Graduate research plays an essential role in enhancing the dynamic discourse of a research intensive university. The introduction of the Excellence in Research for Australia (ERA) is a recognition of the significance of research students to universities. ERA is an initiative to assess research quality within Australia's higher education institutions using a combination of indicators and expert review by committees comprising experienced, internationally-recognised experts. This is obviously the case in the context of rural health research in Tasmania.
Apart from different academic and professional backgrounds and experiences that our graduate research students have brought to the University Department of Rural Health (UDRH), they may have different reasons to embark on a research degree in rural health such as employment enhancement, an interest in research, academic networking, love and care for rural communities, or mainly intellectual curiosity and challenges. These multi-motivational factors contribute to the growing dynamics of our graduate research discourse and it needs to be nurtured as our precious social capital.
The UDRH and the Rural Clinical School (RCS) at the University of Tasmania are working collaboratively to provide the research degrees at Masters and PhD levels on a range of research issues specifically and broadly relating to rural health. Our registered supervisor team includes colleagues within the UDRH and the RCS and there are opportunities for co-supervision with other colleagues in different faculties and institutions.
Our Graduate Research Program is aligned to the central university program and our students are encouraged to engage in the central support activities. Our students have experienced great success in applying for and receiving scholarships and additional financial support is available through the Rural Health program.
We would like to take this opportunity to show our deep appreciation to the past and current graduate students and supervisors for their great contribution to the enhancement of graduate research in the UDRH.
For prospective students, we look forward to hearing from you and having an opportunity to work with you as partners in research.
Please email the Graduate Research Coordinator at Quynh.Le@utas.edu.au for further information on the Rural Health Graduate Research Program.