Melbourne Postdoctoral Fellowships

Overview

The Melbourne Postdoctoral Fellowships are a leading institutional researcher development scheme. Launched as a supportive initiative during the COVID-19 pandemic, the Melbourne Postdoctoral Fellowships scheme provides career development and research-focused opportunities for early career researchers across the University. Melbourne Postdoctoral Fellowships are available to University of Melbourne PhD graduates and academic staff currently employed at the University of Melbourne (fixed-term or casual) who may have graduated with a PhD from another university .

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

• attract and retain talented recent doctoral graduates from the University of Melbourne in areas that are a research priority for the University;
• retain 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 priorities in Faculties.

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

Funding

Jointly funded by Deputy Vice-Chancellor (Research) (DVCR) strategic funding and Faculties, 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. Salary funding for the Melbourne Postdoctoral Fellowship is split 2:1 (DVCR : Faculty). DVCR strategic funds will also fund an additional single allocation of $25,000 for the Fellow’s research project costs over the full term of the Fellowship.

The default term of the Melbourne Postdoctoral Fellowships is for three years (at 1.0FTE) of research-focused activity.

Eligibility

For the 2024 Melbourne Postdoctoral Fellowships, applicants must have been awarded their PhD 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 circumstances - Not currently eligible. May complete Eligibility Exemption Request to determine eligibility prior to completing the full application.

Applicants must have graduated or have met the requirements to graduate with a PhD from the University of Melbourne, or from another university where they are current (fixed term or casual) employees of the University of Melbourne.

An applicant may only ever be awarded one Melbourne Postdoctoral Fellowship. Applicants to this scheme cannot apply for the McKenzie Postdoctoral Fellowship scheme.

Applicants must not have been awarded a competitively funded research fellowship from any institution since the award of their PhD.

How to apply

1. Review faculty/school processes

   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 who is willing to support your application. This contact must be listed in your application form.

   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 deadline: 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 by 9am, 1 May 2023
   Education	Alex Burns, mgse-grants@unimelb.edu.au	EOI deadline 3pm Monday 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 deadline End of day, 24 April 2023.

   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 Melbourne Postdoctoral Fellowship guidelines.

   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 circumstances you do not meet all 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 and time.

Supporting documents

Documents for 2024:

• 2024 Melbourne Postdoctoral Fellowships scheme Guidelines
• 2024 Application form
• 2024 Eligibility Exemption Request
• 2024 FAQs
• 2024 Career interruption calculator
• 2024 Webinar Recording

Please contact res-devschemes@unimelb.edu.au for documents in alternate accessible formats.

Contacts

Manage Your Grant