Wine Australia’s PhD and Masters by Research Scholarships

Wine Australia is the single Australian Government statutory service body for the Australian grape and wine community. We support a prosperous Australian grape and wine sector by investing in research and development, building the international and domestic markets, disseminating knowledge, encouraging adoption and protecting the reputation of Australian wine.

We are funded by grape growers and winemakers through levies and user-pays charges, and by the Australian Government, which provides matching funding for research, development, extension and adoption (RD&A) investments.

We focus on extracting the full value of our investments in RD&A for the benefit of our levy payers, the Australian Government, and the wider community. Our investments are guided by the sector’s strategic priorities which are detailed in our Strategic Plan 2020-2025.

Wine Australia offers a PhD and Master by Research scholarship program to help attract postgraduate students to the fields of wine, viticulture and wine business research. We are committed to supporting academic endeavour and encouraging the enthusiasm of the future leaders of oenology, viticulture and wine business researchers to support a prosperous Australian grape and wine community.

Wine Australia offers supplementary scholarships for up to three years full-time PhD study and for up to two years full-time Master by Research study. If the Master by Research candidate upgrades to a PhD, funding may be provided for a third year of study.

Wine Australia reserves the right to determine the base level from which supplementary funding is offered. In most cases PhD and Master supplementary scholarships provide:

• supplementary funding to bring the total student stipend up to the value of $35,000 (GST exclusive) per annum, including funding received through an RTP or other scholarship,
• supplementary funding to bring the total student operating funds up to $10,000 (GST exclusive) per annum, including funding received through an RTP or other scholarship. The operating funds must be spent on costs directly associated with a candidate’s research project.

Part -time awards may be available in certain circumstances. Candidates undertaking part-time study will be eligible for half the funding of a full-time candidate. Part-time PhD candidates may receive funding for up to six years and part-time Master by Research candidates may receive funding for up to three years.

The most outstanding Wine Australia PhD scholarship applicant will receive the Dr Tony Jordan OAM Award, which provides the recipient with additional stipend.

Candidates must:

• be enrolled in or have applied for, a Master of Research or PhD program at an Australian or overseas university, and
• hold, or have applied for, an Australian Government Research Training Program (RTP) Stipend Scholarship or another equivalent stipend scholarship through their host university.
  • A statement to this effect should be included in the online application and if the Scholarship has already been awarded, a copy of the letter of offer should be included with the application. 
• be attending on campus (applies to domestic study only)

The application, selection and offer process for RTP Stipend scholarships and other scholarships is the responsibility of each individual university.

Australian candidates enrolled at an overseas university and overseas candidates enrolled at an Australian university may be eligible for a Wine Australia supplementary scholarship. However, the assessment process will take into greater consideration the merit of the proposed research (i.e. particular discipline or emerging area of research strength) and likely future contribution to the Australian grape and wine sector.

Wine Australia will not support any tuition fees incurred and overseas candidates must also meet the Australian Government Department of Home Affairs policy guidelines.

Overseas candidates enrolled at overseas universities are not eligible.