Become a leader in your field, advance your career and make a positive impact when you study a research degree at the Deakin Institute for Citizenship and Globalisation. You’ll work alongside some of the world’s best researchers, with unique access to facilities that no other university can offer.
Why study with us?
The Deakin Institute for Citizenship and Globalisation fosters the study of complex social problems from diverse academic perspectives in a vibrant research environment that supports excellence, innovation and collaboration. Our institute offers a rich program of both theoretical and applied research.
We support our members through mentoring and training schemes, helping to develop career pathways for early-career researchers and doctoral students. We embrace new ways of thinking about and studying social phenomena, drawing our membership from diverse disciplines and areas of study. We are committed to leading high-impact knowledge creation that has a meaningful and measurable effect on lived human experiences.
The core fields of research at the Deakin Institute for Citizenship and Globalisation include anthropology, criminology, political science, sociology, curatorial studies, history, philosophy and religion. However, we welcome expressions of interest from potential HDR students from these fields and beyond.
Our research aligns with four key streams:
- People, Place, Heritage
- Governance, Development and Peace
- Mobilities, Diversity and Multiculturalism
- Culture, Environment and Science.
Members of these streams come from various schools and faculties across Deakin, contributing to a diverse and varied research landscape.
Current Opportunities
Critical phenomenology of race
Key details
Project Supervisor
Deakin school and faculty
- School of Humanities and Social Sciences
- Alfred Deakin Institute for Citizenship and Globalisation
- Faculty of Arts and Education
Location
Melbourne Burwood Campus
Value and duration
This scholarship is available over three years and offers:
- a stipend of $35,550 per annum tax exempt (2025 rate)
- a relocation allowance of $500–1,500 (for single to family) for students moving from interstate
- up to $5,000 conference assistance, $3,500 fieldwork assistance and $1,600 completion assistance (Faculty of Arts and Education)
- $1,000 Alfred Deakin Institute grant
For international students, the awardee will also receive:
- tuition fees offset for the duration of four years
- single Overseas Student Health Cover policy for the duration of the student visa
Research aim
A full PhD scholarship is available as part of the ARC-funded Discovery Early Career Research Award (DECRA) project, No place like home? A phenomenology of racialised non-belonging, led by Deakin philosopher Dr Helen Ngo. This project aims to deepen our understanding of racialised otherness and uncanniness through the concepts of ‘place’ and ‘home’, reframing racism as not only a political problem but an ontological one.
Drawing on critical phenomenology, you will examine how racism is lived as a form of alienation—from one’s own body, from place and from a sense of belonging. The project will extend this by developing a philosophical account of alienation as a mode of feeling ‘not at home’, while examining the ontological necessity, precarity and variability of the home. Developing this in the settler–colonial Australian context, this project will investigate how alienation is experienced by those racialised in different but connected ways and examine the practices of home-making that racialised communities have developed in the face of racism’s persistence.
You will engage with the emerging field of the critical phenomenology of race, contributing analyses of how racialisation shapes lived experience—potentially through embodiment, temporality, place, language, affect, (inter)subjectivity, community and politics. While the specific focus is flexible, the project must intersect and engage with the theme of racialised alienation.
Your research should offer philosophical insights on the advantages and limitations of critical phenomenology as a conceptual framework for investigating and intervening in socio-political injustice more broadly. The project should engage methodologies that centre the perspectives and knowledges of First Nations people and people of colour in order to develop an account that is both theoretically innovative and does justice to the lived experiences of racial violence.
Am I eligible?
To be eligible you must:
- meet Deakin’s PhD entry requirements
- hold an honours degree (first class) or an equivalent standard master’s degree with a substantial research component
Please refer to the research degree entry pathways page for further information.
Additional desirable criteria include:
- a tertiary degree in philosophy or demonstrated familiarity and facility with philosophical phenomenology, existentialism and critical philosophy of race
Embedding net zero carbon emissions
Key details
Project Supervisor
Additional Supervision
- Dr Christopher Mayes
- Dr Kari Dahlgren (Monash)
Deakin school and faculty
Location
Melbourne Burwood Campus
Value and duration
This scholarship is available over three years and offers:
- stipend of $35,500 per annum, tax exempt (2025 rate) for three years
- relocation allowance of $500–1500 (for single to family) for students moving from interstate
- international students only: Single Overseas Student Health Cover policy for the duration of your student visa.
