PhD Scholarship: Creating Safer Sport Communities from Rural to Urban Australia La Trobe University in Australia

The La Trobe Rural Health School at La Trobe University is offering a fully funded PhD scholarship as part of the Australian Research Council Discovery Project, "Creating Safer Sport Communities from Rural to Urban Australia" (Safer Sport). This innovative project aims to examine and address gender-based violence across Australian sports communities, with the goal of developing a deep understanding of the gendered nature of violence in these contexts and identifying effective community responses.

Utilizing an interdisciplinary approach, mixed methods, and collaborative co-design, the Safer Sport project seeks to generate a new evidence base, foster international interdisciplinary collaborations, and produce practical guides to enhance the capacity of sport communities across Australia to address gender-based violence. The successful PhD candidate will be based within the La Trobe Rural Health School and will be primarily supervised by Associate Professor Kirsty Forsdike, with co-supervision from one or two members of the Safer Sport research team. For First Nations Australian applicants, the supervisory panel may include Professor Julie Andrews, and there is the option to be based in the Gabra Biik Wurruwila Wutja Indigenous Research Centre.

The scholarship provides a generous stipend of $34,000 per annum for three and a half years to support living costs, a fee relief scholarship for up to four years, and $5,000 in research expenses (including conference attendance). Eligible First Nations Australian applicants may also be considered for the Dennis McDermott Research Scholarship, which offers a stipend top-up of $10,000 per annum and additional research support.

The successful candidate will conduct research that complements and informs the broader Safer Sport Project, culminating in a doctoral thesis that makes a substantial contribution to the field of gender-based violence prevention in sports communities. The project welcomes applications from candidates with a strong academic background in relevant fields such as sociology, public health, or sports science, and especially encourages First Nations Australian applicants. Flexible start dates are available, but successful applicants must be able to commence their studies by 2026.

For more information and to apply, please visit the official scholarship page: Creating Safer Sport Communities PhD Scholarship.