McKenzie Postdoctoral Fellowships Program

Overview

The McKenzie Postdoctoral Fellowships scheme aims to bring outstanding researchers to the University of Melbourne.

The objectives of the 2024 McKenzie Postdoctoral Fellowships scheme are to:

• attract talented, recent doctoral graduates to the University of Melbourne in areas that are a research priority for the University;
• recruit researchers who have the potential to build and lead interdisciplinary collaborative research activities inside and across Faculties; and
• promote research that aligns with institutional research strategies and research themes of the Faculties.

The additional objective of the Indigenous Research McKenzie Postdoctoral Fellowship is to attract, support and increase the number of early career Indigenous researchers at the University of Melbourne and in the broader Australian academy.

The McKenzie Postdoctoral Fellowships scheme is highly competitive, with up to ten McKenzie Postdoctoral Fellowships and one Indigenous Research McKenzie Postdoctoral Fellowship available each year.

Prospective applicants must discuss their interest in the Program with the relevant Faculty at the University of Melbourne, prior to submitting their application. Applicants must adhere to Faculty Expression of Interest processes and timelines in order to be considered for award.

Funding

Funded by DVCR strategic funding, each fellowship will be awarded at Academic Level A6 in the University Salary Band plus oncosts and superannuation as per the terms and conditions of employment for University staff set out in the applicable University of Melbourne enterprise agreement with an additional single allocation of $25,000 for research project costs over the full term of the Fellowship.

The default term of a McKenzie Postdoctoral Fellowship (including an Indigenous Research McKenzie Fellowship) is for three years (at 1.0FTE) of research-focused activity.

Eligibility

New applicants for 2024 must have been awarded a PhD from a university other than the University of Melbourne between:

• 1 November 2020 and the full application due date - Eligible
• 1 November 2018 and 31 October 2020, and had a period of significant research career interruption between 1 November 2018 and the full application due date - Eligible to apply, must complete Part B3 of the full application.
• 1 November 2012 and 31 October 2018 and there are exceptional extenuating circumstances - Not currently eligible. May complete Eligibility Exemption Request to determine eligibility prior to completing the full application.

At the time of application, applicants must not have held, or be holding, an academic appointment or multiple academic appointments at the University of Melbourne that total more than one year (unless an exception is approved through the Eligibility Exemption Request process).

Eligibility Exemptions may be available for some applicants. For more information, please see the Guidelines and 'How to Apply' section below.

How to apply

1. Review faculty/school processes

   Faculty	Contact	Instructions
   Architecture, Building and Planning	Matthew Scamporlino (abp-research),   abp-research@unimelb.edu.au	Draft Smarty Grant Application Exported into PDF Format due to abp-research@unimelb.edu.au no later than Monday the 15th of May 2023.
   Arts	Jeanette Wrench(Arts Research Office), arts-staffresearch@unimelb.edu.au	EOI due  5pm, Monday 17th April 2023 Faculty of Arts academic contact form deadline: 5pm, Monday 17th April 2023.
   Business & Economics	Alex Campbell, +61 3 8344 5792, fbe-research@unimelb.edu.au	EOI due by  Wednesday 10 May 2023
   Engineering and Information Technology	FEIT Research Services, FEIT-research@unimelb.edu.au	EOI due 9am, 1 May 2023
   Education	Alex Burns, mgse-grants@unimelb.edu.au	EOI deadline 3pm, 15th May 2023.
   Medicine, Dentistry and Health Sciences	Tim Crockett, 8344 4637, mdhs-grants@unimelb.edu.au	EOIs due: 9:00AM AEST, Monday 15th May 2023 EOI: Applicants must complete the MDHS EOI form via SmartyGrants before the due date to be considered.
   Law	Mas Generis 8344 9983 or Averyl Gaylor 8344 8046, law-research@unimelb.edu.au	EOI deadline 11.59pm Monday 24 April 2023
   Science	Patrick O'Duffy, science-internalfunding@unimelb.edu.au	EOI due by 3pm 1 May 2023
   Fine Arts & Music	Adelene Auyong, fineartsmusic-research@unimelb.edu.au	EOI due: End of day, 24 April 2023

   You must ensure that you have completed any additional submission requirements specific to your Faculty/School and that you have an academic contact within your proposed Faculty/School who is willing to support your application. This contact must be identified in your application form.

1. Academic contact

   Make sure you have an academic contact within your proposed host Faculty/School who is willing to support your application. Your proposed host Faculty/School can advise you as to how best to get in touch with an appropriate academic contact.

2. Review the funding guidelines

   Read the McKenzie Fellowship guidelines and supporting information linked below.

3. Complete the Eligibility Exemption Request form if applicable

   If applicable, complete the Eligibility Exemption Request on SmartyGrants by the Eligibility Exemption Request due date.

   An Eligibility Exemption Request is only applicable if due to exceptional extenuating circumstances you do not meet all of the eligibility criteria in the Funding Guidelines. Eligible applicants may submit an application without an Eligibility Exemption Request.

4. Complete the application form

   Complete the application form. Your faculty research office contact (listed above) can advise you of the HoD/HoS approvals process for this fellowship.

5. Submit the application

   Submit your application via SmartyGrants by the due date.

6. Submit written testimonials

   Request your referees submit their written testimonials via email to mckenzie-application@unimelb.edu.au by the due date.

Supporting documents

Documents for 2024:

• 2024 McKenzie Scheme Guidelines
• 2024 McKenzie Eligibility Exemption Request
• 2024 McKenzie Application Form
• 2024 FAQs
• 2024 McKenzie Career interruption calculator

Please contact mckenzie-application@unimelb.edu.au for documents in alternate accessible formats.

Contacts

Manage Your Grant