Subdoctoral postgraduate research and travel awards

Mechanistic insights into the effect of pilocarpine on posterior ocular tissues

School of Optometry and Vision Science

A funded position ($14,346 stipend in 2025 plus the cost of your compulsory fees for study commencing in 2025) is available for a motivated full-time Masters student to conduct an investigation into the effects of a novel eye drop available to treat presbyopia. 

Presbyopia is an age-related condition in which the eye gradually loses its ability to focus on nearby objects, making tasks like reading small print difficult by middle age. Wearing reading glasses has been the mainstay of presbyopia treatment, but the first-ever eye drop approved to treat the symptoms of presbyopia. However, pilocarpine, the main active ingredient in Vuity eye drops, could have unknown detrimental effects on the retinal and choroidal tissues at the back of the eye.

Aims: In this project, the student will conduct an interventional before-after clinical trial to investigate the physiological mechanisms by which acute pilocarpine treatment may alter retinal and choroidal physiology in adults with presbyopia. They will employ advanced imaging techniques to assess retinal function (using multifocal electroretinography), choroidal thickness (using optical coherence tomography), and chorioretinal blood flow (using optical coherence tomography angiography).

This project will suit students eligible for a MHSc/MBiomedSc with an interest in drug mechanisms and ocular physiology. Read more and contact Dr Alyssa Lie with expressions of interest. Applications are open until mid-late May 2025 or until a suitable candidate is found, whichever is earlier.

The Capstone Editing Conference Travel Grant for Postgraduate Research Students

The Capstone Editing Conference Travel Grant for Postgraduate Research Students provides up to A$3,000 for one student per year to assist in covering the costs of attending a conference in relation to their degree.

The grant can be used for flights, accommodation and conference registration up to a total of A$3,000. It is expected that a student attending a conference internationally may use all the available funds, whereas a student attending a conference domestically will use only part. Students will need to include an itinerary, budget and letter of support from their supervisor in their application.

The Freemasons University Scholarships

All faculties

The Freemasons Scholarships are to assist able students who are actively involved in their community, to complete their university education in their chosen field. The scholarships are
provided annually, funded and administered by The Freemasons Charity.

For 2024 there will be eight Postgraduate Scholarships of up to $10,000 each, and twenty University Scholarships of up to $6,000 each.

Applications close 1 October. For more information and to apply visit The Freemasons University Scholarships.

The Dick and Mary Earle Scholarship in Technology

Te Pōkai Tara - Universities New Zealand administers this scholarship which provides funds for individuals to undertake masters or doctoral research in innovation and product development and/or bioprocess technology.

Applicants must be New Zealand citizens or permanent residents, and have completed a BTech, BEng, BE degree or equivalent from a New Zealand university, with honours, in a field appropriate to their intended postgraduate study.

Up to $17,000 per annum at Masters level and $25,000 per annum at PhD level.

For more information and to apply visit The Dick and Mary Earle Scholarship in Technology.

Coastal Restoration Trust Post-graduate Scholarship

The purpose of this scholarship is to provide funds to assist with an individual’s post-graduate level research to improve knowledge in the field of coastal restoration. The scholarship is usually $2,000 plus expenses to travel and present at the annual Coastal Restoration Trust Conference.

The Patrick Shannon Scholarship

The Livestock Improvement Patrick Shannon Scholarship Programme is named after one of the most remarkable and innovative bovine geneticists and reproductive biologists in the world. Dr Shannon joined Livestock Improvement in the mid-1950s, and made a variety of world-breaking discoveries, which continue to provide vitality and profitability to the New Zealand dairy industry.

Scholarships are available for New Zealand Citizens or Permanent Residents enrolled in honours or masters level study in mathematics, statistics, machine learning, or science that will establish eligibility for PhD study.

Applications close on 28 November each year. For more information and to apply visit The Patrick Shannon Scholarship.

RMLA Masters Scholarship

RMLA scholarships are designed to encourage graduate students from a range of disciplines (law, planning, engineering, geography, science, landscape architecture, urban planning and resource management), to focus their research theses or dissertations on topics related to the application of resource management in New Zealand.

The scholarship is open to any graduate student in a University (New Zealand or Overseas) registered for a Masters (including an undergraduate Honours degree involving advanced levels of research and study at Masters degree level). Doctoral studies are not eligible.

One or more Masters scholarships per annum may be awarded out of an annual fund of $15,000. There will generally be three $5,000 scholarships awarded a year.

Applications close 1 September. For more information and to apply visit RMLA Masters Scholarship.

TENZ Postgraduate Scholarship

The TENZ Postgraduate Scholarship is funded by Technology Education New Zealand (TENZ). Scholarships are awarded each year to TENZ members who are undertaking postgraduate study that will make a positive contribution to technology education.

For more information and to apply, visit TENZ.