• Applications and research areas
• Assessment criteria
• How to apply

The Integrated Natural Resource Management (INRM) Science PhD program has been developed to address the current unprecedented demand for skills for sustainable, integrated, and efficient management of natural resources.

The program aims to develop and reinforce cross-organisational collaborations between individual researchers and research teams, and to provide individual students with the opportunity for close interaction, mentoring and supervision, with both CSIRO and University of Queensland (UQ), particularly through co-location of CSIRO divisions of Marine and Atmospheric Research, Ecosystem Sciences, and Land and Water at the Ecosciences Precinct and UQ in Brisbane.

The program will support PhD students to conduct cutting-edge research with strong expertise in a broad range of disciplines through scholarship top-ups.

The value of the scholarships will be set at A$7000 per annum plus up to A$10000 expenses (including travel) per annum. The next round of application closes February 8th, 2013.

Applications and research areas

PhD studentships will be awarded in the integrated natural resource management field. Successful applicants will propose research that informs the management of natural resources (e.g. land, water, soil, biological resource base). Research may target a range of environments and land-use contexts (e.g. marine, coastal, terrestrial environments) managed for a variety of purposes (e.g. agriculture, forestry, urban settlement, fisheries, conservation etc).

The research can relate to a range of scales, including global change and large-scale processes driving regional responses, but the choice of scale (both spatial and temporal) should be that which informs the management of natural resources.

Available projects, with CSIRO and UQ supervisors, that are already approved as suitable for INRM scholarship candidates are:

• Understanding the drivers or urban green space loss
• Evaluating socio-ecological modelling as a tool for integrating climate change into marine protected areas
• Developing methods for assessments of data-poor marine species in fisheries and conservation

You may also choose to develop your own project and we can assist you in finding suitable supervisors. Some examples of research areas that the INRM PhD Program encourages include those relating to:

• systems modelling and analysis (at a range of scales, including global change)
• integrated assessment approaches (including those addressing risk)
• proposals that integrate disciplinary perspectives (e.g. biophysical, social, economic and institutional dimensions of environmental change)
• policy and institutional alternatives (e.g. governance systems, policy instruments).

Assessment criteria

The Steering Committee will critique applications based on the:

• alignment of the candidate student's proposed area of research with integrated natural resource management science and the research priorities of the CSIRO and UQ
• novelty of the candidate student’s proposed research
• alignment of a candidate student’s existing scholarship arrangements with the agreed terms of the Program (especially in relation to IP and the Student Agreement)
• relevant post-graduate qualifications and track-record, and employment experience, especially as evidenced by the applicant’s publication recordquality and appropriateness of the supervision arrangement for the applicant
• student's undergraduate track records that may include, course marks, conference papers, presentations, publications (the student must be expected to be capable or have gained a 1st class honours degree or equivalent).
• the strength of the UQ and CSIRO collaboration and in particular, the enhancement of collaborations between the co-located sites of UQ, St Lucia and CSIRO Ecosciences Precinct.

How to apply

Eligibility: PhD scholarships will only be awarded as top ups to those in receipt of an Australian Postgraduate Award (APA) or an equivalent university postgraduate award.
This Program is intended to support new PhD projects, however, recently commenced projects (less than 6 months since commencement) will also be considered.

Option A:

Project applications are invited from candidates who have developed their own research proposal with their CSIRO/UQ supervision team. Contact program co-ordinators for assistance regarding supervision teams. To apply this way, please submit by 8 February 2013:

1. Completed proposal form (Integrated Natural Resource Management Science Scholarship application form)
2. Project plan
3. Applicant’s academic record
4. Current CV of applicant, including the contact details of two referees
5. Brief CVs of supervisors.

Your application will be assessed by the CSIRO-UQ INRM Steering Committee.

Option B:

Candidates may wish to select a project from a set which has already been approved as eligible for funding (listed above). Applications lodged through this option will be assessed by both the CSIRO-UQ supervisory team and the CSIRO-UQ INRM Steering Committee.

Read more about CSIRO's Postgraduate Scholarships.