The 2012 round of the Australia Awards will be offering up to fifteen scholarships for PhD study in Agriculture. This section provides information about the University of Adelaide's research strengths in this field and the process that applicants should follow in order to apply for a PhD program.
Fields of Study and Prospective Supervisors
The first stage of the application process is to identify a possible research field that fits with your area of interest and prospective supervisors for your research project. The rationale for doing so is that it:
- Helps you to formulate your proposed research topic;
- Assists the University in identifying prospective supervisors - you are the expert in the field that you wish to study;
- Provides prospective supervisors with additional information about your application; and
- Helps you to confirm that the University of Adelaide is indeed the correct institution for your research area.
The following areas of research are the University's primary research fields in Agriculture. By clicking on the links, a more detailed list of specific research topics appears for each broad field.
The CRICOS code for all of these fields is 001313G.
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| Field of Research |
Prospective Supervisors |
| Soil Biology: Mycorrhizal Symbioses and Plant Nutrition |
Professor Andrew Smith
Professor Sally (Sarah) Smith |
| Soil Chemistry, Clays, Soil Amelioration |
Dr Jock Churchman |
| Soil Physics, Water Availability |
Dr Cameron Grant |
| Soil Ecology and Nutrient Cycling |
Dr Petra Marschner |
| Environmental Chemistry and Toxicology, Fertilisers and Plant Nutrition |
Professor Mike McLaughlin |
| Soils & Agronomic Management, Root Growth, Nutrient Cycling, 3D Imaging of Roots and Soil Pores |
Dr Ann McNeill |
| Sodic Soils, Impact of Irrigation |
Dr Rob Murray |
| Management of Saline and Sodic Soils, Soil Physical Chemistry, Soil-Plant Interactions in Saline and Sodic Soils |
Dr Pichu Rengasamy |
| Carbon Cycling, Organic Contaminants and Biochar |
Dr Ron Smernik |
| Visit the Soil Science website for more information about research laboratories |
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Contacting Prospective Supervisors
An important stage of the application process is contacting prospective supervisors before submitting a formal application to the University of Adelaide. the reasons for doing so are:
- It helps you with the preparation of the research proposal for your application, in that it helps you to consider how your research fits within the University's overall research strengths and focuses;
- It allows you to find out about projects that are available within the University;
- It provides a chance to discover the capacity of a particular supervisor to accept you as a student;
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- It assists the University in identifying a suitable supervisor as part of the application process: you are far more of an expert in your field than the administrative staff member who ensures that your application is processed.
Using the list of research fields identified in the tables above, please contact prospective supervisors directly to discuss your research topic with them. Please make sure that you mention that you are applying for an AusAID scholarship and that you are unable to submit a formal application to the University until your scholarship has been confirmed, so that they are aware of this and do not ask you to submit an application before they will consider your request.
Please also send prospective supervisors the following items:
- Curriculum Vitae (CV);
- List of relevant publications; and
- Academic transcripts.
It is recommended that you contact prospective supervisors before you receive a confirmation from AusAID that you have received a scholarship, so that the process of identifying a supervisor does not delay your formal application to the University of Adelaide.
How to Apply
Please follow the guide about applying for an AusAID scholarship and applying to the University of Adelaide.