Research aim
The global shift toward “net zero” carbon emissions is transforming economies, governance and everyday life, with significant implications for the future. Since 2020, over 140 countries and 80% of the world’s largest public companies have pledged to reach net zero by 2050 or 2070. In Australia, federal, state and territory governments, along with nearly 90% of ASX200 companies, have committed to net zero targets by 2050 or earlier.
This ARC Discovery Project, Embedding Net Zero Carbon Emissions in Northern Australia, brings together expertise in anthropology, public policy, and science and technology studies (STS) to critically investigate how the net zero paradigm is being implemented and experienced on the ground.
The core aim of this research is to examine how the promises and contradictions of net zero policies are embedded in place through industrial infrastructures in northern Australia, and how local communities interpret, negotiate and evaluate their value at local, national and global scales.
By focusing on northern Australia — a key site where net zero-related policies, industries and practices intersect — this project will provide new insights into how climate agendas are locally interpreted and enacted. Expected outcomes include a deeper understanding of the social and political dynamics surrounding net zero implementation, and the potential opportunities and challenges this creates for governments, industry and affected communities.
As part of this project we are recruiting a PhD candidate to undertake an ethnographic study on the implementation of net zero in northern Australia. The specific research topic will be developed collaboratively with the supervisory team but may focus on areas such as renewable energy, oil and gas, or emissions abatement. The candidate will be expected to draw on conceptual frameworks and methods from anthropology and STS to explore how government policy is embedded and enacted in place.
Am I eligible?
To be eligible you must:
- be a domestic or international candidate. Domestic includes candidates with Australian Citizenship, Australian Permanent Residency or New Zealand Citizenship.
- meet Deakin’s PhD entry requirements
- enrol full time
- hold an honours degree (first class) or an equivalent standard masters degree with a substantial research component.
Chinese politics of Covid-19
Key details
Project Supervisor
Deakin school and faculty
- School of Humanities and Social Sciences
- Alfred Deakin Institute for Citizenship and Globalisation
- Faculty of Arts and Education
Location
Melbourne Burwood Campus
Value and duration
This scholarship is available over three years and offers:
- a stipend of $35,550 per annum tax exempt (2025 rate)
- a relocation allowance of $500–1,500 (for single to family) for students moving from interstate
- up to $5,000 conference assistance, $3,500 fieldwork assistance and $1,600 completion assistance (Faculty of Arts and Education)
- $1,000 Alfred Deakin Institute grant
For international students, the awardee will also receive:
- tuition fees offset for the duration of four years
- single Overseas Student Health Cover policy for the duration of the student visa
Research aim
A full PhD scholarship is available as part of the ARC-funded Discovery Early Career Research Award (DECRA) project, No place like home? A phenomenology of racialised non-belonging, led by Deakin philosopher Dr Helen Ngo. This project aims to deepen our understanding of racialised otherness and uncanniness through the concepts of ‘place’ and ‘home’, reframing racism as not only a political problem but an ontological one.
Drawing on critical phenomenology, you will examine how racism is lived as a form of alienation—from one’s own body, from place and from a sense of belonging. The project will extend this by developing a philosophical account of alienation as a mode of feeling ‘not at home’, while examining the ontological necessity, precarity and variability of the home. Developing this in the settler–colonial Australian context, this project will investigate how alienation is experienced by those racialised in different but connected ways and examine the practices of home-making that racialised communities have developed in the face of racism’s persistence.
You will engage with the emerging field of the critical phenomenology of race, contributing analyses of how racialisation shapes lived experience—potentially through embodiment, temporality, place, language, affect, (inter)subjectivity, community and politics. While the specific focus is flexible, the project must intersect and engage with the theme of racialised alienation.
Your research should offer philosophical insights on the advantages and limitations of critical phenomenology as a conceptual framework for investigating and intervening in socio-political injustice more broadly. The project should engage methodologies that centre the perspectives and knowledges of First Nations people and people of colour in order to develop an account that is both theoretically innovative and does justice to the lived experiences of racial violence.
