Graduate researcher prizes and awards

Philanthropic scholarships are available to cover graduate research stipend, top-up and travel expenses. Prizes recognising excellence are also awarded.

Peter Brownell Scholarship

The Peter Brownell PhD Scholarship was established by friends and associates of the late Peter Brownell, Professor of Accounting from 1991 until 1997. There is one scholarship awarded each year.

The scholarship is awarded to a second-year PhD student in Accounting for the duration of one year.

Find out more about the Peter Brownell scholarship

Henry Buck Scholarship

This scholarship is awarded to the highest-ranked graduate researcher commencing their Doctor of Philosophy course in the Faculty of Business and Economics. There is one scholarship awarded each year.

Kilmany Scholarship

The Scholarship is awarded to the highest-ranked graduate researcher commencing their FBE Doctor of Philosophy course in Economics or Econometrics.

Find out more about the Kilmany scholarship

Chancellor's Prize for Excellence in the PhD Thesis

The prize consists of a medal for desk display and is presented to the winners at Faculty graduation ceremonies in December. Two prizes are awarded in each grouping:

  • Humanities, Creative Arts and Social Sciences doctoral research excellence [FBE is included in this Faculty group]
  • Science and Engineering doctoral research excellence
  • Medicine, Dentistry and Health Sciences doctoral research excellence and

A separate Chancellor's Prize is awarded for:

  • First Nations doctoral research excellence

Eligibility

  • All PhD students awarded the degree in the previous year are eligible to be nominated by their department
  • Graduate researchers cannot apply for this prize themselves, but if selected by their department, are encouraged to work with their supervisor on their nomination paperwork
  • Preference is given to theses passed without amendment

Selection Criteria

A department nomination must address the following criteria relative to the graduate researcher's opportunity:

  • international recognition of the research undertaken for the doctoral thesis
  • impact of the research (actual and/or potential)
  • research publications and/or other research outputs (for example: patents, exhibitions, performances, creative works, book chapters, journal articles) arising from the thesis, and where the candidate is the primary author and contributed more than 50 per cent of the work
  • public recognition for the research (for example, national or international media, prizes and awards, speaking engagements, conference invitations)
  • community engagement related to the research

FBE Selection Process

Each Head of Department receives a Chancellor's Prize information pack, which includes:

  • their confidential list of eligible PhD graduate researchers
  • the University's Memorandum on the Prize
  • a checklist for their submission and
  • a guide on writing letters of support for graduate research prize nominations, together with some sample letters of recommendation

The FBE Assistant Dean (Graduate Research) convenes and chairs a committee to select the FBE submission for the Chancellor's Prize, which is then forwarded to the Chair of the Humanities, Creative Arts and Social Sciences Faculty group.

Two prize nominations are selected from the group pool and submitted to the University's Higher Degrees by Research Committee (HDRC). The winners are announced by the University.

The FBE submission for the Chancellor's Prize is awarded the Faculty's Williams Prize for Excellence in the Business and Economics PhD Thesis.

FBE Department Submission Requirements

A department nomination must include:

  • the FBE submission form signed by the Head of the Department
  • a letter of nomination written by the Head of the Department that addresses the Prize selection criteria
  • the PhD Thesis Examiners' Reports
  • an abstract of the nominee’s thesis in plain language
  • one to Three single-page letters of support (recommendation) evaluating the significance and quality of the nominee’s thesis work according to the Prize selection criteria. One of these letters should be from the nominee's principal supervisor, another may be from a member of the nominee's Advisory Committee, and a third may be from a person of the nominee's choice.
  • the nominee’s current curriculum vitae (not to exceed five pages)

Find out more about the Chancellor's Prize

Williams Prize for Excellence in the Business and Economics PhD Thesis

The prize was established by the Faculty's Research and Research Training Committee in 2008. Currently valued at $1500, it is awarded to the graduate researcher whose PhD thesis is selected as the Faculty of Business and Economics contender for the Chancellor's Prize for Excellence in the PhD Thesis. The prize is awarded at the annual FBE Celebration of Graduate Research event.