A record six students from Macquarie’s Master of Professional Psychology program have been offered NSW Education Department scholarships.

The Department’s Psychology Graduate Scholarship Program supports high-achieving psychology graduates to complete a Master of Professional Psychology and become school psychologists working in metropolitan, regional and rural public schools across the state.

A scholarship covers course costs up to $38,000, plus extras including a textbook allowance, supervised placements in schools, a one-year full-time internship when they finish study, and a permanent position as a school psychologist.

The Department of Education employs more than 1200 staff in the school counselling service across 2220 schools and the number of school psychologists continues to increase.

Master of Professional Psychology Course Director Dr Josephine Paparo says the scholarship program is an excellent pathway for graduates who want to work with children and young people in the diverse environments of NSW public schools.

“All our students do placements as part of the course, but the only way to get a placement in a public school is through this program,” she says.

“Usually, most of the recipients are from universities that offer specialty training programs in school psychology.

“Macquarie’s previous record was two scholarships in a year, so the fact that this year we have received more offers than any other non-specialist psychology program is very pleasing.”

Danya Braunstein, Pratica and Skills Training Co-ordinator in the School of Psychological Sciences, says becoming a school psychologist in the Department of Education requires specific experience that many graduates don’t have.

“Working in schools requires a comprehensive knowledge of assessments, and that’s something that the provisional psychologists can learn during their placements and internship,” she says.

“This is the perfect opportunity for them to learn vital skills on the job.

“This year, we made a concerted effort to support students to apply for the program. We really want them to land well after graduation.”

The Fulbright Program aims to increase bilateral research collaboration, cultural understanding and the exchange of ideas. It has grown to become the largest educational exchange scholarship program in the world, operating in more than 160 countries.

Associate Professor Courtney Fung, from the Department of Security Studies and Criminology received the Fulbright Professional Scholarship in Australian-American Alliance Studies, funded by the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade. She will undertake her scholarship at Georgetown University this year.

In addition to her role as Associate Professor in National Security, Intelligence and Cyber Security, Fung is an Associate Fellow of Harvard University’s Fairbank Center for Chinese Studies and an Associate Fellow at the Lowy Institute. Her current research looks at how rising powers address the norms and provisions for global governance and international security, with a primary focus on China.

Fung’s Fulbright research will examine how Australia and the United States can best cooperate as emerging powers reshape the United Nations agenda.

Madi Day, from the Department of Indigenous Studies, received the Fulbright Sir John Carrick New South Wales Scholarship, funded by the New South Wales State Government, and will undertake their scholarship at Southern Connecticut State University this year.

Day is a career researcher who works across Indigenous studies, trans studies and gender studies. They are completing their PhD titled Coloniality, gender and heterosexuality in so-called Australia.

Day’s Fulbright research will offer a comparative study of coloniality, gender and heterosexuality across Australia and the United States as settler colonial nation-states. The research will also examine how anti-colonial approaches are integrated into gender studies departments in the United States, and whether this could be improved in gender studies in Australia.

MQBS Postgraduate Certificate Scholarships
Applications for the MQBS Postgraduate Certificate Scholarships are open from 11 July to 12 August 2022. The scholarship scheme supports professional staff to develop their management capability with four scholarships offered each year to undertake the Graduate Certificate of Management program or articulation into the Graduate Diploma of Management. For the selection criteria and information on how to apply please visit the Scholarship webpage.

Professional Staff Development Grants
Applications for the Professional Staff Development Grants are open from 11 July to 12 August 2022. The grants provide financial support for individual staff members or team members to develop knowledge, skills and experience through external providers or programs that directly support performance in their current role. For the selection criteria and information on how to apply please visit the Development Grants webpage.

For further information for either of these opportunities, please contact develop@mq.edu.au

Successful applicants cannot be current Macquarie students, must be citizens of the Ukraine currently residing offshore, be qualified to undertake a Doctor of Philosophy program and they will ideally have confirmation of supervision from an eligible Macquarie University researcher.

The successful applicants will need to live in Sydney during their candidature and meet the HDR English Language requirements and admission criteria for the PhD.

The Academy has confirmed the scholarships will be awarded on a first come basis and the funding is available now.

The successful applicants will be awarded a Macquarie University Research Excellence Scholarship which includes a tuition fee offset for a maximum three years, worth between $111,600 – $142,800 and a three-year stipend at the Research Training Program rate which in 2022 is $28,854.

They will also receive funding for a single OSHC policy with Macquarie’s preferred provider, Medibank, worth $2742 and $2500 towards airfares to or from Australia.

The Academy has asked applicants to include a brief statement of impact, which addresses how they have been affected by the war in the Ukraine.

Find out more, including how to apply on the Scholarships webpage.