Study With Us

Higher Degree Research Students

Who can be a Life Course Centre higher degree by research student?

The Life Course Centre has a mandate to attract, train and retain the next generation of life course academic and industry researchers for Australia. We do this by delivering professional training, mentoring and development opportunities that bring researchers together across disciplines, universities, government and non-government organisations.

Students are invited to be part of the Life Course Centre if:


Get in touch

To study with one of our researchers, you can contact them directly through Our Members.
Alternatively, you can liaise with staff at one of our four nodes listed below.

Current Opportunities

PhD scholarships

Children and families experiencing deep and persistent disadvantage

The University of Western Australia

The WA Node of the Life Course Centre is based at the Telethon Kids Institute and is examining a range of issues relating to the development of children and adolescents facing deep and persistent disadvantage. The successful candidate will work with Associate Processor Hayley Christian, Associate Professor Francis Mitrou and other experienced academics from the Centre. Topics of interest include:

  • reducing childhood inequities in social and emotional well-being
  • how schools can deflect students from developmental trajectories of disadvantage
  • how does the built environment impact on child health inequities
  • place-based interventions to assist families facing disadvantage

Understanding public spaces from young people’s perspective: Identity, territoriality and guardianship

The University of Queensland

Dr Renee Zahnow (r.zahnow@uq.edu.au) is currently advertising for a PhD position associated with her DECRA project: Understanding public spaces from young people’s perspective: Identity, territoriality and guardianship.

Young people frequent public spaces during the course of their everyday lives and may experience public spaces differently than other users. We have a limited understanding of the extent to which young people develop familiarity with public spaces they regularly visit and how this may influence their actions, perceptions and potential guardianship in public spaces. The aim of this PhD would be to address this research gap.

The successful HDR candidate will also be a student member of the ARC Centre of Excellence for Children and Families over the Life Course, which qualifies them to apply for travel grants and attend professional development courses.

The successful candidate must commence by Research Quarter 4, 2021. You should apply at least 3 months prior to the research quarter commencement date. International applicants may need to apply much earlier for visa reasons.

Life events and trajectories of later-life loneliness

The University of Queensland

This PhD would be part of an ARC DECRA, which examines loneliness from a longitudinal and life course perspective. The DECRA project will investigate whether the experiences of different life events may render older Australians more susceptible to a sustained path to increased loneliness and isolation. It will also will innovate by moving the analysis beyond the individual level, incorporating characteristics across households and neighbourhoods. The student will work closely with the advisory team to discuss the details of the PhD project, which will sit within the scope of the DECRA.

An additional top-up scholarship of $5,000 is available to the successful applicant. The successful HDR candidate will also be a student member of the ARC Centre of Excellence for Children and Families over the Life Course, which qualifies them to apply for travel grants and attend professional development courses.

The successful candidate must commence by Research Quarter 3, 2022. You should apply at least 3 months prior to the research quarter commencement date. International applicants may need to apply much earlier for visa reasons.

Improving the experiences of, and outcomes for, Indigenous and non-Indigenous children in Out-of-Home Care (OOHC)

The University of Queensland

This PhD would be part of a larger ARC Linkage project and would require you to apply for a UQ scholarship. If you are interested in this project and want more information, please contact j.povey@uq.edu.au.


Current student research experience

Summer and Winter Scholars

The University of Queensland

The UQ Summer and Winter Research Program provides UQ students with an opportunity to gain research experience working alongside some of the university’s leading academics and researchers.

Participation is open to undergraduate (including honours) and masters by coursework students who are currently enrolled at UQ.

Life Course Centre Researches take students across several schools and institutes at UQ: ISSRSocial SciencePsychology