Study with us

Apply for a PhD

The Centre for Deliberative Democracy and Global Governance is accepting PhD applications on a rolling basis. Candidates from different disciplinary backgrounds are welcome to apply.

Our Centre does not offer scholarship opportunities at the moment.

How to apply

Contact a potential supervisor from the Centre. In this correspondence, include:

A brief statement explaining why you wish to pursue a PhD, the funding arrangement for your study, and reasons for applying to the Centre (less than 1,000 words)
A research description (less than 1,000 words)
CV
Relevant transcript

Once the supervisor supports your application, you may submit your application to the University of Canberra’s application portal.

What others think of our program

My supervisors’ belief in the importance of my research and my ability as an emerging scholar made such a difference to my confidence to produce a quality thesis.

Jane Alver

Former PhD student

My supervisors’ belief in the importance of my research and my ability as an emerging scholar made such a difference to my confidence to produce a quality thesis.

Jane Alver

Former PhD student

As a PhD student of environmental politics and Philippine area studies, I could not have chosen a better place to do my research on mining disasters in the Philippines... The Centre’s vibrant academic community provides PhD students strong professional networks and social support during the candidature. Through these networks, I got invitations to present my research in workshops that led to my first journal article publication in a special issue.

Emerson Sanchez

Former PhD student

As a PhD student of environmental politics and Philippine area studies, I could not have chosen a better place to do my research on mining disasters in the Philippines... The Centre’s vibrant academic community provides PhD students strong professional networks and social support during the candidature. Through these networks, I got invitations to present my research in workshops that led to my first journal article publication in a special issue.

Emerson Sanchez

Former PhD student

I can, without hesitation, affirm that, as a PhD student at the Centre for Deliberative Democracy and Global Governance, I have been among the lucky ones. The Centre has provided me with a stimulating and engaging intellectual environment. Indeed, I had the opportunity to meet and receive advice from the most prominent researchers in the field of deliberative democracy. The Centre has also provided me with an administrative shelter, preserved from dysfunctional centralised bureaucracies and thus making the PhD process (from application to submission) very smooth. Last, but not least, the Centre has formed a collective space in which I could find friends, social support and intellectual emancipation.

Pierrick Chalaye

Former PhD student

I can, without hesitation, affirm that, as a PhD student at the Centre for Deliberative Democracy and Global Governance, I have been among the lucky ones. The Centre has provided me with a stimulating and engaging intellectual environment. Indeed, I had the opportunity to meet and receive advice from the most prominent researchers in the field of deliberative democracy. The Centre has also provided me with an administrative shelter, preserved from dysfunctional centralised bureaucracies and thus making the PhD process (from application to submission) very smooth. Last, but not least, the Centre has formed a collective space in which I could find friends, social support and intellectual emancipation.

Pierrick Chalaye

Former PhD student

Apply for an internship

Our Centre welcomes internship applications from undergraduate students based at the Faculty of Business, Government, and Law and the Faculty of Arts and Design at the University of Canberra. Each intern will be assigned to work on a research project in the Centre, such as Connecting to Parliament, Global Citizens’ Assembly, and Deliberative Integrity, among others. The student will be paired with a staff member who will act as mentor during the internship. The tasks and learning outcomes will be co-designed by both the student and mentor.

Internships are unpaid. They usually take place during the winter semester. Please email Prof Nicole Curato for more information.

Enquire

What others think of our program

As a student and a young woman of colour, it has been a great privilege to have worked as Research Intern at CDDGG. Working on the Global Assembly on the Climate and Ecological Emergency empowered me to apply theory into practice, which is important for me as I pursue my career aspirations in Public Policy.

Atosha Birongo

Research Intern, Faculty of Business Government and Law

As a student and a young woman of colour, it has been a great privilege to have worked as Research Intern at CDDGG. Working on the Global Assembly on the Climate and Ecological Emergency empowered me to apply theory into practice, which is important for me as I pursue my career aspirations in Public Policy.