Am I eligible?
To be eligible you must:
- meet Deakin’s PhD entry requirements
- hold an honours degree (first class) or an equivalent standard master’s degree with a substantial research component
Please refer to the research degree entry pathways page for further information.
Additional desirable criteria include:
- a tertiary degree in philosophy or demonstrated familiarity and facility with philosophical phenomenology, existentialism and critical philosophy of race
The effectiveness of authoritarian sharp power online in influencing diaspora groups
Key details
Project supervisor
Deakin school and faculty
School of Humanities and Social Sciences
Alfred Deakin Institute for Citizenship and Globalisation
Faculty of Arts and Education
Additional supervisors
Dr Nicholas Morieson (Deakin)
Dr John Betts (Monash)
Dr Ana-Maria Bliuc (Dundee)
Location
Melbourne Burwood Campus
Value and duration
This scholarship is available over three years and offers:
- a stipend of $35,550 per annum tax exempt (2025 rate)
- a relocation allowance of $500–1500 (for single to family) for students moving from interstate
Research aim
Sharp power refers to the strategic efforts of authoritarian regimes to shape public perceptions, manipulate discourse and exert influence in foreign societies, often through deceptive or coercive means. Despite the increasing prevalence of state-backed online influence campaigns, there is limited empirical research on its scope and mechanisms in influencing diaspora groups.
This project aims to examine the authoritarian sharp power online in influencing diaspora groups by systematically identifying its dissemination mechanisms, target communities and impact on online discourse. Specifically, this research will develop a systematic framework for detecting and categorising sharp power messaging online, identify key actors, source countries and target diaspora communities, and analyse the pathways through which sharp power messages spread within diaspora networks.
In this project you will develop a systematic framework for detecting and analysing sharp power influence on diaspora networks through online platforms. You will focus on:
- developing a framework to detect and categorise sharp power messaging
- mapping key state and non-state actors, source countries and targeted diaspora groups
- analysing platforms and pathways of message dissemination
- assessing how sharp power alters tone, framing and ideology in online discourse
- evaluating the impact on political attitudes and behaviours in diaspora communities
- comparing sharp power content with broader political discourse to identify unique traits
Am I eligible?
To be eligible you must:
- be a domestic candidate
- meet Deakin’s PhD entry requirements
- enrol full time
- hold an honours degree (first class) or an equivalent standard master’s degree with a substantial research component
Please refer to the research degree entry pathways page for further information.
Additional desirable criteria include:
- political science/social psychology knowledge, particularly regarding propaganda, dissemination of social influence, and diaspora engagement
- web scraping and data collection experience for online media analysis
- social network analysis (SNA) skills to map digital influence patterns
- programming skills (Python or R) with a foundational understanding of mathematical and statistical methods
- experience with natural language processing (text mining)
- sentiment analysis would be an advantage, but not essential
Humanitarian migrants' settlement in Australia: A longitudinal study
Key details
Project supervisor
Deakin school and faculty
School of Humanities and Social Sciences
Alfred Deakin Institute for Citizenship and Globalisation
Faculty of Arts and Education
Location
Geelong Waurn Ponds Campus
Value and duration
This scholarship is available over three years and offers:
- a stipend of $35,550 per annum tax exempt (2025 rate)
- a relocation allowance of $500–1,500 (for single to family) for students moving from interstate
For international students, the awardee will also receive:
- tuition fees offset for the duration of four years
- single Overseas Student Health Cover policy for the duration of the student visa
Research aim
Using multiple rounds of panel data from the Building a New Life in Australia (BNLA) survey and longitudinal techniques, this project will address the following key research objectives, which are central to our understanding of humanitarian migrants’ settlement:
- investigating the economic settlement outcomes of humanitarian migrants
- examining the sociocultural settlement outcome of humanitarian migrants
- investigating the political settlement outcome of humanitarian migrants
- examining access to and use of government and non-government services and welfare benefits and their contribution to the settlement of humanitarian migrants
This scholarship also offers the opportunity to learn about and gain experience in data handling, analysis, and publication of large-scale epidemiological studies.
