Nick Christopher PhD Top-up Scholarship at the University of Melbourne 2026

The Nick Christopher PhD Top-up Scholarship is awarded to high-achieving students who are enrolling in a graduate research course in any of the Parkville Departments (Medicine (RMH), Surgery (RMH), Radiology, Psychiatry, Clinical Pathology, Critical Care).

The Nick Christopher PhD Top-up Scholarship honours the legacy of Mr. Nick Christopher who was the Department of Medicine Manager from 2001-2008, and the Inaugural Parkville Cluster Manager in 2008 until his passing on the 15th November 2008. The scholarships, targeted to attract and support the best and brightest students to undertake their PhD studies in our clinical departments and to encourage local community engagement in the departments at the Parkville Precinct, were one of his most passionate projects.

Table of Content

• Summary
• Benefits
• Requirements
• Application Documents
• Application Deadline
• How To Apply

Summary

• Application DeadlineMarch 31, 2026
• ValueUp to $18,000
• Study LevelPhD
• SponsorUniversity of Melbourne
• City to studyVictoria
• School to studyUniversity of Melbourne
• Course to studyHealth
• Eligible CountryAll Countries

Benefits

• This scholarship provides a top up stipend of up $6000 per year for up to three years (pro-rata for part-time students).

Requirements

To be considered for this scholarship, you must:

• Have an enrolment date between 1 Jan and 31 Dec of the year prior to application.
• Have obtained a competitive peer-reviewed Scholarship (e.g. RTP, MRS-INT) or equivalent competitive scholarship from NHMRC or external organisation, and accepted the offer to study in the Department of Medicine at RMH.
• Be awarded a Full time scholarship for at least 3 years (or duration) of the PhD.

Please check eligibility with the GR Programs Coordinator before you apply. Students obtaining any of the scholarships mentioned and meeting eligibility criteria will be invited to submit an application. Applications are to be no more than 6 pages in total.

Application Documents

Please compile all the following information in a single document, with Headings in the order as listed below:

1. A brief CV (no more than 2 pages) highlighting any fellowships, awards, scholarships, studentships, publications, as follows:

• With medical fellowships, please provide name of fellowship, date awarded and details of the fellowship, e.g., general description, criteria of award, etc.
• With awards/scholarships/studentships, please include full details such as name of award, awarding institution, name of provider of studentship, the monetary value, award start and end dates, research/study the award is supporting, etc.
• With publications, please list only those which are peer-reviewed, ranked in order of first-author publications (please exclude abstracts, letters, etc) and also indicate your contribution to the publication/s in terms of estimated % contribution.

2. A report (maximum length of 2-3 pages) which must address the key selection criteria. We suggest one paragraph per selection criteria item, in the order as follows:

• A relative to opportunity statement
• Academic excellence
• Scientific output
• Engagement within an academic environment
• Engagement beyond the academic environment

3. An academic referee report from a current/previous supervisor or lecturer endorsing your application - please send the attached form to your referee to complete and ask them to return it directly to the administrator by email. Academic Referee Report.

Application Deadline

How To Apply

• Please send an electronic copy of your complete Application Documents (file format must be PDF only) to Graduate Research Programs Coordinator - Parkville Precinct: [email protected].

For more information, kindly visit the University of Melbourne website.