Postgraduate Research Scholarship in Astroparticle Physics

1. Background

a. Funded by the ARC Centre of Excellence for Dark Matter Particle Physics, this Scholarship aims to support a student undertaking a PhD within the School of Physics, Faculty of Science, where the focus of their research is on Astroparticle Physics.

b. The successful candidate will have the opportunity to work with academics in the astroparticle group, including Prof. Celine Boehm, Dr. Theresa Fruth, Dr. Laura Manenti, Dr. Ciaran O'Hare and Dr. Ellen Sirks, on a range of possible projects related to dark matter, including the option for both theoretical and experimental projects.

2. Eligibility

c. The Scholarship is offered subject to the applicant having an unconditional offer of admission to study full-time in a Doctor of Philosophy (PhD) within Faculty of Science at the University of Sydney.

d. An applicant without an unconditional offer of admission may apply and be selected, however, no scholarship offer will be sent until the applicant has an unconditional offer of admission.

e. Applicant must hold an honours degree (First Class or Second Class upper) or a master’s degree in a related field with a substantial research component, or equivalent.

f. Applicant must be willing to undertake research in Astroparticle Physics.

3. Selection Criteria

a. The successful applicant will be awarded the Scholarship on the basis of:

I. academic merit, and
II. area of study and research proposal,

b. Preference will be given to applicants who have past research experience focused on particle and/or astroparticle physics. This can be either within experimental or theoretical disciplines.

c. The successful applicant will be awarded the Scholarship on the nomination of the relevant research supervisor(s), or their nominated delegate(s).

4. Value

a. The Scholarship will provide a stipend allowance equivalent $29,863 per annum (fixed rate) for up to three years, subject to satisfactory academic performance.

b. Periods of study already undertaken towards the degree prior to the commencement of the Scholarship will be deducted from the maximum duration of the Scholarship excluding any potential extension period.

c. The Scholarship is for commencement in the relevant research period in which it is offered and cannot be deferred or transferred to another area of research without prior approval.

d. No other amount is payable.

e. The Scholarship will be offered subject to the availability of funding.

5. Eligibility for Progression

a. Progression is subject to attending and passing the annual progress evaluation.

6. Leave Arrangements

a. The Scholarship recipient receives up to 20 working days recreation leave each year of the Scholarship and this may be accrued. However, the student will forfeit any unused leave remaining when the Scholarship is terminated or complete. Recreation leave does not attract a leave loading and the supervisor's agreement must be obtained before leave is taken.

b. The Scholarship recipient may take up to 10 working days sick leave each year of the Scholarship and this may be accrued over the tenure of the Scholarship. Students with family responsibilities, caring for sick children or relatives, or experiencing domestic violence, may convert up to five days of their annual sick leave entitlement to carer’s leave on presentation of medical certificate(s). Students taking sick leave must inform their supervisor as soon as practicable.

7. Research Overseas

a. The Scholarship recipient may not normally conduct research overseas within the first six months of award.

b. The Scholarship holder may conduct up to 12 months of their research outside Australia. Approval must be sought from the student's supervisor, Head of School and the Faculty via application to the Higher Degree by Research Administration Centre (HDRAC) and will only be granted if the research is essential for completion of the degree.

c. All periods of overseas research are cumulative and will be counted towards a student's candidature. Students must remain enrolled full-time at the University and receive approval to count time away.

8. Suspension

a. The Scholarship recipient cannot suspend their award within their first six months of study, unless a legislative provision applies.

b. The Scholarship recipient may apply for up to 12 months suspension of the Scholarship for any reason during the tenure of the Scholarship. Periods of Scholarship suspension are cumulative and failure to resume study after suspension will result in the award being terminated. Approval must be sought from the student's supervisor, Head of School and the Faculty via application to the Higher Degree by Research Administration Centre (HDRAC). HDRAC will consult with Scholarship Office to confirm funding availability for the period of suspension. Periods of study towards the degree during suspension of the Scholarship will be deducted from the maximum tenure of the Scholarship.

9. Changes in Enrolment

a. The Scholarship recipient must notify HDRAC and their supervisor promptly of any planned changes to their enrolment including but not limited to: attendance pattern, suspension, leave of absence, withdrawal, course transfer, and candidature upgrade or downgrade. If the award holder does not provide notice of the changes identified above, the University may require repayment of any overpaid stipend.

10. Termination

a. The Scholarship will be terminated:

I. on resignation or withdrawal of the recipient from their research degree,
II. upon submission of the thesis or at the end of the award,
III. if the recipient ceases to be a full-time student and prior approval has not been obtained to hold the Scholarship on a part-time basis,
IV. upon the recipient having completed the maximum candidature for their degree as per the University of Sydney (Higher Degree by Research) Rule 2011 Policy,
V. if the recipient receives an alternative primary stipend scholarship. In such circumstances this Scholarship will be terminated in favour of the alternative stipend scholarship where it is of higher value,
VI. if the recipient does not resume study at the end of a period of approved leave, or
VII. if the recipient ceases to meet the eligibility requirements specified for this Scholarship, (other than during a period in which the Scholarship has been suspended or during a period of approved leave).

b. The Scholarship may also be terminated by the University before this time if, in the opinion of the University:

I. the course of study is not being carried out with competence and diligence or in accordance with the terms of this offer,
II. the student fails to maintain satisfactory progress, or
III. the student has committed misconduct or other inappropriate conduct.

c. The Scholarship will be suspended throughout the duration of any enquiry/appeal process.

d. Once the Scholarship has been terminated, it will not be reinstated unless due to University error.

