CSIRO Postgraduate and PhD Top-Up Scholarships

CSIRO is Australia's national science agency, and it co-supervises PhD projects with universities rather than enrolling research students itself. The top-up scholarships pay an additional stipend on top of a university scholarship you already hold.

What comes with it is as valuable as the money: a top-up stipend on an existing PhD scholarship, plus supervision and access to CSIRO facilities — laboratories, data and staff.

What you need first

This is a supplement, not a primary scholarship. You must hold or be applying for a primary PhD scholarship at an Australian university, and you must have a CSIRO co-supervisor. Securing that co-supervisor is the real work, and it needs to happen alongside — or before — your university application.

How opportunities appear

Unlike most national schemes there is no single annual round. Opportunities are advertised individually and open year-round, tied to particular projects and particular supervisors. That means checking the studentships listing regularly rather than waiting for a closing date.

Browse the current opportunities on the official page below.

You must hold or be applying for a primary PhD scholarship at an Australian university and have a CSIRO co-supervisor. Opportunities are advertised individually and open year-round rather than in a single round.

A top-up stipend on an existing PhD scholarship, plus supervision and access to CSIRO facilities