Purpose
The Faculty of Law & Justice, UNSW Sydney, wishes to offer two PhD scholarships for applicants with outstanding research potential and an interest in how society might best regulate the rise of data and its algorithmic analysis. Preference may go to topics in the context of the finance industry, but other contexts are also welcome. The starting date is flexible.
Deadline
Applications open until both scholarships are awarded.
Amount
The scholarship stipend will be equivalent to the value of a Research Training Program Scholarship (for 2022, this rate is $28,597 p.a.), plus faculty top-up ($5000 p.a.). These scholarships generally receive favourable tax treatment.
Tenure
The starting date is flexible. Up to four years, subject to confirmation of candidature and satisfactory progress.
Eligibility
Applicants may be Australian citizens, permanent residents or international candidates.
Students currently enrolled in or holding an offer to commence a full-time PhD in the UNSW Faculty of Law & Justice in 2021 may apply, provided that, by the application deadline, they shall have been enrolled for no longer than 12 months and they are not already holding or have been offered a scholarship for study at UNSW.
The scholarship is for study on a full-time basis only, unless there are exceptional personal or medical circumstances that would require study on a part-time basis for all or part of the PhD program. This scholarship is not open to students already enrolled in a PhD program elsewhere.
Residency requirement
Applicants must pursue their PhD research in Sydney.
International candidates are responsible for securing any necessary visas to enable study based in Sydney before commencing.
Selection criteria
Applicants must possess:
- an undergraduate degree in law or a related discipline with a minimum Honours Class II, Division (I) that includes a substantial research component (or equivalent); or
- a postgraduate qualification in law or a related discipline (including a substantial research component) with an average that equates to a minimum Distinction average at UNSW (75%); or
- equivalent research or professional experience, supported by references and a detailed CV.
International applicants must possess equivalent qualifications. (please highlight this sentence in red)
Previous research experience, including completion of a research thesis and/or publications, will be highly valued. Selection will be based on (a) the applicant’s academic qualifications, (b) their written communication skills, (c) the quality of their research proposal, (d) their research experience and potential, and (e) the fit between the applicant’s proposal and the focus areas of the Laureate Project.
Details of available scholarship
This PhD scholarship is available to applicants who are interested in undertaking research for an ARC Laureate project entitled “The Financial Data Revolution: Seizing the Benefits, Controlling the Risks”, led by Scientia Professor Ross Buckley. Proposals are particularly welcome from applicants who are interested in researching how to make Australia’s legal and regulatory systems fit to deal with the utterly transformative rise of data and its algorithmic analysis. The project will identify reforms to laws and regulatory approaches that are needed to reap the benefits and limit the major risks of this transformation. The project’s findings will inform law reform and changes in regulatory approaches both in Australia and internationally. The Laureate Project has some doctoral topics in mind and can make them available to interested applicants. However, applicants are strongly encouraged to pursue their own passions in crafting their research proposal.