This grant is awarded biennially to one Europe-based researcher who has defended their PhD thesis in the discipline of Australian Studies in the last two calendar years, starting with 2025. This means that 2027 constitutes the first grant year.

The Awarding Body
The Grant is awarded by the EASA Grant Committee which consists of five standing members of the EASA. The EASA Grant Committee members are subject to change.

The Grant
The successful applicant will receive €300 and will be expected to attend and prepare a presentation based on their PhD for the next EASA conference, typically held in September or October. Conference attendance will be free of charge. In addition, the successful applicant will also be able to attend another EASA conference free of charge. In other words, the successful applicant will be able to attend two successive EASA conferences free of charge (conference fee waiver).

The Purpose of the Grant
We aim to assist and promote the work of young Australian studies researchers by connecting them with senior researches in the field of Australian studies. Apart from the monetary aspect of the Grant, the awardee will have a chance to present their work at two EASA conferences, receive additional feedback on their work and publish it in the EASA journal.

Eligible applicants
Any Europe-based researcher who has successfully defended their thesis in the past two calendar years, i.e., from Jan 2 of one year to Dec 30 of the next year. (e.g., any candidate who defends their PhD thesis during 2025 or 2026 is eligible to apply for the EASA PhD Excellence Grant in 2027).
The applicants do not have to be members of the EASA.

Procedure
The applicants must provide the following three documents in .PDF format:

  • PhD thesis;
  • Summary (max. 1500 words) stating aims, methodology and results; and
  • Supervisor’s report (c. 250 words) stating in brief the relevance of the applicant’s PhD thesis.

Please rename documents to contain your name followed by the tags: _PhD_EASAGrant; _Summary_EASAGrant; _Report_EASAGrant. (e.g., John Doe_PhD_EASAGrant.pdf)

Documents must be emailed to the Committee at easa.grant@gmail.com by March 15.

Deadlines

  • Grant documents must be submitted via email by March 15 of the grant year at the latest;
  • The EASA Grant Committee will reach its decision by the end of July of the grant year to enable the awardee to prepare for the upcoming EASA conference typically held in September or October.
  • All applicants are informed about the outcome of the PhD Excellence Grant application process via email.

Awarding Ceremony
The successful applicant will receive their Certificate of Excellence at the closing ceremony of the next in-person EASA conference. The monetary grand will be transferred to the applicant’s account in the grant year.

For further enquiries, please email the Committee at easa.grant@gmail.com.