AAS Post-Doctoral Fellowship


The AAS Post-Doctoral Fellowship consists of an honorarium of AUD$4,000, awarded to a PhD graduate to assist in the development of work for publication. The honorarium is intended to support the writing up of research already conducted. It is not intended to support fieldwork or conference attendance.

Applications for the 2019 Fellowship are now open, with the following key dates:

  • Applications open: Monday, 28 January

  • Applications close: Monday, 11 March

  • The successful recipient will be announced on Monday, 15 April

Before applying for this fellowship, please review the Eligibility Criteria & Application Procedure below and make sure you have all the required information ready for upload

When you're ready, the application form for the 2019 AAS Post-Doctoral Fellowship is available here: http://www.aas.asn.au/member-hub/aas-post-doctoral-fellowship-2019/ (member login required)

Remember, applicants must also arrange for an academic reference to be sent separately to aas@anu.edu.au by the applications closing date (11 March 2019). 

Enquiries can be directed to AAS President Elect Lisa Wynn: lisa.wynn@mq.edu.au


Eligibility


  • Applicants must be financial members of the AAS at the time of application (current members can check their paid status here: https://www.aas.asn.au/member-hub/. non-AAS members who wish to apply for membership in order to be eligible for the fellowship should do so well in advance of the fellowship application deadline)

  • Applicants must have been awarded a PhD in Anthropology no more than ten years before the closing date for applications. For eligibility purposes the award date is the date listed on the applicant’s academic transcript.

  • Applicants must not hold a permanent or full-time fixed-term academic position while in receipt of the honorarium. Those in casual or part-time fixed term academic positions are encouraged to apply, including research assistants who may be classified as professional/general staff. Those who have had a career break for parental leave are also encouraged to apply.


Selection Criteria


Applications will be judged based on:

  • Merit of the proposed publication project

  • Applicant’s track record, relative to opportunity

  • Benefit to career trajectory/prospects (including time/financial considerations)


Other Specifications


  • Prior to submitting her or his application, each applicant is encouraged to make arrangements to be supported by an Australian academic institution willing to host her or him for the term of the fellowship if the application is successful. A visiting fellowship ­– through which the successful candidate would be provided with library access, IT support, and a space to write – would be an example of such an arrangement. Host institutions are not permitted to deduct a levy from the honorarium.

  • The fellowship may be carried out on a full-time or part-time basis, but it must be completed within eight months of the announcement of the award. Applicants are asked to provide a description of the time they will devote to the fellowship, based on what is most suited to their circumstances (see ‘Application Procedure’ below).

  • Where appropriate, it is hoped that the successful candidate will offer any completed manuscript to The Australian Journal of Anthropology.

  • The successful applicant is required to submit a report of up to one page to the AAS Executive, up to one month following the completion of the fellowship.


Application Procedure


Applicants will need to provide:

  1. A description of the proposed publication(s) that the fellowship will assist in bringing to completion (no more than 500 words), including:

  • The publications’ background, aims/arguments, and contribution to anthropology

  • Any progress in and feedback on the work to date, as well as what needs to be done to get it published

  • How this work fits with the applicant’s broader career goals

  1. A description of circumstances (no more than 500 words), including:

  • Details of employment since PhD graduation

  • Any constraints/barriers to academic career progress (financial, employment, family responsibilities)

  • The time to be devoted to the fellowship

  • Any institutional support the applicant has arranged to receive if successful

  1. A copy of the applicant’s CV

  2.  An academic reference in support of the application. Applicants are required to arrange for the reference to be emailed directly from the referee to aas@anu.edu.au and received by 11 March 2019. (Please note, if the reference is not received by the due date the application will be ineligible.)


Previous Honorarium Recipients


2016: Sean Martin-Iverson

Sean received his PhD in Anthropology from the University of Western Australia in 2012 for his thesis ‘The politics of cultural production in the DIY hardcore scene in Bandung, Indonesia’, which was based on ethnographic research into the ‘Do It Yourself’ production practices, social organisation and values of the Bandung hardcore punk scene. He will be using the AAS honorarium to develop this thesis into a book manuscript. The book, tentatively entitled Running in Circles: The Politics of Value in an Indonesian Punk Scene, will focus especially on the ways in which the global punk values of autonomy and community have been expressed and implemented by DIY activists in Bandung. He will receive additional support from the University of Western Australia.


2015: Lindy McDougall

Lindy grew up in Western Queensland and moved to Sydney to study pharmacy. After graduating, she left Australia and has since worked around the world as a pharmacist and for various NGOs. Her scientific background and interest in other peoples and their cultures has formed the basis of her anthropological research. Lindy used the honorarium to turn her thesis into a book manuscript, which she has now submitted to a University Press. She received additional support from Macquarie University (office space and library access).