Whitfeld Fellowships * [RA/2/889/1]

An asterisk (*) indicates that this fellowship is governed by conditions.

Whitfeld Fellowships are available to PhD students of The University of Western Australia and provide a bridge between the submission of the PhD thesis for examination and a candidate's first research career position. Whitfeld Fellowships enable candidates to write up publications during the period of thesis examination and to prepare a grant application for a future position.

The fellowships are governed by the following conditions.

Eligibility
1.(1) To be eligible for a fellowship an applicant must have submitted, or plan and be in a position to submit their PhD thesis to the Board of the Graduate Research School for examination within six months of the deadline for applications for Fellowships, as advertised on the Scholarships Office web page.

(2) For applicants who have not already submitted their thesis for examination, it is a requirement that the Graduate Research Co-ordinators of their schools have submitted a Nomination of Examiners Form and signed off on the existence of a full draft of the thesis, on the advice of the Co-ordinating Supervisors.

Selection Criteria
2. Selection is made on the basis of the applicant's track record, proposed publications, a one-page description for a potential grant proposal and on the recommendation of the relevant head(s) of school.

Applications
3.(1) Applications must be submitted by the relevant advertised closing date.

(2) Applicants who have not yet submitted their thesis for examination must provide a Completion Plan with their application.

(3) Applicants must provide details of the publication(s) to be prepared, including titles, abstracts and targeted journal and/or conferences; and must provide details of any previous publication(s).

(4) Applicants must provide a one-page summary for a potential grant proposal, including details of the intended funding agency.

(5) Letters of support from the applicant's supervisor(s) and the relevant head(s) of school must be attached to the application.

(6) Applications must be addressed to the Pro Vice-Chancellor (Research and Research Training) and be submitted by the relevant advertised closing date.

Selection Process
4. Successful applicants are selected by the Pro Vice-Chancellor (Research and Research Training) on behalf of the Scholarships Committee.

Acceptance of Offer and Commencement of Award
5.(1) A fellowship is normally accepted within two weeks of the date of offer or the offer may lapse.

(2) A fellowship may commence immediately after submission of the PhD thesis for examination.

Tenure and Support
6.(1) A fellowship is paid at the rate of a half time (0.5) UWA Academic Salary Scale Level A Research Associate (Step 1) appointment, for a maximum of six months.

(2) Payments are made fortnightly through the UWA payroll system during the period of the fellowship.

(3) Fellowship payments are taxable income and recipients are required to lodge an Income Taxation Declaration form with Human Resources before payment can commence.

International Students
7.(1) International students must contact the International Centre and the Department of Immigration and Citizenship (DIAC) to ensure that they will be permitted to remain in Australia during the fellowship period.

(2) It is the responsibility of international students under examination to ensure that they have a valid Australian visa and that the payment of the fellowship is in accordance with visa entitlements.

Cessation of Payments
8. Payment will normally cease at the end of six months.

Publication and Grant Application
9.(1) Six months after commencement of the fellowship, recipients are required to submit a list of publications prepared during the period of the fellowship.

(2) All publications written during the tenure of a fellowship must acknowledge the assistance of the Whitfeld Fellowship and carry the by-line of The University of Western Australia.

(3) Each Fellow will work with the Pro Vice-Chancellor (Research and Research Training) and the University's Research Development Officers to prepare a grant application to be submitted through the University's Research Grants Office at the end of the fellowship or by the required date of submission of the identified funding agency, as appropriate.

Note. Where an applicant is requesting that any of the 'normally' clauses in conditions 5 and 8 be waived, the head(s) of school must address this in the accompanying letter referred to in 3(5).