MSPS Postdoctoral Fellowship Scheme

The Melbourne School of Psychological Sciences (MSPS) Postdoctoral Fellowship has been developed to support graduating PhD students from MSPS or recent graduates from other universities who are already affiliated with MSPS and assist them in attaining competitive post-doctoral fellowship positions.

The objectives of the fellowship are to:

  • Provide support for a researcher who recently completed their PhD to finish off work, submit papers and/or attain pilot data for future grant applications
  • Provide recent PhD graduates opportunity to develop teaching experience and skills.

The MSPS Postdoctoral Fellowship is a two-year (1.0 FTE) teaching and research appointment commencing at Level A.6 in the University salary band. The successful applicant will also receive $5,000 in research funding (over the life of the fellowship), in addition to access to the staff support funds (including travel support and open access publishing).

The prototypical applicant will have recently completed their PhD in the School and will be seeking post-doctoral fellowship positions. The fellowship would typically commence in January, prior to both the mandatory tutor training day and commencement of the honours program. If a successful applicant was awarded external funding that enabled continuation of their salary support, the fellowship would normally be withdrawn and may be awarded to another applicant. The fellowship cannot be deferred.

The successful applicant will be expected to conduct research, contribute to research supervision (Fourth Year thesis supervision), and teaching (30% of the role). The teaching component would include tutoring and additional marking support in MSPS commensurate with the experience and expertise. Fellows would also be provided with paid, certified teaching development to support their professional and career development. Thirty hours paid time would be allocated across the term of employment to complete one of two CSHE certificate courses: the Certificate in Small-Group Teaching CSGT and the Melbourne Teaching Certificate (MTC).

Potential fellows will be judged according to their research track record, any teaching/tutoring experience and strategic alignment with MSPS research efforts.

More information on eligibility and assessment

  • Eligibility criteria
    1. Applicants must have been awarded a PhD less than two years before the date for close of applications (accounting for any career disruptions) or have submitted their thesis for examination prior to the application deadline.
    2. Applicants must be eligible to tutor in MSPS (eg available for tutor training day, able to commit to the full semester of teaching), and have tutored for at least two semesters in the past five years.
    3. Applicants must have a mentor/sponsor in MSPS who is able to host them and mentor their research and teaching development.

    Highly desirable criteria

    1. Applicants have demonstrated evidence of successful tutoring experience in the MSPS undergraduate program.
  • Assessment criteria and process

    The assessment will focus on the track record of the applicant and the potential for the applicant to contribute to research and teaching at MSPS. The applicant's record will be judged relative to opportunity, accounting for career interruptions.

    Applicants will be ranked by a sub-committee of the MSPS Research and Research Training Committee, with representation from a variety of discipline areas and including the Tutor Coordinator. Applicants should ensure that their proposal can be easily understood by academics from outside of their discipline area.

    Members of the sub-committee will consider information provided in the proposal. Assessment is against the following criteria:

    1. Research track record (eg publications, impact of research work, awards) and potential of the applicant relative to opportunity
    2. The proposed research and its strategic alignment with the research goals of MSPS
    3. Proposed teaching contribution to the school and teaching track record, and alignment with teaching demands of the School.

Preparing an application

Applicants must discuss their application with the proposed mentor, prior to commencing an application. Applications that do not have the required endorsements will not be considered.

Applicants must complete the application form and relevant attachments and submit to hod-psych@unimelb.edu.au by 5pm, Friday 3 November 2023.

Checklist for submission

Submit the application to hod-psych@unimelb.edu.au by 5pm Friday 3 November 2023.

Please direct any queries to hod-psych@unimelb.edu.au.