Grants and Awards

Supporting graduate researchers in realising their research goals and encouraging the dissemination of this information nationally and internationally. Extend the impact and application of your research through our internal grants and funding schemes.

The Faculty Graduate Researcher Fund

Maximise the impact of your research through the Faculty Graduate Researcher Fund (FGRF), which offers support for graduate researchers in undertaking activities associated with their research projects. Confirmed PhD candidates can receive up to $3,000 over the course of their candidature and up to $1,500 for Masters by Research graduate researchers. While the fund has a list of approved activities, this is not exclusive, and activities not included in this list will be assessed on a case-by-case basis. View the Faculty Graduate Researcher Fund guidelines for information regarding eligibility requirements and begin your application today.

Applications are open year round, and close on the 1st of December.

Outcomes: Outcomes are normally advised within three weeks of a complete application submission, and all successful recipients must submit an acquittal of the funds within one month of completing the project.

Let the Faculty of Fine Arts and Music support your research as it has done for numerous researchers in the past. Head to our Research page to get an idea of the exceptional and influential research that we have supported and discover the impact your research can have.

Please visit the Research Gateway for information on Faculty Researcher Grants for academic staff.

Apply now

The Graduate Research Impact Overseas Travel Scheme (G-RIOTS)

The Graduate Research Impact Overseas Travel Scheme, formerly known as POTS, supports the presentation of doctoral research at an international level. This competitive fund aims to assist doctoral research candidates in traveling to present, perform and network at some of the most influential international conferences, forums and networks worldwide. Travel must be a research-related activity, with at least one distinct purpose that is clearly relevant and academically justifiable but not essential to the completion of the thesis. The purpose must include the presentation of doctoral research and result in a reportable research output. Successful candidates are eligible to receive up to $4,000 and this can only be awarded once during the candidature.

Applications will be assessed in 2 rounds in 2025.

Application deadlines:

Round 1:  Opens Friday 4 April, closes Friday 2 May 2025
Round 2:  Opens Wednesday 3 September, closes Friday 3 October 2025

-

Outcomes: Outcomes are normally advised within three weeks of the application deadline, and all successful recipients must submit an acquittal of the funds within one month of completing the project.

Apply now

Important reminders

  • Graduate Researchers who are traveling MUST have their Study Away application already approved and provide the approval letter BEFORE being eligible to apply for this scheme. This includes obtaining a letter of support from your supervisor to support your application.
  • Please only attach PDFs as supporting documents. Other file types may not open successfully, and your content may not be retained.
  • Use the graduate researcher Application Draft Sheet that contains all of the questions within the application to work on your draft, then just copy and paste into the online form, once you have gathered all of your supporting documentation.
  • You will receive a confirmation email once your application has been successfully submitted. If you do not receive a confirmation email, your application has not been received so please contact the Research Office at fineartsmusic-research@unimelb.edu.au

    • Acquittals

    It is essential that all successful FGRF and G-RIOTS recipients must submit an acquittal of the funds within one month of completing the project.

    Acquittals are a brief overview of how a grant was spent and the resulting benefits to your research project. Recipients are required to provide copies of ALL receipts.

    Submit acquittal form

    Please visit the Research Gateway for information on Faculty Researcher Grants for academic staff.

Graduate Assistantship Program (GAP)

Please note: As of Semester 2 2025, the current Graduate Assistantship Program (GAP) will be replaced with Graduate Research Academic Associate (GRAA) roles at the Faculty of Fine Arts and Music.

More details regarding application and requirements will be advised mid April 2025, with the first GRAA roles offered at Fine Arts and Music likely beginning in Semester 2, 2025.

Current GAP students are unaffected and will see out their existing GAP program contracts and development program.

Conservatorium Director's Awards for Exceptional Doctoral Research

The Melbourne Conservatorium Director’s Awards for Exceptional Doctoral Research are granted twice per year on a competitive basis to support outstanding Conservatorium PhD candidates to produce high quality research outputs closely following submission of the PhD thesis or portfolio for examination.

Deadlines for the Melbourne Conservatorium of Music Director's Writing Up Award are usually in March and September each year. Up coming 2025 dates will be announced shortly. Please check back soon.

You can find more information on the Director's Writing Up Award here and the application form here.

Faculty Assistance Grants

This scheme is coordinated by the Faculty Scholarships Office and offers up to $500 for graduate students for purposes associated with their study, including equipment and materials.

Find More about Scholarships

Pivot RP Funding Database

Pivot-RP is the University of Melbourne’s newest database for research funding opportunities and a source of international research policy and practice news. The database has enhanced searching capability and tailored weekly alerts based on academic profiles taken from Find an Expert.

Implemented in December 2023, the University of Melbourne uses Pivot-RP to send email bulletins containing funding news and opportunities to researchers, as well as University-wide urgent information about major grants and funding schemes. Additional information about Pivot-RP can be found on the Research Gateway including how to sign up for the RIC Bulletin, User Guide and Troubleshooting tips.