Fully-funded PhD scholarship:
Sport-based program for improving muscular fitness and resistance training skill

ABOUT THE PROJECT

The School of Health Sciences (Sport, Health and Physical Education) is offering a research scholarship to a highly motivated, enthusiastic and curious PhD candidate to undertake a project funded by Western Sydney University to support an NHMRC Investigator body of work.

Community sport is an important setting to promote physical activity, with sport participation an effective means for young people to develop skills to enhance physical activity and movement proficiency. Currently, around half of young people in Australia participate in community sport each week, presenting the widest reaching out-of-school setting for young people to be physically active. Yet, the promotion of RT within grassroots community sport is limited. This project will leverage a rich and unique sample of coaches, parents and young people to design, deliver and evaluate the RT for Sport program – a world first foundational resistance training program for youth. The successful candidate will work collaboratively with the broader research team to co-design a sport-specific RT curriculum for grassroots coaches within the RT for Sport program and evaluate the program using mixed-methodologies.

The project provides an exciting opportunity to contribute to the design, development and delivery of evidence-based resources to promote resistance training in applied settings dealing with real people, with a view to informing industry practice and future research directions. The project will be based at the Kingswood Campus of Western Sydney University, within the Sport, Health and Physical Education program. However, further domestic travel may be necessary for fieldwork on occasion.

WHAT DOES THE SCHOLARSHIP PROVIDE?

Domestic candidates will receive a tax-free stipend of $35,188 (AUD) per annum for up to 3 years to support living costs, supported by the Research Training Program (RTP) Fee Offset.

Support for conference attendance, fieldwork and additional costs as approved by School.

An opportunity to gain both practical experience and do integrated research across grassroots sport contexts.

ELIGIBILITY CRITERIA

The successful applicant should:

hold qualifications and experience equal to one of the following:

(i) an Australian First Class Bachelor (Honours) degree,

(ii) coursework Masters with at least 25% research component,

(iii) Research Master’s degree, or

(iv) equivalent overseas qualifications.

Have a current Working with Children Check for NSW completed by the time of starting the PhD.

Demonstrate strong academic performance in subjects related to Physical Education, Strength and Conditioning, and/or Sport and Exercise Science.

Understand the value of working collaboratively in a multidisciplinary, team-based environment.

Be willing to learn, deliver, and design various educational resources and evaluate their implementation.

Be enthusiastic and highly motivated to pursue advanced-level study both independently and collaboratively.

While not a prerequisite, experience in coaching within applied settings will be an advantageous attribute of the potential candidate as will level 1 or 2 ASCA accreditation

HOW TO APPLY

1. Review the project’s eligibility criteria. You will need to provide in your application a document which explains how you satisfy the projects eligibility criteria.

2. Contact the lead researcher listed to discuss your eligibility, the project’s requirements and your intention to apply. You should email them to introduce yourself, describe your qualifications and experience, and express your interest in their research project. If they are interested, you may want to arrange a phone call, video call or meeting to discuss your application. You will need to request a letter of support from the lead researcher to support your application for the scholarship.

3. Submit an online application for the project by logging into the Online Portal and selecting 'Project Scholarship'.

Note: You do not need to submit an application for Doctor of Philosophy or Research Scholarship.

Incomplete applications or applications that do not conform to the above requirements will not be considered.

For questions and advice about the research project, please contact the Lead Researcher:

Dr. Sarah Kennedy: [email protected]

Dr. Dean Norris: [email protected]

Assoc. Prof. Andrew Bennie: [email protected]

Dr.Justin Guagliano: [email protected]

For general admission enquiries, please email [email protected]

Applications close 31 October 2025

• Applications close at 11.59pm Australian Eastern Daylight Time (AEDT).

• Scholarship reference code: PS2025_CS0717752_SoHS