Graduate Research
PhD and masters research opportunities
Join a multidisciplinary research team as a graduate researcher to undertake exciting research with leading supervisors and dedicated students.
View our projects below and apply by contacting each initiative’s appointed supervisor.
Visualising Global Encounters
Map and imagine first encounters between Australian First Nations sea and coastal peoples through evidence-based digital reconstructions of past landscapes and environments.
First Nations Sovereignty
Become part of a multidisciplinary research team collaborating with the Indigenous Archives Collective. Choose between two impactful PhD projects: Indigenous Data Sovereignty or Living Archives of People and Place.
Equity through Digital Health (NEED)
In collaboration with the Faculty of Medicine, Nursing and Health Sciences and Indigenous communities in rural Victoria, this PhD project focuses on developing a digital platform for Indigenous people’s health and wellbeing.
Meet PhD Graduate: Dr Kirsten Thorpe
Dr Kirsten Thorpe (Worimi, Port Stephens) is a Senior Researcher at Jumbunna Institute for Indigenous Education & Research, University of Technology Sydney (UTS). Kirsten leads the Indigenous Archives and Data Stewardship Hub, which advocates for Indigenous rights in archives and data and develops research and engagement in relation to refiguring libraries and archives to support the culturally appropriate ownership, management and ongoing preservation of Indigenous knowledges.
Kirsten has broad interests in research and engagement with Indigenous protocols and decolonising practices in the library and archive fields, and the broader GLAM sector. Kirsten advocates for the 'right of reply' to records and capacity building and support for the development of Living Indigenous Archives on Country.
In 2022, Kirsten completed her PhD at Monash University, within the Faculty of Information Technology. Her thesis titled "Unclasping the White Hand: Reclaiming and Refiguring the Archives to Support Indigenous Wellbeing and Sovereignty" explored Indigenous self-determination and sovereignty over the management of Indigenous knowledges, with a particular focus on engagement with archives.
Kirsten has extensive experience working in major collecting institutions across public libraries and archives to support Indigenous engagement and priorities. Kirsten was previously the Manager, Indigenous Services at the State Library of NSW where she led the development of strategies supporting state-wide information services for Indigenous people. This included support for Indigenous priorities and cultural competency across NSW Public Libraries, the launch of the Library’s first Indigenous Collecting Strategy, and projects that supported the documentation, return and revitalisation of Indigenous Australian languages through archival sources. Kirsten is an invited member of the International Council on Archives Expert Group on Indigenous Matters and a co-founder of the Indigenous Archives Collective.
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Meet PhD candidate: Narissa Timbery
A First Nations woman descended from the Yuin Nation (NSW South Coast), Narissa has been an ABI indexer at the Australian Institute of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander studies, and worked at the National Archives of Australia. She has a background in education, including teaching an Aboriginal and Education elective to Diploma of Education students at the University of Wollongong for five years.
Narissa completed a Master of Information Management and Systems at Monash before enrolling in a PhD. In tandem with the Assistant Lecturer position, her doctoral studies, Beyond the animations: A sustainable living digital heritage archive, explores the creation of a sustainable living digital heritage archive. Using the Monash Country Lines Archives’ virtual 3D models as a case study, anticipated research outcomes include a deeper understanding of how to respectfully represent Aboriginal knowledge, cultural protocols and community archiving requirements when creating a sustainable living digital heritage archive. A suite of protocols and guidelines including documentation protocols is in development. Narissa’s research provides an exemplar for the use of yarning as a method of data collection and data analysis in information systems research.
Learn more about IT graduate research
If you’re interested in exploring other PhD projects and the support Monash offers Indigenous candidates, view our resources below.
Find an IT PhD project or renowned supervisor
Monash is home to world-renowned academics at the forefront of IT and computer science. Discover our innovative projects and engage an accomplished supervisor for your research.
Scholarships for Indigenous Australians
Find out if you’re eligible to apply for one of Monash’s graduate research scholarships.
Get the support you need
As a graduate researcher at Monash, you have access to an abundance of wellbeing services, career counselling and professional development opportunities. You can also take advantage of the academic support services and modern study facilities designed specifically for graduate students.
Further your research career at Monash
As a graduate researcher at Monash, you will be well placed to apply for formal employment within our faculty as a Pre-Doctoral and Post-Doctoral Research Fellow. We prioritise all candidates who identify as Aboriginal or Torres Strait Islanders.
Faculty funding
The Faculty of IT allocates funding to support all PhD and MPhil students at our Australian campuses.