Background information
Over the last 20 years, there has been an unprecedented increase in humanitarian migrants all over the globe. The limited available evidence suggests humanitarian migrants settle less successfully than other migrants. Despite global attention and huge expenditure of public funds, there appears to be little progress in improving the settlement outcomes of humanitarian migrants.
Part of this gap is due to the shortage of quality data. Additionally, previous work on humanitarian migrants’ settlement has been limited by the use of cross-sectional data, which fails to produce causal associations and misses the complexity of changes in settlement patterns over time.
Am I eligible?
To be eligible you must:
- meet Deakin’s PhD entry requirements
- enrol full time
- hold an honours degree (first class) or an equivalent standard master’s degree with a substantial research component
Please refer to the research degree entry pathways page for further information.
Additional desirable criteria include:
- having an honours, masters or equivalent in social sciences with priority given to those with experience within the following fields: demography, economics, epidemiology, sociology of health and biostatistics/medical statistics
- having experience with quantitative statistics software (SAS/SPSS)
Youth futures after mobility
Key details
Project supervisor
Additional supervision
Professor Loretta Baldassar (Edith Cowan University)
Deakin school and faculty
School of Humanities and Social Sciences
Faculty of Arts and Education
Location
Value and duration
This scholarship is available over three years and offers:
- stipend of $35,550 per annum tax exempt (2025 rate)
- relocation allowance of $500–1500 (for single to family) for students moving from interstate
Research aim
The project is a multi-method longitudinal study of transnationally mobile youth and their transitions to adulthood, led by Professor Anita Harris (Deakin University) and Professor Loretta Baldassar (Edith Cowan University). YFAM will investigate what helps and hinders the social and economic integration of young people after living abroad. It builds on and extends the Youth Mobilities, Aspirations & Pathways Project (YMAP), which investigated how mobility shapes young people’s economic, social and civic aspirations, opportunities and outcomes. YFAM now considers challenges and opportunities for transnationally mobile youth as they age, face decisions about remaining or returning and seek to settle.
The two scholarship projects available are:
Comparison of Mobile Youth (quantitative). This PhD project will involve comparison of mobile youth pre and post Covid, using the existing project data set and collecting comparative quantitative data from a new youth cohort. The specific focus of the project can be on any topic related to YFAM’s investigation of transnationally mobile youth and their experiences and aspirations regarding transition and settling.
Mobile Youth, Transitions and Settling (mixed methods or qualitative). This PhD project can be on any topic related to YFAM’s focus on transnationally mobile youth and their experiences and aspirations regarding transition and settling after mobility, including in conditions of ongoing mobilities. We welcome innovative research proposals that align with YFAM while bringing fresh perspectives to migration and youth studies research.
Am I eligible?
To be eligible you must:
- be a domestic candidate. Domestic includes candidates with Australian Citizenship, Australian Permanent Residency or New Zealand Citizenship
- meet Deakin’s PhD entry requirements
- be enrolling full time and hold an honours degree (first class) or an equivalent standard master’s degree with a substantial research component
Additional desirable criteria include:
Project one
- quantitative research skills, including ability to recruit and maintain a new and large mobile youth cohort
- survey administration
- training in suitable techniques and software for quantitative data collection, management, coding and comparative analysis
- a background in sociology, anthropology, education, cultural studies, social geography or cognate discipline
Project two
- quantitative and/or mixed methods research skills
- a background in sociology, anthropology, education, cultural studies, social geography or cognate discipline
How to apply for a research degree
Choosing to pursue a research degree or PhD at Deakin is an exciting step forward. We know the application process can feel overwhelming, but don’t worry – we’re here to guide you through every stage.
Discover PhD student experiences
Abraham Kuol is an Associate Research Fellow and PhD Candidate at the Deakin Institute for Citizenship and Globalization at the School of Humanities and Social Sciences at Deakin University. His research explores the post settlement challenges of African Australians with a focus on justice system contact. Abraham Kuol shares his inspirational story of how he came to study graduate research at Deakin and how he hopes his story will inspire others in his community to dare to dream.
