Macquarie University Research Fellowships (MQRF)

Up to ten full-time Research Fellowships commencing in 2025 will be awarded on a competitive basis, and will be tenurable for three years. The salary range for the Fellowship will be awarded to commence at step 6 of Level A of the Academic Salary Scale, plus annual leave loading and 17% employer superannuation.

These salary levels will be adjusted in line with movements in the Academic Salary Scale. Salaries commencing above an A6 cannot be supported by the Fellowship, however supplementation by the host Department may be negotiated.

All Macquarie University assessment panels are governed by the policies and procedures of Macquarie University, including the Equity, Diversity and Inclusion Policy. A commitment is made to ensure gender equity of our internal awards.

• Applicants are eligible only if their PhD has been conferred on or after 1 March 2021; or their thesis was submitted on or before 31 December 2023. The Fellowship cannot commence until the PhD has been conferred, which must be by 30 June 2025.
• Applicants who do not meet the eligibility criterion set out above (PhD awarded prior to 1 March 2021), must make a convincing case for early career researcher status in their application.  Circumstances establishing early career status could include career interruptions due to non-research employment, debilitating illness, childbirth, international relocation, disaster management, unemployment, misadventure or carer responsibilities.
• Each period of career interruption must be significant, extending for a period of greater than 60 calendar days, and not overlapping. Shortlisted applicants will be required to provide evidence of their  career interruption (see career disruption calculator under resources below).
• Fellows must be in full-time attendance at Macquarie University for the entire term of the Fellowship, except for approved field work and travel.
• Applicants who were/are PhD candidates at Macquarie University, or who have had full-time, part-time, or casual employment at Macquarie University since the beginning of 2021 must make a case their application for why it is appropriate for them to continue or recommence their research career at Macquarie University.
• Applicants may be subject to review under the Autonomous Sanctions Act 2011 (Cth). This Act restricts Australian organisations (including Macquarie University) from interacting with people or organisations associated with countries on the sanctions list.
• Applicants for any Macquarie University internal grant scheme must not have any overdue reports for internal grants on which they are a current or past lead investigator.

• Applications will only be accepted on the MQRF Application Template Forms via Workday.
• Applicants must submit the MQRF Forms and all required attachments by 8 April 2024.
• Incomplete applications will be deemed ineligible and not reviewed by the panel.
• Extensions of submission date or changes to the application following the scheme closing date will not be accepted.
• Hard copy applications will not be accepted.
• Emailed applications will not be accepted.
• By submitting the application and associated attachments you confirm you have read and agreed to the policy terms set out on pages 12-13 of these Guidelines in relation to:
  • MQ Privacy Policy
  • MQ Human Ethics, Animal Ethics and Biosafety Committees
  • MQ Research Integrity
  • MQ Intellectual Property
• Applications not complying with the above and the funding rules, or without all required documentation attached (as specified in the form and these guidelines) will be ruled ineligible and not be reviewed by the panel.

• Applications, including all requested forms, must be submitted electronically in Workday. Applications that fail to satisfy this requirement will be deemed ineligible.
• Applications will be screened for eligibility and compliance. Complying applications from eligible applicants will be assessed in a multi-stage process:
  1. Stage One Assessment, by a panel of Faculty-based discipline experts who recommend applications for the second round of assessment;
  2. Stage Two Assessment, if shortlisted for consideration by the Faculty-based panel (stage one), applications will be assessed by either a STEMM or HASS-based central panel who will shortlist applicants for interview.
  3. Stage Three Assessment, twenty applicants will be invited to interview, at which point applicants will be asked to submit references and other supporting materials (if applicable). As part of the interview process, interviewees will be required to give a 5 minute presentation to the interview panel (slide templates will be provided) as well as undertake a broader interview with research leaders and discipline experts.
  4. Of the twenty applicants who undertake an interview, ten applicants will be offered a Fellowship and will join the incredible research environment at Macquarie University.

