Nick Christopher PhD Top-up Scholarship

Closes
31st Mar 2024
Study level
Graduate Research
Category
Scholarship
Enrolment status
Current student
Study Area
Melbourne Medical School
Fund source
Non- Trust

About

This scholarship honours the legacy of Mr. Nick Christopher who was the Department of Medicine Manager from 2001-2008, and the Inaugural Parkville Cluster Manager in 2008 until his passing on the 15th November 2008. The scholarships, targeted to attract and support the best and brightest students to undertake their PhD studies in our clinical departments and to encourage local community engagement in the departments at the Parkville Precinct, were one of his most passionate projects.

Two Nick Christopher scholarships are offered to the best ranked PhD students commencing their study in any of the Parkville Departments (Medicine (RMH), Surgery (RMH), Radiology, Psychiatry, Clinical Pathology, Critical Care); each scholarship is offered at $6000 per annum for up to three years to top up a competitive PhD scholarship (e.g. RTP-Stipend and Fee offset, MRS-INT, NHMRC). However, if the winner of the Larkins Prize chooses to go on to undertake a PhD in one of the departments, he/she will be awarded one of the two 'Nick Christopher PhD Scholarships' offered each year. In this case, there will be only one scholarship available in that year for all other students.

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.

  5. 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.

Benefits

$6000 p.a. for up to three years (pro-rata for part-time students).  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).

Disclaimer: The benefit amount for this award is approximate. It will be confirmed at the time of awarding and determined by the committee according to the terms of the award.

Eligibility

  • Enrolment date must be between 1 Jan and 31 Dec of the year prior to application.
  • Obtained a competitive Scholarship (e.g. RTP Stipend and Fee-Offset, MRS-INT) or equivalent competitive scholarship from NHMRC or external organisation, and accepted the offer to study in any Department at Parkville (Medicine (RMH), Surgery (RMH), Radiology, Psychiatry, Clinical Pathology, Critical Care). Note: Recipients of MRS-INT (fee offset only) or Joint PhD scholarships are not eligible.
  • Awarded a Full time scholarship for at least 3 years (or duration) of the PhD.
  • For students who have an existing studentship or will have other top-up scholarship/s - that amount plus the Nick Christopher scholarship of $6000 p.a. (if you are successful), cannot exceed 75% of the value of your current scholarship.

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. Excluding academic transcripts, applications are to be no more than 7 pages in total.

Application

Please compile all the following information in a single document, with Headings in the order as listed below:

1. A brief CV (no more than 2 pages) highlighting any fellowships, awards, scholarships, studentships, publications, as follows:

  • With medical fellowships, please provide name of fellowship, date awarded and details of the fellowship, e.g., general description, criteria of award, etc.
  • With awards/scholarships/studentships, please include full details such as name of award, awarding institution, name of provider of studentship, the monetary value, award start and end dates, research/study the award is supporting, etc.
  • With publications, please list only those which are peer-reviewed, ranked in order of first-author publications (please exclude abstracts, letters, etc) and also indicate your contribution to the publication/s in terms of estimated % contribution.

2. A report (maximum length of 2-3 pages) which must address the key selection criteria. We suggest one paragraph per selection criteria item, in the order as follows:

  • A relative to opportunity statement
  • Academic excellence
  • Scientific output
  • Engagement within an academic environment
  • Engagement beyond the academic environment

3. An academic referee report from a current/previous supervisor or lecturer endorsing your application - please send the attached form to your referee to complete and ask them to return it directly to the administrator by email.  Academic Referee Report

4. Certified academic transcripts from Undergraduate, Honours or Masters qualifications. (Other documents such as Awards, commendations, etc are optional).

Please send an electronic copy of your complete application to (file format must be PDF only):

Ms Kim Ng (Graduate Research Programs Coordinator - Parkville Precinct)

E: kmng@unimelb.edu.au; GR-Parkville@unimelb.edu.au

Enquiries

Ms Kim Ng (Graduate Research Programs Coordinator - Parkville)

Recipient

  • Nina Leggett, Alfred Lo (2023)
  • Kelly Wu, Lucy Zhang (2022)
  • Lucy Caughey, Samuel Widodo (2021)
  • Hope O'Brien, Polin Haghvirdizadeh (2020)
  • Tanya Lupancu, Divyangana Rakesh (2019)
  • Alec Jamieson, Md Efte Kharul Sumon (2018)
  • Hariharan Sugumar, Henry Zhao (2017)
  • Justin Gourlay, Juliana de Castro e Silva (2016)
  • Chenkai Ma, Roxanne Hastie, Madi Njie, Thomas Ware (2015)

Scholarship Management

Faculty

Faculty of Medicine, Dentistry and Health Sciences

School

Medical School

Department / Centre

Melbourne Medical School