The
Australian Astronomical Observatory
(AAO) is pleased to offer PhD top-up scholarships to students at
Australian universities. The scholarship terms and conditions are as follows:
The AAO is offering up to two AAO PhD Scholarships,
and up to two Trevor Burgess PhD Scholarships in
2013, each for a period of 3 years, with a possible extension for a further
6 months. Support for the Trevor Burgess PhD Scholarships has
generously been made available through the Trevor Burgess PhD Scholarship
Fund. The value of all PhD scholarships will be $5000 per
annum. Annual renewal is conditional upon satisfactory performance by
the student.
The AAO PhD Scholarships are open to any student accepted for
a PhD programme at any Australian university, who are substantially
co-supervised by an AAO staff member.
The Trevor Burgess PhD Scholarships are open to any student accepted for
a PhD programme at any Australian university, who are substantially
co-supervised by an AAO staff member, and who are Australian Citizens.
The scholarships can support students with
backgrounds in astronomy, physics, engineering or mathematics with
thesis research programs in astronomy or astronomical instrumentation
(and related fields). The scholarships are available to overseas
students as well, provided they enrol at an Australian university for
their PhD study.
The scholarships will be awarded by an AAO selection panel on the
primary basis of the students' academic merit and research potential,
provided that the panel considers that the student is of sufficiently
high quality (First-Class Honours or equivalent, including Masters
degrees) and the AAO co-supervisor has a substantial role in the
student's thesis project.
For students meeting these conditions and of approximately equal
merit, the selection panel may take into account secondary
considerations such as the extent to which the student's research will
make use of facilities operated or managed by the AAO (including the
AAT, UKST, Gemini and Magellan) and the alignment of the thesis
research with major programmes or research themes (including
instrumentation) being undertaken by AAO staff or using AAO
facilities.
Application Procedure
Potential students and supervisors should visit the
AAO student web
pages, where additional information (including research
interests of staff members and potential PhD projects) can be found.
Application forms:
Applications should be made by scanning and collating all
application materials into a single PDF document which should be
emailed to the AAO's Student Coordinator, A. Prof. Andrew Hopkins (email:
ahopkins - @ - aao.gov.au).
Your application should include:
- A description of your PhD research (not more than 2 A4 pages),
including what data you have access to, what other observations
may be necessary (or lab facilities in the case of
instrumentation), and the project timescale and milestones. This
outline of research should be read and endorsed by both your
University and AAO co-supervisors before you submit your
application.
- A transcript of academic
record (if your university supplies only hardcopy transcripts, please
scan it and send us the JPEG or PDF file).
- Please ensure that letters of reference from the two academic
referees listed on your application form arrive by the 15 March
deadline. One of the referees can be your University PhD
co-supervisor; other suitable referees might include a supervisor
for your undergraduate Honours or Masters project.
- You may also include a short CV detailing any other relevant
information (for example: jobs you have had; other research
projects you have worked on; why you are interested in
Astronomy/Astrophysics/Instrumentation.)
Applications should be emailed to
the AAO's Student Coordinator, A. Prof. Andrew Hopkins (email:
ahopkins - @ - aao.gov.au).
Further enquiries should be directed to A. Prof. Andrew Hopkins (email:
ahopkins - @ - aao.gov.au; phone: 02 9372 4849).
Deadline
Scholarship applications are normally due by 15 March of the year in
which students start their PhD. Students wishing to apply at other
times of year should discuss their situation with the AAO's Student
Coordinator before making an application.