• Opening Date: Monday 4 March 2024
• Closing Date: Monday 8 April 2024 
• Outcomes Expected: July/August 2024

Guidelines

• MQRF Funding Guidelines
• Applicant Guide 
• Sponsor Guide

Application forms

• MQRF Full Application Form 
• MQRF CV Template 

Workday Job Advertisements

Apply to the Faculty job advertisement that corresponds to the Faculty your sponsor is employed.

• Faculty of Arts
• Macquarie Business School
• Faculty of Medicine, Health and Human Sciences
• Faculty of Science and Engineering

The application consists of the following three documents:

• Completed MQRF 2025 Application Form and Project Description (combined as a single PDF)
• Completed CV and Research Opportunity Form
• Evidence of PhD conferral (if awarded) or thesis submission date.

Applications, including all requested forms, must be submitted electronically in the Macquarie University HR portal, Workday, into the ‘Resume and Cover letter’ section. Note that there is no additional resume or cover letter required; only the three documents listed below should be uploaded. Applications not submitted through Workday or missing any of the three above documents will be deemed ineligible.

Note that in Workday you will be asked to complete some of the same information as is contained in the CV and Research Opportunity Form. This is to pre-populate data in the Macquarie HR system that will be retained if you are appointed as an MQRF, or if you apply to Macquarie University in the future for other appointments.

Toolkit

• Eligibility Checklist
• Career Disruption Calculator
• Frequently Asked Questions
• Discipline Norms

Webinar

• Webinar Slides
• Webinar Recording (YouTube)

MQRF Webinars

Applicants are recommended attend one of the below six webinars. Each webinar will be the same content, but there is ample time for questions.

We understand applicants are on different timezones and have flexible working arrangements so we have scheduled the webinars across varying times and days. If applicants are unable to attend a webinar the slides and a recording of one webinar will be available here, noting the recording does not include the questions asked and answered in the live webinar.

All applicants must also read the Funding Guidelines and Toolkit documents.

Webinar 1
Date: Wednesday 28 February 2024
Time: 9:30-10:30 (AEDT)
Location: Zoom, https://macquarie.zoom.us/j/83600512121?pwd=WGx6b2VFdE1hMjVOSDgxL3dBaW94Zz09
Speaker: Courtney Bendall (Research Services)

Webinar 2
Date: Thursday 7 March 2024
Time: 10:30-11:30 (AEDT)
Location: Zoom, https://macquarie.zoom.us/j/83953550310?pwd=Y2lUSHFPa1JoM2ZTSDFaTmdLdkNaUT09
Speaker: Courtney Bendall (Research Services)

Webinar 3
Date: Wednesday 13 March 2024
Time: 11:30-12:30 (AEDT)
Location: Zoom, https://macquarie.zoom.us/j/85608543867?pwd=a0cxdi9qZGM4YTRWeW1DRFlXbStzdz09
Speaker: Courtney Bendall (Research Services)

Webinar 4 - NOTE THIS SESSIONS STARTED LATE DUE TO A TECHNICAL ISSUE. WE APOLOGISE. IF YOU MISSED THE SESSION PLEASE  LOOK AT THE PREVIOUS RECORDING.
Date: Thursday 14 March 2024
Time: 8:30-9:30 (AEDT)
Location: Zoom, https://macquarie.zoom.us/j/83010020650?pwd=U041SHlzd2RqNmtLbTVMZ1hRaUNPUT09
Speaker: Courtney Bendall (Research Services)

Webinar 5
Date: Tuesday 19 March 2024
Time: 12:30-13:30 (AEDT)
Location: Zoom, https://macquarie.zoom.us/j/88106879265?pwd=Z3AxN0p6b2lKRmMyRk1QMk52WHR1QT09
Speaker: Courtney Bendall (Research Services)

Webinar 6
Date: Thursday 21 March 2024
Time: 9:30-10:30 (AEDT)
Location: Zoom, https://macquarie.zoom.us/j/82032193392?pwd=MDltaGNXNTAxUFlLRUROSTFtYjZkUT09
Speaker: Courtney Bendall (Research Services)