McKenzie Postdoctoral Fellowships Program

Overview

The McKenzie Postdoctoral Fellowships Program has been established to attract outstanding recent doctoral graduates to the University from around the world. The Program aims to recruit new researchers who have the potential to build and lead interdisciplinary collaborative research activities inside and across Academic Divisions. The University offers a leading and lively research environment that is internationally engaged, public-spirited and has many outstanding areas of research strength.

The objectives of the Program are to attract talented recent doctoral graduates in areas of research priority for the University. The Program is highly competitive, with up to ten McKenzie Fellowships and one Indigenous McKenzie Fellowship available each year.

Prospective applicants must discuss their interest in the Program with the relevant Academic Division 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

The University will fund the Fellowships for a three-year appointment commencing at Level A.6 in the University salary band plus superannuation.

Fellows will receive an additional $25,000 to be spent on project costs over the term of their Fellowship. Awards will be for a maximum of three years commencing between 1 January 2024 and 30 June 2024.

Eligibility

Please note the eligibility requirements for this program may change from year to year. This excerpt from for the last round is provided as an example only.

New applicants for 2023 must have been awarded a PhD from a university other than the University of Melbourne between.

• 1 November 2019 and 23 June 2022 - Eligible
• 1 November 2017 and 31 October 2019, and had a period of significant research career interruption between 1 November 2017 and 23 June 2022 - Eligible to apply, must complete Part B3 of the full application.
• 1 November 2011 and 31 October 2017 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, a fixed-term or continuing academic appointment at the University of Melbourne that is greater than one year. Where applicants have held multiple back-to-back fixed-term appointments, these should not be more than one year in total.

Applicants will be required to provide a declaration of support from the department/school in which they would be located if successful, but the criteria for selection will be university-based.

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	Faculty of Arts academic contact form	EOI due: 5pm, Monday 17th April 2023
   Business & Economics	Alex Campbell, +61 3 8344 5792, fbe-research@unimelb.edu.au
   Engineering and Information Technology	FEIT Research Services, FEIT-research@unimelb.edu.au	EOI deadline & Link TBC
   Education	Alex Burns, mgse-grants@unimelb.edu.au	EOI deadline, 11:59pm Friday 1 May 2023. EOI link to be provided
   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, law-research@unimelb.edu.au	EOI deadline 11.59pm Friday 21 April 2023
   Science	Patrick O'Duffy, science-internalfunding@unimelb.edu.au	EOI due by 3pm 1 May 2023 (link to be provided)
   Fine Arts & Music	Adelene Auyong, fineartsmusic-research@unimelb.edu.au	EOI due: closing on the 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 listed 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, complete the eligibility exemption request on SmartyGrants by the EER due date.

   An Eligibility Exemption Request is only applicable if you do not meet all the eligibility criteria in the Funding Guidelines. Eligible applicants may submit an application without EER.

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 the 2024 round will be available when the scheme opens.

Documents for 2023:

• 2023 UOM McKenzie Fellowships Funding Guidelines
• Link to 2023 McKenzie Fellowships Eligibility Exemption Request Form
• Link to 2023 McKenzie Fellowships Application Form

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

Contacts

Manage Your Grant