Student Projects & Scholarships

The Perron Institute offers three types of PhD scholarships for domestic and international students under the supervision of Perron Institute researchers. The scholarships include;

  • Kakulas Prestige Scholarships – Kakulas Prestige scholarships for outstanding students who already hold a full RTP scholarship or will hold a scholarship by the time they commence their PhD. This stipend provides a top-up of $10,000 per annum for up to 3.5 years, as well as $5,000 (total) towards research-related travel support over the course of the student’s PhD.
  • Full scholarships – Provide a full stipend of $40,000 per annum for 3.5 years.
  • Enid & Arthur Home Memorial Scholarship –  One full scholarship stipend ($40,000 per annum for 3.5 years) may be offered to a student completing a project with a focus on neuromuscular conditions.

The Kakulas Prestige Scholarships are intended to acknowledge excellence, whereas the full scholarships are intended to support high-quality students who have difficulty accessing conventional scholarship support through universities, in particular students with First Class Honours or an equivalent degree, or who have appropriate work experience.

Timeline

  • Applications are due Friday 31 October 2025, 5pm.

Shortlisted applicants will be invited for an interview (dates will be distributed at a later time.) Applicants will be notified of the outcome of the scholarship review process, no later than the end of January 2026.

Eligibility

  • Domestic and international students intending to commence their PhD under the supervision of a researcher(s) of the Perron Institute are eligible to apply.
  • For a Kakulas Prestige Scholarship, applicants must hold an Australian Government RTP stipend scholarship or other scholarship support through a university at the time they commence their PhDs.
  • The full scholarship and Enid & Arthur Home Memorial scholarship are intended for outstanding students who have not been able to obtain an Australian Government RTP stipend scholarship or equivalent scholarship.
  • Students completing an honours degree who have applied for a RTP stipend and expect to obtain First-Class honours are encouraged to apply for both the Kakulas Prestige and full scholarships.
  • For international students, the Perron Institute scholarships do not include additional funding for tuition fees, visa, or travel-related expenses. The applicant may be eligible to receive a fee-offset scholarship through their enrolling university or may be required to cover these additional fees independently.

While multiple scholarships may be awarded each year, applicants should be aware that the scholarships are awarded competitively and only to students with an outstanding academic record and/or equivalent work experience. The review panel reserve the right to not offer a scholarship scheme should the applicants not meet the eligibility criteria or intended purpose of the scholarship.

To be eligible for these scholarships, you must first select a potential PhD supervisor. Please visit our Research Groups page to identify a supervisor. After selecting, direct all application enquiries to Tara Sharma.

There are currently no unfilled student projects. Please contact the Research Group Heads directly if you have a relevant research interest or project.