PhD Training Program
The BioZone at UWA brings together researchers with a shared vision from UWA's Schools of Engineering, Biological, Biomedical, Molecular and Human Sciences
What does the BioZone PhD program offer?
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Regular access to an experienced and varied panel of senior academics
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Regular access to other interdisciplinary BioZone PhD candidates
BioZone PhD candidates meet regularly with an experienced panel of senior academics and have access to various industry and clinical engagement opportunities owing to this well-connected network.
BioZone offers a program with customised milestones to facilitate deeper engagement with and the development of a transdisciplinary project and skillset. Under normal candidature, PhD proposals are due within six months of commencement. However, BioZone candidates have twelve months to complete their proposal milestones. The expected candidature length is 4 years, with an opportunity to apply for a BioZone completion scholarship to support the final 6 months.
BioZone PhD candidates are eligible to apply for an exclusive BioZone Completion Scholarship in their penultimate year. This scholarship extends the candidate's stipend to a full four years. Currently, two BioZone completion Scholarships will be available annually (confirmed to 2026), and will be awarded on a competitive basis, evaluating candidates’ contribution to the BioZone community, the inter/multi/transdisciplinary outcomes of their research and feasibility of timely completion. Please see the BioZone Completion Scholarship Application Form for more details.
Finally, BioZone PhD candidates, in any year, are eligible to apply for exclusive BioZone Collaboration Grants. These grants support successful project applications that are collaborative, novel and multidisciplinary.
There must be at least two primary investigators listed on the Collaboration Grant, one of whom must be a BioZone candidate. The inclusion of students from other disciplines outside of the BioZone is, of course, strongly encouraged. Please see the BioZone Collaboration Grant Application Form for more details.
For the BioZone Completion Scholarship and Collaboration grants, the panel reserves the right not to make an award if applications are deemed not competitive.
These initiatives are possible thanks to the generous support of BioZone's philanthropic partner, who wishes to remain anonymous. We thank them for their ongoing support.
How does it work?
Prospective applicants must identify a supervisor in an area of interest and research goals aligning with BioZone's transdisciplinary ethos. Applicants must then express interest in joining the BioZone PhD program by contacting Associate Professor Jennifer Rodger (biozone@uwa.edu.au).
Applicants must then apply for PhD candidature and a research scholarship (https://www.uwa.edu.au/study/Research/research-scholarships) via mainstream pathways. Only applicants who are awarded a research scholarship, such as a Research Training Program (RTP) or a University Postgraduate Award (UPA), will be considered to join the BioZone program.
Successful candidates are those who obtain a scholarship (RTP, UPA or equivalent), demonstrate a genuine passion for and interest in transdisciplinary research and whose research goals align with the BioZone ethos.