The University of the Sunshine Coast (USC) is delighted to offer Human Genomics PhD Scholarship for Domestic and International Students in Australia.

The main research foci of our group include the effects of genetic drift in modulating mutation and selection, quantifying mutational load, investigating the rates and patterns of mutations, estimating divergence times between species and populations and ancient genomics. We work on a number of species including humans and other mammals, birds and oysters.

The University of the Sunshine Coast (USC) is a public university based on the Sunshine Coast, Queensland, Australia. Undergraduate and postgraduate (coursework and higher degree by research) programs are offered in both faculties (Arts and Business; Science, Health, Education and Engineering), with the majority of the university’s research focussed in two main areas, sustainability and regional engagement. Since 2010, USC has been the only public institution in Queensland to receive five stars for teaching quality in the independently ranked Hobson’s Good Universities Guide. In the 2010 edition of the guide, the university also earned five stars for staff qualifications and graduates’ satisfaction with the generic skills they learned while studying.

Scholarship Description:  

• Applications Deadline: June 29, 2018
• Course Level: Scholarship is available to pursue PhD programme.
• Study Subject: The current project focuses on a) investigating genetic relationships and gene flow between global human populations. b) estimating the mutational load in humans c) understanding the unique patterns of genetic variations in different human populations. All the above objectives will need to be examined in the context of human migrations out of Africa.
• Scholarship Award: RTP equivalent stipend for standard duration of the program (3 years). The RTP rate for 2018 is $27,082. If the successful recipient is an International student, tuition fees and Overseas Student Health Cover (single cover) will be included in the scholarship.
• Nationality: Available to Domestic student or International student.
• Number of Scholarships: Up to three scholarships are available.
• Scholarship can be taken in Australia

Eligibility for the Scholarship: 

Eligible Countries: Available to Domestic student or International student.

Entrance Requirements: Applicants must meet the following criteria:

• Domestic student or International student enrolled in or offered admission to a HDR program in USC
• Bachelors Degree with First Class Honours, Masters degree with thesis/dissertation/research or equivalent previous study, relevant work experience, research publications, or other research experience
• Not hold an equivalent qualification to the one currently being applied for

Selection Criteria:

• Academic qualifications – An honours or master’s degree in biological, physical or computational sciences is highly preferred; however, persons with a non-biology degree should have some basic understanding of genetics, evolution and molecular biology
• Record of research publications
• Professional research experience

Additional desirable selection criteria:

• Scripting (Perl/Python)
• Familiarity with Unix/Linux systems
• Experience in using High Performing Clusters
• Knowledge about software and tools used in next generation sequence data analyses
• Previous research experience in Bioinformatics

English Language Requirements: Applicants whose first language is not English are usually required to provide evidence of proficiency in English at the higher level required by the University.

PhD Scholarships

Application Procedure:

How to Apply: Application Procedure:

• Complete an Application for Admission form
• Download the Response to PGRS Selection Criteria template (Word 1,028KB) and respond to the Selection Criteria listed above (and include the name of this scholarship).
• Refer to the important information about applying for a Postgraduate Research Scholarship.

Scholarship Link