. For applicants engaged in research only degrees, each year following graduation will be considered as 1 year. For example, a person who has worked as a full-time research assistant for 2 years following the Honours degree would be considered to have 2 years relative to opportunity. For part-time research workers this would be adjusted pro rata.
3. For applicants working clinically, the relatively to opportunity time is halved. For example, a medically qualified candidate who has worked for 3 years following graduation would be considered to have 1.5 years relative to opportunity. This is to recognise that clinical work affords significant research opportunities, while not being equivalent to full-time research work.
4. Career disruptions, such as parental leave, carers leave, or personal leave should be subtracted from the relative to opportunity time.

Applicants will be required to write a statement describing their relatively to opportunity time.

Conditions

This top-up scholarship will be payable up until the primary scholarship ceases or cease from the day the thesis is submitted (if thesis submission date is prior to end date of primary scholarship). The scholarship will also cease when the awardee transfers to another department.