Fully funded PhD scholarship or top-up in sampling design for social networks at UNSW

We are offering one PhD scholarship (3.5 years, full time, fully funded, $28,597 AUD per year stipend) or a top-up to another scholarship (up to about $50,000 AUD per year) at the School of Mathematics and Statistics at UNSW Sydney in the area of sampling design for social networks. 

Please apply by 31 October 2021. 
Applications received after this date will be considered on a rolling basis until a candidate is selected.

The project:

This scholarship is funded by the US Army Research Office grant as a part of an effort to develop sophisticated methods for sampling and inference on networks of which only a small portion is observed. The focus of this PhD will be selecting nodes and edges for sampling to maximise information about network structure, primarily in the exponential-family random graph model framework. It will be supervised primarily by Dr Pavel Krivitsky (Senior Lecturer in Statistics, UNSW Sydney), in collaboration with Drs Michael Schweinberger (University of Missouri) and Johan Koskinen (University of Melbourne).

Requirements:

The candidate is required to have an Honours or Master's degree in statistics, quantitative sociology, computer science, or related discipline. (Candidates with equivalent qualifications, such as a 4-year Bachelor's degree with a thesis component or publications will also be considered.) R and C programming skills and coursework or experience in statistical inference and survey sampling are preferred.

There are no security clearance or citizenship requirements or restrictions, and the research is not classified. However, note that UNSW may require proof of English proficiency for international candidates.

Stipend and remuneration:

The successful candidate will be awarded a tuition fee waiver and a tax-exempt stipend equivalent to $28,597 AUD per year for the duration of up to 3.5 years, subject to enrolment conditions. There may be opportunities for this stipend to be topped up through other funding or be used as top-up for another scholarship (capped at a total of about $50,000 AUD per year), such as Australia's Research Training Program (RTP) scholarship. There may be opportunities throughout the candidature to pick up additional casual work (e.g., tutoring, marking, research assistance), visa permitting.

Starting date:

The successful candidate must commence between January and September of 2022. In particular, the candidate must be able to arrive in Sydney by September 2022 at the latest.

Applying:

If you have any questions or would like to apply, please don't hesitate to contact Dr Krivitsky p.krivitsky@unsw.edu.au. For full consideration, please submit your CV, past transcripts, contact information for at least two referees, and any other information you would like to provide by 31 October. Applications received after this date will be considered on a rolling basis until a candidate is selected.