PhD Scholarship in climate displacement in Australia

Monash • Clayton, NC

4d • Onsite

About The Position

This PhD scholarship is funded as an important part of an ARC funded project, “Addressing long-term climate displacement in Australia”, conducted by Dr Colette Mortreux from the School of Social Sciences. The project will focus on the lived experience and impacts of displacement linked to a community impacted by climate-related disaster. Using primarily qualitative methods, the project will explore how displacement has impacted the wellbeing, financial security, and social participation of affected populations. It will involve a comprehensive analysis of how these impacts intersect with policy and institutional practices with the view to identifying opportunities to improve how Australia manages climate displacement into the future. The details of the PhD project are open to negotiation, noting that the successful applicant will contribute to the wider project but also undertake their own distinct PhD project. Undertaking this PhD as part of a larger project has several advantages. First, the successful candidate will be integrated into an already successful research agenda that has been funded by the Australian Research Council, and will have access to funding to support fieldwork, transcription, travel, and conference attendance. Second, the candidate will benefit from expert supervision from research leaders in social science, and from entering a PhD with a pre-existing structure. Finally, the candidate will benefit from being part of outcomes from the research, which may include co-authored publications (where the candidate’s contributions will be recognised through co-authorship), funded symposia, school-engagement exercises, and future grant applications. Monash University is the largest university in Australia and regularly ranks in the top 100 universities worldwide. Monash has six globally networked campuses and international alliances in Europe and Asia. The applicant will be based at the Clayton campus in Melbourne. Social Science at Monash is diverse and vibrant, including research expertise in geography, sociology, politics and sustainability transitions. We have a strong and supportive research culture, led by internationally recognised scholars successful in attracting national and international competitive funding.

Requirements

• Excellent academic track record in Human Geography or a cognate discipline within the social sciences.
• Hold an Australian (or equivalent international) Honour’s or Master’s degree (in a relevant field) with a significant research component and with first-class honours/H1 awarded.
• Meet eligibility requirements, including English-language proficiency skills, to undertake a PhD in the Faculty of Arts.
• Must be enrolled full-time and on campus.
• Must not already hold a PhD.
• Expected to enrol by 29 January 2027, with potential flexibility.

Nice To Haves

• Discussion of research proposal with Dr Colette Mortreux before application submission.

Responsibilities

• Contribute to the wider ARC funded project, “Addressing long-term climate displacement in Australia”.
• Undertake their own distinct PhD project focusing on the lived experience and impacts of displacement linked to a community impacted by climate-related disaster.
• Explore how displacement has impacted the wellbeing, financial security, and social participation of affected populations.
• Conduct a comprehensive analysis of how these impacts intersect with policy and institutional practices.
• Identify opportunities to improve how Australia manages climate displacement into the future.
• Potentially co-author publications, participate in funded symposia, school-engagement exercises, and future grant applications.

Benefits

• Research Living Allowance ($37,145AUD per annum 2026 full-time rate, tax-free stipend, indexed).
• Allowances as per RTP stipend scholarship conditions.
• Tuition fee scholarship (for international awardees).
• Single Overseas Health Cover (OSHC) (for international awardees).
• Funding to support fieldwork, transcription, travel, and conference attendance.
• Expert supervision from research leaders in social science.
• Access to a pre-existing research structure.
• Inclusion in research outcomes, potentially including co-authored publications.

What This Job Offers

• Job Type: Full-time
• Career Level: Entry Level