Scholarships and awards

PhD scholarship: Exploring the genome landscape of heterosis in sorghum

Heterosis, or hybrid vigour, is agronomically very important however the mechanisms of heterosis are poorly understood. Quantitative heterotic traits in sorghum, including yield related traits, are under complex genetic control and have also been shown to interact with chromatin structure, differential gene expression and presence/absence variation. This project will characterise the chromatin structure in sorghum and investigate the association between chromatin type and structural variation, using data identified in the sorghum pan-genome. The project will further identify genomic regions, and candidate genes, associated with heterosis using a large diversity panel, to investigate which portions of the genome contribute to quantitative heterotic traits in sorghum. The candidate genes will be further investigated for differential gene expression between hybrids and parent samples from the diversity panel. Several features of sorghum, including its high genetic diversity, relatively small diploid genome, availability of extensive genomic resources, including a pan-genome, make it an excellent experimental system to explore the genome landscape of heterosis and to explore the impact of structural variation and chromatin type on heterosis. This PhD is based at Warwick, Qld.

More Info

PhD scholarship: Regulators of female reproductive development in cowpea

The formation of the female gametophyte is a regulated sequential process in plants. Meiosis, cell death and mitosis are involved in the elaboration of this important structure, the progenitor of the seed. Previous work has led to the development of a set of female cell-type specific transcriptomes via laser capture microdissection. This has identified a suite of genes for further functional analyses. This project will involve the characterization of a repertoire of genes with the opportunity to examine their functions in transgenic plants. The genes under examination would involve those that impact on pre-fertilization gametophyte development and post fertilization seed initiation. The latter is of particular interest for legume seed yield and quality. This PhD is based at St Lucia, Brisbane.

More Info

Higher Degree by Research scholarships

Are you commencing or continuing a HDR program at QAAFI? Check if you are eligible to apply for the following scholarship and financial options.

When applying for an UQ HDR program, you need to provide evidence to the Graduate School that you have living and tuition funding to support you throughout your entire HDR program. You need to discuss this with your potential HDR advisor when applying for advisor support and potential projects of interest to determine which of the following funding option/s you may be eligible for. Please remember that you need to be invited by QAAFI to complete Graduate School’s HDR admission application and that the outcome of this application will be dependent on whether you successfully secure minimal funding support (Living is at RTP base rate that is indexed annually, tuition offset is Agriculture Band B rate).

If you are a current HDR candidate you will need to investigate and discuss which of the following options may apply to you. Your advisor will need to nominate you for the UQ scholarship if they deem you are competitive enough in consultation with the QAAFI Postgraduate Coordinator.

External scholarships

We strongly encourage you to bring your own funding. You can browse for some external scholarship opportunities via UQ Graduate School’s webpage or other external resources. For the former, click on scholarships for future or current HDR students buttons here graduate-school.uq.edu.au/scholarships

UQ Graduate School Scholarship

Do you have outstanding research potential to be considered for a competitive Graduate School scholarship? Discuss with your potential advisor if they would nominate you or what other funding options might are available.

Scholarship round dates

QAAFI HDR key projects prioritised for UQ Scholarship internal ranking

QAAFI will support UQ scholarship nominees who work on HDR projects that fit within QAAFI’s strategic priority research areas. The principal advisor must initiate the UQ scholarship nomination, and the Graduate School needs to approve HDR admission applications to be eligible for preferential scholarship rankings. For more details visit QAAFI HDR priority projects.

Availability & deadlines
2 rounds per year or varies if out-of-rounds. If living stipend is competitively awarded, then Tuition offset could be nominated for out-of-rounds. Refer to UQ Graduate School’s competitive scholarship rounds.

QAAFI HDR Travel Awards

QAAFI offers Travel Awards to QAAFI enrolled and confirmed Higher Degree by Research (HDR) students for travel to international or domestic scientific conferences. The awards will contribute to attendance costs including registration, airfares, accommodation and other transport. Students can apply as often as rounds are available, but will only be eligible to receive ONE award during their entire HDR degree with QAAFI.

Click to learn full detail about the QAAFI HDR Travel Awards

Undergraduate Research Program

The UQ Student Employability Centre's Undergraduate Research Program is available in twice a year.

Please check the UQ Student Employability Centre website for updates about the program.

View available QAAFI Undergraduate Research Program projects

QAAFI scholarship eligibility requirements

In addition to UQSEC's eligibility requirements, the applicant must meet the following QAAFI requirements:

Have at least one supervisor who is a QAAFI staff member or affiliate;
Be actively enrolled in an undergraduate or masters by coursework program during the Research Scholarship period and can provide evidence of this;
Credit any and all publications arising from the project to QAAFI.

How to apply

Ensure you have read the QAAFI eligibility requirements under QAAFI Scholarship Eligibility Requirements (above) and you are aware of all eligibility and requirements of the application and program. When you submit your application, you are agreeing that you have read and understood the QAAFI's and UQSEC's eligibility requirements.
Find a project that interests you by browsing the current projects, then secure advisor support by contacting them directly by searching our website. If a project is missing, you can contact our researchers directly to discuss potential future opportunities. Please do not submit a UQSEC application until you have secured advisor support and have agreed on a research project together.
To demonstrate your invitation to complete the UQSEC application, you must get mandatory written support from your potential Undergraduate Research Program supervisor, which needs to be submitted as part of your application by UQSEC’s specified deadline. If this evidence is missing, your application will be incomplete and thus will not be assessed.
The support evidence must contain the following details that can be sent from the researcher's email account (PDF file is accepted) or signed on a QAAFI-UQ letterhead:

Applicant's full name and contact information;
Specific recommendations geared towards why the advisor supports this particular student.
The Undergraduate Research Program project title that was in the Advisor’s project submission, as it's a compulsory pre-text field in UQSEC online application form;
Support is available on the condition that the application is successful in being awarded the research scholarship;
Project start date (starting on a Monday or the next working day to avoid public holiday) and expected project period (in weeks);
If the SIPCA (Student Intellectual Property & Confidentiality Agreement) needs to be completed and signed before project commencement.
If this applicant is unsuccessful in the UQSEC-QAAFI funded assessment round, whether advisor/s can fully or co-fund instead.

4. Complete UQSEC online application form by the deadline stated on UQSEC website.