11. Misconduct

a. Where during the Scholarship a student engages in misconduct, or other inappropriate conduct (either during the Scholarship or in connection with the student’s application and eligibility for the Scholarship), which in the opinion of the University warrants recovery of funds provided, the University may require the student to repay payments made in connection with the Scholarship. Examples of such conduct include and without limitation; academic dishonesty, research misconduct within the meaning of the Research Code of Conduct 2023 (for example, plagiarism in proposing, carrying out or reporting the results of research, or failure to declare or manage a serious conflict of interests), breach of the Student Charter 2020 and misrepresentation in the application materials or other documentation associated with the Scholarship.

b. The University may require such repayment at any time during or after the Scholarship period. In addition, by accepting this Scholarship, the student consents to all aspects of any investigation into misconduct in connection with this Scholarship being disclosed by the University to the funding body and/or any relevant professional body.

12. Student Deed Poll

a. The successful recipient of this Scholarship must complete the Student Deed Poll supplied by the University of Sydney.

13. Participants Agreement

a. The terms and conditions of the scholarship follow the Participants Agreement (the Agreement) for the ARC Centre of Excellence for Dark Matter Particle Physics between The University of Melbourne (Administering Organisation), Australian National University, Swinburne University of Technology, The University of Adelaide, The University of Western Australia and The University of Sydney (The Parties) to conduct activities in accordance with the Agreement, Application and the relevant Grant Agreement (the Activities).

14. Confidentiality

a. The Scholarship recipient is required to keep all confidential information disclosed by any of the Party confidential unless strictly required otherwise by law.

b. The Scholarship recipient cannot use any Confidential Information in any way other than for the Activities or as otherwise contemplated by this Agreement without the prior written permission of the Disclosing Party.

15. Privacy

a. The Scholarship recipient agrees to use Personal Information for the purposes of fulfilling its obligations under this Agreement and in accordance with the Privacy Act 1988 (Cth) and any State privacy legislation as relevant (Privacy Act).

b. The Scholarship recipient must comply with the Information Privacy Principles contained in the Privacy Act governing the collection, security, access, data quality, relevance, use and disclosure of personal information to the extent that those principles apply to the activities undertaken under this Agreement.

c. The Scholarship recipient needs to acknowledge that they cannot transfer personal information held in connection with this Agreement outside of Australia or allow parties outside Australia to have access to it, without the Commonwealth’s prior approval.

16. Publications

a. Prior to publication, the scholarship recipient must make sure that any proposed publication relating to the Activities (Publication) must be submitted to the respective Party whose Confidential Information may be incorporated into the Publication or whose Intellectual Property rights could be prejudiced or compromised by the Publication (Consent Parties).

b. Within 30 (thirty) days of receiving a Publication, each Consent Party (which includes the scholarship recipient) may:

I. consent in writing to the Publication; or
II. advise the party who submitted the Publication that the Publication should not proceed in its current form because it may cause disclosure of valuable Intellectual Property which would compromise protection or Commercialisation of such Intellectual Property or of Confidential Information, and the Consent Party must also advise what steps are reasonably necessary prior to the Publication proceeding (including suggesting amendments to the Publication) to ensure that Intellectual Property and/or Confidential Information is not compromised.

c. Publications may only proceed once all Consent Parties’ written consents have been obtained. The failure of a Consent Party to respond within the 30 (thirty) day period specified in clause 16(b) will be deemed to constitute written consent to the relevant Publication for the purposes of this clause 16(c).

d. Details of all publications must be reported to the Chief Operating Officer and the Centre Director.

17. Acknowledgement

a. The Scholarship recipient agrees that it will acknowledge another Party’s contribution in any publication or public disclosure made in respect of the Activities.

b. All Research Outputs must acknowledge the role of the ARC as a major provider of funding for the Centre. The metadata of all Research Outputs must include the ARC Project ID (CE200100008), list the ARC as a funding source and contain a DOI, or URL link where a DOI is not available.

c. The Scholarship recipient agrees that it will acknowledge the Centre in any publication or public disclosure in respect of the Activities with the following statement or as otherwise agreed to with the Executive Committee:

“This research was supported by the Australian Research Council Centre of Excellence for Dark Matter Particle Physics (Project IDCE200100008)”

d. The ARC’s contribution and support of the Centre must be acknowledged (wherever possible) by the Parties (which includes scholarship recipient) at any time during or after completion of the Centre, when the Parties or the researchers or any other party publishes, produces or is involved in promotional material, such as books, articles, television or radio programs, electronic and social media, newsletters or other literary or artistic works which relate to the Centre. Such acknowledgement must be in a prominent place and an appropriate form acceptable to the ARC. Similar efforts should be made when publicly speaking about a Centre. Advice on acceptable forms of acknowledgement and use of the logo is provided on the ARC’s website.

e. The Scholarship recipient agrees that all Research Outputs must be made openly accessible in accordance with the ARC Open Access Policy.

18. Thesis

a. The Scholarship recipient agrees to deposit in the University library a copy of completed thesis or work submitted for a higher degree.

b. Any restrictions on the right of a Scholarship recipient to publish the thesis will only be such as are reasonably necessary to protect the Background Intellectual Property of the Parties, the Centre Intellectual Property and Project Intellectual Property and Confidential Information of the Centre or a Party provided that and any restrictions on publication of the outcomes will not extend beyond 18 months from the time of submission of the thesis.