Each year, applications for Wine Australia’s PhD scholarships open around the first Monday in October and close the first Friday in November.

Wine Australia offers a PhD scholarship program to help attract postgraduate students to the fields of wine, viticulture and wine business research. We are committed to supporting academic endeavour and encouraging the enthusiasm of the future leaders of oenology, viticulture and wine business researchers to support a prosperous Australian grape and wine community.

Priority research topics

While this opportunity is open to applications from PhD candidates delivering innovative research aligned to the One Grape and Wine Sector Plan themes addressed in Wine Australia’s Strategic Plan 2025-2030, this year we have identified several priority topic areas of interest. Preference may be given to applicants addressing a topic from the below list:

• Novel strategies for pest, disease and virus management in Australian vineyards.
• Plant breeding and gene target identification.
• Novel mid-strength wine production processes.
• Nonchemical control of disease, for example using UV-C and autonomous technology.
• Environmental, Social and Governance challenges as outlined in the ESG Investment Plan.
• Novel strategies across waste circularity, treatment, safe reuse of secondary materials and circular markets.
• Consumer insights, with a focus on moderation and health, export and emerging markets, macro and external drivers, value perception.
• Development and adoption of digital, data and Artificial Intelligence.
• Improving the adoption and evaluation of impact arising from research, innovation and extension activities across the Australian grape and wine sector.

Scholarship support and eligibility

Wine Australia offers supplementary scholarships for up to 3.5 years full-time PhD study. Candidates must:

• be enrolled in or have applied for, a program at an Australian or overseas university
• hold, or have applied for, an Australian Government Research Training Program (RTP) Scholarship or other equivalent scholarship through their host university

The most outstanding Wine Australia PhD scholarship applicant will receive the Dr Tony Jordan OAM Award which provides the recipient with additional stipend. 

Assessment criteria

Scholarships are awarded based on:

• academic excellence and research ability
• research feasibility and methodology
• industry alignment, considered against the priority topic areas of interest
• industry impact, considered against industry partnerships and engagement with industry, research outputs path to market or adoption by industry
• expertise of the proposed supervisor(s) and supervisor support, with the supervisor affirming that the project is feasible and that the candidate has a good track record
• quality of an applicant’s Curriculum Vitae, and perception of the likelihood for ongoing involvement in the Australian wine sector, and
• funding availability.

How to apply

For eligibility criteria and how to apply, please refer to the following: 

• PhD top-up scholarships application guide
• Click here to create a PRISM account and begin your application
• PRISM user guide for PhD top-up scholarship applications