Atosha Birongo

Research Intern, Faculty of Business Government and Law

One of the most rewarding parts of the internship was getting to conduct my own research project. So much of the time at uni we only have a tight scope for our work. But for this project once I had been given the brief, I was able to then bring my own expertise and research to the project. Another remarkable thing was how trusted I felt as an intern, when I spoke to other researchers in the field and at the centre, I felt I was treated as a colleague, not just an intern. I was given genuine guidance and insight. This meant I was able to produce some of my best work.

Georgia Montgomery

Research Intern, Faculty of Arts and Design

One of the most rewarding parts of the internship was getting to conduct my own research project. So much of the time at uni we only have a tight scope for our work. But for this project once I had been given the brief, I was able to then bring my own expertise and research to the project. Another remarkable thing was how trusted I felt as an intern, when I spoke to other researchers in the field and at the centre, I felt I was treated as a colleague, not just an intern. I was given genuine guidance and insight. This meant I was able to produce some of my best work.

Georgia Montgomery

Research Intern, Faculty of Arts and Design

My internship at the Centre for Deliberative Democracy and Global Governance was an excellent experience! I was privileged to work closely with Associate Professor Selen Ercan and Dr Nick Vlahos, who assisted me in every aspect of my internship, and taught me many new skills in writing, presenting and doing research.

Chioma Helen Madubuko

Research Intern, Faculty of Arts and Design

My internship at the Centre for Deliberative Democracy and Global Governance was an excellent experience! I was privileged to work closely with Associate Professor Selen Ercan and Dr Nick Vlahos, who assisted me in every aspect of my internship, and taught me many new skills in writing, presenting and doing research.

Chioma Helen Madubuko

Research Intern, Faculty of Arts and Design

Our undergraduate unit

Investigating and Explaining Society

Co-convened by Dr Hans Asenbaum and Prof Selen Ercan, this unit introduces first-year students of the School of Politics, Economics and Society to Ten Key Principles of Good Research.

Contemporary societies are characterised by major transformations affecting the way we live, work, and interact with each other. How should we approach the ways contemporary societies work and the challenges they face including climate change, structural inequality, racism and the global pandemic?

This unit invites students to learn about different ways of investigating and explaining society. It introduces ten key principles of social science research to guide our efforts to better understand and improve contemporary societies. Each week, the unit discusses one principle and shows its application in practice. These range from formulating a good research question to achieving impact in social science research.

Our lectures are delivered online using demonstration cases, vlogs and interviews where we flex our global network of colleagues to talk about research methods and share their research stories. Our tutorials are delivered in person at the University of Canberra’s Bruce campus, and online.

View our unit booklet

Our postgraduate unit

Co-Design and Deliberative Engagement

This unit takes a deep dive into the power and limits of co-design and deliberative engagement. Each week, the online only course examines a policy area where various forms of multi-stakeholder engagement are applied, characterises debates in designing and implementing co-design and deliberative engagement, and introduces their principles and core design features.

Public authorities have increasingly turned to co-design and deliberative engagement to address contentious issues in policymaking and implementation.

Participatory budgeting, citizens’ juries, civic tech, and crowdsourcing are some of the many ways of involving stakeholders in public policy. The unit provokes critical question about co-design and deliberative engagement for the policy community: What are the most effective ways of involving stakeholders in policymaking? How can co-design and deliberative engagement be designed, implemented, and evaluated? What can we learn from global best practices as well as ‘failed cases?’

View our unit booklet

Using global case studies and micro-podcasts from world-leading experts on open government and participatory innovations, the unit aims to provoke critical reflection on what it means to meaningfully collaborate with different stakeholders in contemporary times.

The unit is designed by Prof Nicole Curato and Dr Nivek Thompson.

Apply for a PhD

How to apply

What others think of our program

Apply for an internship

What others think of our program

Our undergraduate unit

Investigating and Explaining Society

Our postgraduate unit

Co-Design and Deliberative Engagement

Contact us

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