Experiences of Master of Research and PhD students
Learn about some of the international experiences that our Graduate Research Academy students have had thanks to the varied international mobility options offered through our international agreements.
Our GRA students conduct research and fieldwork in the areas of criminology, terrorism studies, cyber-security, Intelligence, defence, and strategic studies. International opportunities include applying for university support to visit overseas archives, conduct interviews, present research at international conferences, or engage in participant observation.
Some of our student’s recent international activities include:
Interviewing non-state actors in Lebannon
I started my research journey as a PhD candidate researching the Lebanese political group Hezbollah. My research was based on fieldwork and interviews conducted with Hezbollah members and supporters in Lebanon, which is now published as a book titled Religion and Hezbollah: Political Ideology and Legitimacy (2019).
After obtaining ethics approval and support from SSC I was able to conduct my research analysis and secure primary data sources which were essential for my research.
Travelling and engaging in fieldwork provides a great insight into the complexities and context of which non-state groups operate and flourish.
Dr. Mariam Farida
Studying Basque separatist group, ETA, in the north of Spain
As part of my Master of Research thesis, I travelled to the UK to explore archives in London, Oxford and Cambridge. This gave me a passion for archival research.
For my PhD, I travelled to a small town in the mountains of the Basque Country in the north of Spain. There, I found an archive with hundreds of pages of internal documents from the Basque separatist group, ETA.
I ended up spending three months in the town, collecting documents, studying the Basque language and learning about the culture and political history of the region. Research has given me a unique connection to people and places in different parts of the world, and I look forward to seeing where else it will take me.
Ms. Nell Bennett, PhD candidate
Researching far-right extremism in Canada, Singapore, and the Netherlands
As an undergraduate, I conducted an internship as a research analyst at the International Centre for Political Violence and Terrorism Research in the S. Rajaratnam School of International Studies, Nanyang University, Singapore.
Based on my research into far-right terrorism I was sponsored to travel and speak at several international conferences including the International Network for Hate Studies’ conference in Ontario, Canada, and the VOX-Pol biannual conference on Violent Extremism, Terrorism, and the Internet in Amsterdam.
At Macquarie University I finished a Master of Research and continued to receive funding to travel and speak alongside my lecturers at the Terrorism and Social Media conference at Swansea University, United Kingdom. I am now conducting a joint international PhD in Security Studies and Criminology.
Shared between Macquarie University in Australia and Groningen University in the Netherlands, the international cotutelle program finances my love of learning, conversation, and research with engaging and talented colleagues around the world. International opportunities for academic research can take you anywhere.
Mr. Jade Hutchinson, PhD Candidate