Research scholarships

Full project title: Global PhD in island biogeography for plants on a world-wide scale

About the scholarship

We invite applications for a PhD position exploring fundamental questions in island biogeography and evolution.

The successful candidate will investigate:

• speciation and extinction rates on islands
• how island species differ in their traits from continental counterparts
• how these dynamics relate to the islands’ environment.

This research will address questions such as:

1. Speciation and extinction on islands: Do unique aspects of ‘islandness’, such as geographic isolation and habitat specificity, influence the rates of speciation and extinction differently from continental ecosystems? This will involve phylogenetic analysis and requires a solid understanding of trait-based modeling and biodiversity databases.
2. Trait variability between island and continental species: Are there specific traits that differentiate island species, particularly island endemics and radiating lineages, from their continental counterparts? This work involves applying statistical methods to trait data and potentially using machine learning tools to classify island species based on traits.
3. Influence of isolation and area on evolutionary rates: How do island isolation and area shape speciation and extinction rates? Building on previous research, this part aims to extend findings to plant families, requiring advanced data synthesis and collaboration across teams.

This PhD project offers the chance to develop new insights into island biogeography and biodiversity, with access to large trait and phylogenetic databases.

We seek a highly motivated candidate with a strong background in ecology, evolution, or related fields.

Experience with statistical analysis (in R) and phylogenetic methods is a plus.

Availability

This scholarship is available to eligible candidates to undertake a direct entry full time four-year PhD program commencing around 1 April 2025.

Eligibility

Admission and scholarship criteria of both universities must be met:

• For University of Groningen, see entry requirements.
• For Macquarie, see PhD entry and English language requirements, and graduate research scholarship eligibility criteria.

Additional criteria

Applicants must not already:

• hold a doctoral degree; or
• be matriculated for a doctoral degree at the University of Groningen, Macquarie University, or another institution.

Components

The student will be expected to spend the first half of the award term at the University of Groningen and the second half at Macquarie University ie 24 months at each university. The successful candidate will be expected to have completed the doctorate degree by the end of the award term. The award term excludes any extension periods.

The University of Groningen will waive the tuition fees for the full duration of the PhD program. Furthermore, the University of Groningen offers the student in accordance with the Collective Labour Agreement for Dutch Universities:

• a salary of € 2872 gross per month in the first year and € 3345 gross per month in the second year, based on a full-time position
• a holiday allowance of eight per cent gross annual income
• an 8.3 per cent end-of-the-year allowance.

The Macquarie University cotutelle scholarship includes the following components:

• 36-month tuition fee scholarship for Macquarie fees. Note that the student registers to the PhD at the University of Groningen first for 48 months. They register to the equivalent PhD at Macquarie after 12 months for a 36-month period, keeping the program end dates the same at each institution.
• 24-month stipend scholarship at an annual rate of AUD $38,500 (tax exempt, 2025 rate), paid pro-rata for the period spent on campus at Macquarie
• airfare allowance for flights between the Netherlands and Sydney up to AUD $4000.

Unless otherwise specified, the scholarships do not cover:

• any continuation, extension, or resubmission period/fees
• a research training grant or another equivalent award for research expenses
• support for travel, immigration, health insurance and related charges between the partner institutions.

How to apply

Students are to submit their EOIs to:

• Dr Julian Schrader (Macquarie supervisor) at julian.schrader@mq.edu.au
• Professor Rampal Etienne (Groningen supervisor) at r.s.etienne@rug.nl
• and cc gr.globalprograms@mq.edu.au.

Include the following documents:

• CV including information about publications
• transcripts of most relevant/recent degrees
• information about thesis components (thesis mark, word count, weight/length in comparison to the degree overall)
• statement of suitability as a candidate for the project (max 500 words).

The participating schools at the University of Groningen and the Graduate Research Academy at Macquarie in coordination with the academic supervisors will be expected to complete the selection process.

The Graduate School of Science and Engineering at the University of Groningen will work with the Graduate Research Academy at Macquarie to arrange official notification of scholarship awards, invite scholarship awardees to formally apply for admission to both universities by end of January 2025, and conclude contractual arrangements which must be in place prior to the start of the degree.

Students who are nominated for the award will be asked to formally apply for candidature through the Macquarie application portal:

Contact us

Further enquiries about the global PhD scholarships may be addressed to: