Higher Degree by Research Application Portal

Overview

The University of Western Australia (UWA) Business School invites applications from exceptional domestic and international candidates for a fully funded PhD in Organisational Behaviour, focusing on workforce resilience and sustainability in dynamic, uncertain contexts.

We seek motivated, self-directed, and intellectually curious candidates interested in workforce resilience and sustainability. We conceptualise these broadly, including (but not limited to) work performance, mental and physical health, engagement, burnout, motivation, and career progression at individual and team levels.

This opportunity is part of a prestigious, multi-institutional Australian Research Council (ARC) research hub advancing fire safety technologies and regulations across Australia. The successful candidate will contribute to Theme 4: Fire Safety Training, Management and Culture, examining how human and organisational factors influence workforce resilience and sustainability.

The PhD will leverage the ARC hub to build high-quality, impactful research. Fire safety will provide the dynamic, uncertain, high-stakes context for this research. The PhD will use this context to elaborate rich theory contributing meaningfully to our understanding of workforce resilience and sustainability, while the ARC hub offers opportunities to collect diverse data with industry partners.

Supervisory Team

The candidate will be supervised by internationally recognised scholars in organisational behaviour and applied psychology:

Professor Gillian Yeo Dr Joseph Carpini Dr Long He Dr Laura Fruhen

The candidate will be embedded within a supportive and high-performing research team at UWA’s Business School, collaborating closely with leading researchers from prestigious Australian Universities and national industry partners.

To be eligible, applicants must:

• Hold a bachelor's degree with honours or a master’s degree in Organisational Behaviour, Industrial/Organisational Psychology, Applied Psychology, or a related discipline. 
• Have completed a research thesis equivalent to at least 25% of their degree with a final grade on said thesis of at least 80%. 
• Achieve a Weighted Average Mark (WAM) of 80+ (or equivalent). Details on how to calculate your WAM are available through the UWA graduate research school website. 
• Meet English language proficiency requirements (IELTS 7.0+ in all components). English tests must have been completed within six months. 
• Demonstrate clear alignment between their research interests and the objectives of the supervisory team and Theme 4 of the ARC project.

Interested candidates are encouraged to:

• Review the eligibility criteria above. Please ensure you meet the minimum requirements. 
• Prepare a short research proposal (1–2 pages double spaced) outlining how their interests align with the project theme. Please be specific and demonstrate your own area of interest and how it aligns with the project theme and the supervisory team. The research proposal must make a clear link between the supervisory team and the theme. 
• Contact Dr Joseph Carpini (Joseph.Carpini@uwa.edu.au) and include the following: 
• A cover email introducing yourself and your motivation to apply for this project. 
• A copy of your English proficiency scores. If the results are not in English, a valid translation is required. 
• A copy of your full academic transcriptions. If the results are not in English, a valid translation is required. 
• Your 1 – 2 pages (double spaced) short research proposal as per above.

Incomplete submissions will not be considered. Please verify you have included all the above elements prior to submission.

Rolling applications are accepted, with a flexible and negotiable start date. Early expressions of interest are strongly encouraged.

Dr Joseph Carpini (Joseph.Carpini@uwa.edu.au)