CONSIDERING HONOURS, A PhD OR A POST-DOC?
THIS IS A BIT OUTDATED. FOR RECENT INFO ON PHDS TRY HERE AND HERE
Here is basic information on becoming a member of the J Lab @ EEG, Research School of BIology, ANU.
Read first then, if you have questions, just email me.
Honours Students
If you want to do Honours come and chat. I won't bite. I can help you design a research project.
Australian & New Zealand PhD Students
You will be in the Graduate Program in Ecology, Evolution & Genetics. With a 1st class honours you are basically guaranteed PhD funding (if you can find a supervisor) by the ANU. Your fees are paid and you get $34 000+ a year (tax free) to live on for 3.5 years.
International PhD Students
Hola! Bom Dia! Howzit! Moi! Sawubona! Bon jour! Guten Tag! Ciao! Dumela!
1. You can apply for an IPRS scholarship. Unfortunately, these are incredibly competitive. You need a very strong track record (i.e. very high undergraduate marks and prizes ; or an MSc and a paper or two submitted). If you think you have one then contact me and attach your CV and grades (unofficial version is fine to start). I'll give you my honest assessment.
2. Look for funding from your home country. Many Latin American (we now have Chileans, Mexicans, Colombians and Brazilians in the department - which led to the classic party line "Uh Oh the Latinos have taken over the sound system'), and Asian countries have overseas PhD schemes.
Post-doctoral Fellows
Please contact me directly. Before you do so, there are three thing:
1. There are no ANU post-doctoral fellowships. Unless you see an advert, I can't afford to hire you. You need to get your own money. Sorry.
2. The main source of local funding is the Australian Research Council (ARC). Any nationality can apply for their 3 year Post-doctoral fellowships (DECRAs). These provide a very good salary and come with their own research money too. You won't be my lackey - but hopefully we can work together. The downside is that DECRAs are fiercely competed for. Our experience is that, unless you are very experienced in grant-writing, it is necessary to work closely with us if you are to have a chance of succeeding. Check out the ARC website. As a rule of thumb, you need at least six publications before it is worth applying. Contact me if you have ideas for a project and want to discuss how to develop it into a DECRA application.
3. Check out funding in your country. Many governments/benefactors fund overseas post-docs. They often encourage it. In Canada, NSERC provides funding for two years of post-doctoral study overseas. There are similar schemes run by the E.U. Off hand, I know of schemes run by the Swiss, Dutch, Swedes, Finns and Norwegians. Start looking and come to sunny Australia.
Here is basic information on becoming a member of the J Lab @ EEG, Research School of BIology, ANU.
Read first then, if you have questions, just email me.
Honours Students
If you want to do Honours come and chat. I won't bite. I can help you design a research project.
Australian & New Zealand PhD Students
You will be in the Graduate Program in Ecology, Evolution & Genetics. With a 1st class honours you are basically guaranteed PhD funding (if you can find a supervisor) by the ANU. Your fees are paid and you get $34 000+ a year (tax free) to live on for 3.5 years.
International PhD Students
Hola! Bom Dia! Howzit! Moi! Sawubona! Bon jour! Guten Tag! Ciao! Dumela!
1. You can apply for an IPRS scholarship. Unfortunately, these are incredibly competitive. You need a very strong track record (i.e. very high undergraduate marks and prizes ; or an MSc and a paper or two submitted). If you think you have one then contact me and attach your CV and grades (unofficial version is fine to start). I'll give you my honest assessment.
2. Look for funding from your home country. Many Latin American (we now have Chileans, Mexicans, Colombians and Brazilians in the department - which led to the classic party line "Uh Oh the Latinos have taken over the sound system'), and Asian countries have overseas PhD schemes.
Post-doctoral Fellows
Please contact me directly. Before you do so, there are three thing:
1. There are no ANU post-doctoral fellowships. Unless you see an advert, I can't afford to hire you. You need to get your own money. Sorry.
