PhD Scholarships Electoral Resilience Scholarship

We are currently looking for a PhD candidate to join the project Resilient Elections project: How to Strengthen Our Democracies The project evaluates electoral resilience by investigating how threats affect three foundational dimensions of elections: participation contestation and organisation. It takes Australia India Indonesia and the United States/Canada as in-depth case studies and bolsters this with a large-N global analysis. It will thus provide new theoretical insights into electoral resilience and develop practical measures and strategies that can be implemented to strengthen elections and therefore democracy. This scholarship supports either a comparative research project on electoral resilience or the in-depth analysis of one of the case studies.

Qualifications :

The selection of the applicant for the award of a Higher Degree Research Scholarship at Griffith University is based on academic merit and research background.

• Expressions of interest are welcome from domestic and international applicants.  If you are an international applicant who is currently offshore please consider the viability of travelling costs before submitting an expression of interest.
• Applicants must have completed a Bachelors degree with honours equivalent to first-class honours or a Masters degree (AQF Level 9) incorporating a significant research component of a standard comparable to a Bachelor honours degree or be regarded by Griffith University as having an equivalent level of attainment as specified on the Equivalent qualifications for HDR program admission. For further information on the eligibility requirements for the program refer here.

International applicants should ensure that English Language Proficiency requirements for the program are met before formally applying. Applicants to research programs will need to show they meet:

1. A minimum overall band score of 6.5 on the IELTS (Academic) with no band score less than 6.0 OR
2. A score of 79 on the internet-based (iBT) TOEFL with no sub-score less than 19 OR
3. A score of no less than 3 in each skill of the ISLPR (conducted by ISLPR Language Services only) OR
4. A minimum overall score of 176 (no score less than 169) on C1 Advanced or C2 Proficiency OR
5. An overall score of 58 in the Pearson Test of English (Academic) with no score less than 50 (applies to tests taken prior to 7 August 2025) OR
6. An overall score of 55 in the Pearson Test of English (Academic) with no score less than 47 (applies to tests taken on or after 7 August 2025) OR
7. An overall score of 70 in the LanguageCert Academic OR
8. An overall score of 59 in the Michigan English Test (MET) .

Additional Information :

About the scholarship
The 2026 Griffith University Postgraduate Research Scholarship has an annual stipend of $35656 (indexed) for a period of up to three years of full-time study. Please see the GUPRS Conditions of Award for more information.

A successful International applicant will also be awarded a Griffith University International Postgraduate Research Scholarship to cover tuition fees for up to three years. Please see the GUIPRS Conditions of Award for more information.

EoI process
Please do not select the APPLY button. All expressions of interest must be submitted to  containing:

• Statement addressing your suitability for the project/scholarship
• Brief research proposal maximum 2 pages
• Evidence that you have completed a program with the required grades as detailed in the About you section
• A curriculum vitae (CV)
• Names and contact details of two referees

Closing date for expressions of interest is: Friday 27 March 2026 at 5pm AEST

The preferred applicant will then be invited to apply for the program and scholarship on-line

What Griffith offers
As a scholarship holder you will study with a University that ranks among the top 2% worldwide and spans across campuses in South East Queensland. At Griffith University weve worked hard to create a culture that will challenge you to be curious creative and courageous. We also support the professional and personal development of all our HDR candidates and invest in the skills of our people. Griffith University values diversity inclusion and flexibility and we encourage Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander and people of all backgrounds to apply. Griffiths strategic goals are to also increase the proportion of women in senior academic and administrative roles and in Science Technology Engineering Mathematics and Medicine (STEMM).

Further information

For project related enquiries please contact:
Professor Ferran Martinez i Coma
Email: 

For administration enquiries please contact:
Griffith Graduate Research School
Email: 

Remote Work :

No

Employment Type :

Full-time