Successful candidates are awarded a comprehensive scholarship package developed collaboratively with financial support and resources from both parties:

Industry partner contribution

• $40,000 p.a. to fully fund or $20,000 p.a. to co-fund a stipend scholarship for 3.5 years. 
• At least 60 full-time equivalent days of meaningful engagement with the successful candidate.

ACU contribution

• For co-funded scholarships, ACU will match your funding contribution with a further $20,000 p.a. for 3.5 years.
• Tuition Fee Scholarship valued at c. $30,000 p.a. to cover the candidates course costs.
• $2,000 allowance to support the costs of relocation to Australia (international candidates).
• Single Overseas Student Health Care Policy (international candidates).

2025 rates, indexed annually.

The scholarship conditions align with the ACU Research Training Program Scholarship Policy.

To create an attractive and competitive opportunity, each successful applicant receives a comprehensive scholarship package for up to 3.5 years that includes:

• $33,511 p.a. stipend scholarship to support living expenses.
• $30,000 p.a. tuition fee scholarship to cover course costs.
• At least 60 full-time equivalent days of engagement with the industry partner.
• $2,000 relocation allowance to contribute to the costs of relocation to Australia (international candidates).
• A single Overseas Student Health Care Policy (international candidates).

2025 rates, indexed annually.

All amounts are in Australian dollars and are paid to ACU PhD candidates in Australian dollars.

The scholarship conditions align with the ACU Research Training Program Scholarship Policy.

The stipend rate set by the university aligns with the Australian Government Research Training Program Stipend Scholarship base rate.

The stipend value set by ACU aligns with the Australian Government Research Training Program Stipend Scholarship base rate and is indexed annually. Industry partner contributions are reviewed annually in line with this figure.

Industry contributions cover the cost of the stipend for the lifetime of the scholarship and include a contingent for project costs.

Stipend values are indexed annually. Industry contributions are fixed for the life of the scholarship.

If your contribution exceeds the cost of the stipend over the duration of the scholarship, the surplus funds are used to offset project costs.

If your contribution does not meet the cost of the stipend over the duration of the scholarship, ACU will cover the difference.

Industry contributions provide a stipend scholarship to support the living costs of the PhD candidate for the duration of their PhD program at ACU.

This funding covers a stipend scholarship, including annual indexation and other allowances, and benefits as outlined in the ACU Research Training Program Scholarship Policy.

Surplus funds are used to offset project costs. Examples include, materials or equipment costs, conference or research data collection travel, or publication costs.

If your agreed contribution does not meet the cost of the stipend over the duration of the scholarship, ACU will cover the difference.

Industry partners can be involved in the PhD project in various ways, for example:

• as a member of the selection panel for the PhD scholarship
• as an Associate Supervisor (End-user) on the PhD candidate’s supervisory panel
• as a host and mentor for project activities, and/or a research internship, for example, project design, data collection, data analysis, knowledge transfer and commercialisation.

Subject to meeting ACU admission and scholarship entry requirements, scholarships can be awarded to domestic or international candidates, studying either full-time or part-time. International candidates can usually only be enrolled full-time for visa purposes.

PhD candidates are recruited via a competitive process. All graduate research scholarships are advertised on the ACU graduate research scholarships webpage.

We recommend allowing at least three months to recruit and select a domestic candidate and up to six months to recruit an international candidate for commencement.

The recruitment process will include:

• advertisement (2–4 weeks)
• application collation, assessment, and offer (8–10 weeks)
• visa processing and travel to Australia to commence studies (for international candidates).

While ACU reserves the final decision on candidate admission and scholarship awarding, when sponsoring an ACU Industry PhD Scholarship, the industry partner may nominate a representative to participate in the assessment process.

Not-for-profit organisations are welcome to engage with ACU via our Stakeholder Engaged Scholarship Unit (SESU). The SESU provides scholarly expertise and research assistance to organisations working in areas that are central to ACU’s mission and ethos as a Catholic university. Through the facilitation of partner-initiated research projects, SESU can help inform, shape, evaluate and develop your programs and services.

Learn more

CSIRO's iPhD program brings together an industry partner, a university and Australia's leading science agency, CSIRO, to co-develop a four-year industry-focused PhD project. The iPhD program is part of an Australian Government initiative to better translate university research into commercial outcomes. Students are jointly supervised by the industry partner, ACU, and CSIRO.

For more information, please visit the CSIRO iPhD website.

Applications to the iPhD program must be led by a university researcher. If you are interested in collaborating with ACU to engage in the iPhD program, please contact the Graduate Research School to discuss your ideas.

E: grs.partnerships@acu.edu.au

The National Industry PhD Program creates powerful opportunities for industry, universities, and PhD candidates to work together. This prestigious program forges new pathways for researchers to connect the worlds of academia and industry, opening the door to an array of new career opportunities for PhD candidates. It also makes it easier for Australian industry to reach into our country's inspiring talent pool of PhD candidates, helping to boost the research heft of Australian businesses.

The program consists of two streams:

• An Industry Linked PhD stream for outstanding PhD candidates to undertake research projects co-designed by university and industry, with opportunities to be embedded in an industry setting and participate in a 12-week training program.
• An Industry Researcher PhD stream for highly capable industry professionals who are supported by their employers to undertake PhD projects in partnership with a university while retaining industry employment and salary benefits.

For more information, please visit the Campus Plus website.

Applications to the National Industry PhD Program must be led by a university researcher. If you are interested in collaborating with ACU to engage in the National Industry PhD Program, please contact the Graduate Research School to discuss your ideas.

E: grs.partnerships@acu.edu.au

Information for ACU staff