2. The main source of local funding is the Australian Research Council (ARC). Any nationality can apply for their 3 year Post-doctoral fellowships (DECRAs). These provide a very good salary and come with their own research money too. You won't be my lackey - but hopefully we can work together. The downside is that DECRAs are fiercely competed for. Our experience is that, unless you are very experienced in grant-writing, it is necessary to work closely with us if you are to have a chance of succeeding. Check out the ARC website. As a rule of thumb, you need at least six publications before it is worth applying. Contact me if you have ideas for a project and want to discuss how to develop it into a DECRA application.
3. Check out funding in your country. Many governments/benefactors fund overseas post-docs. They often encourage it. In Canada, NSERC provides funding for two years of post-doctoral study overseas. There are similar schemes run by the E.U. Off hand, I know of schemes run by the Swiss, Dutch, Swedes, Finns and Norwegians. Start looking and come to sunny Australia.
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LIVING IN CANBERRA Bill Bryson quoted a Canberran as saying: “The difference between breaking your arm and living in Canberra is that when you break your arm you know it is going to get better”. Are you ready for the challenge? Seriously though, nothing could be further from the truth.
In my honest experience, almost everyone (there are notable exceptions) that spends a year or two here finds it difficult to return to a big city. Open space, bushwalking, lack of traffic and crowds, ready access to museums, decent restaurants, bike tracks and the friendliness of a smaller place makes it hard to let go. Plus in many fields, the ANU is the best research Uni in Australia. The downsides (full disclosure) are limited public transport and - even though there is ethnic diversity - the slight feel of a homogenous company town of middle class folk. Living in Canberra is easy - no endless commuting, no long queues and very little crime. Big cities seem to offer more but, in practice, how often do you drive across town to queue for a ticket to an event taking place in two months time? In Canberra there are fewer options, but there is almost always the possibility to buy a ticket the day before. I continually miss going to see good music, not because they were sold out but because I am getting old and lazy. But you are young. I also bet the average Canberran goes to, say, the art gallery more often than the average Big City dweller. Why? Because you can get parking and its 10 minutes by car or 30 min by bike. The hours you save commuting and fighting for space in a big city give you more time to focus on your studies (or partying, or sleeping - your choice). Remember though that Canberra is not that small. The population is 400 000+, and many embassies are located here so it is big enough to cater for, say, a large art house cinema complex. Once you know where to go, you have access to a wealth of restaurants, shops, art galleries and music venues. The many Embassies continually host film shows, cultural event and so on. The links below offer more information |
Canberra Links
Virtual Tour of Canberra Canberra Tourist Board Lonely Planet Guide to Canberra What's On in Canberra Canberra Weather Dendy ArtHouse Cinema Palace Electric Cinema (lots of film festivals and 10 min walk from Departmant BMJ: Local Music Magazine Tilley's Devine Cafe The Australian Botanical Gardens (5 minutes walk from Department) National Gallery of Australia (great collection & fun modern stuff) Nearby Snowy Mountains (2-3 h drive) Eurobodalla Coast (2-3 hour drive) Sapphire Coast (2-3 h drive) Braidwood (1 h drive - stopover on way to the Coast) Sydney (3 hours - cheap buses run from early until late) |
Surrounding areas
The Snowy Mountains are two hours drive away. There is great skiing is winter and alpine walking in summer.
The ocean is only two and half hours away (in Australia that is next door). The Eurobodalla and Sapphire coastline are noted for their relative undeveloped state and natural beauty. Whale watching is easy. I saw one from the car last time I was in Tathra.
Missing the Big City? If you want to stare at a seething mass of stressed humanity dressed in black and drinking lattes, Sydney (which is not the Capital of Australia) is under 300 km away. After two days there, however, you'll be sick of the noise and want to get back to Canberra.
The ocean is only two and half hours away (in Australia that is next door). The Eurobodalla and Sapphire coastline are noted for their relative undeveloped state and natural beauty. Whale watching is easy. I saw one from the car last time I was in Tathra.
Missing the Big City? If you want to stare at a seething mass of stressed humanity dressed in black and drinking lattes, Sydney (which is not the Capital of Australia) is under 300 km away. After two days there, however, you'll be sick of the noise and want to get back to Canberra.