McKenzie Postdoctoral Fellowships
2027 round key dates
Wednesday 1 April 2026
Release of scheme guidelines on University of Melbourne Early Career Researcher Fellowships webpage and expression of interest open via SmartyGrants.
Thursday 16 April 2026
Thursday 7 May 2026
EOI (including eligibility exemption request if relevant) due via SmartyGrants with Early Career Researcher Fellowships Endorsement Form (downloadable from the Fellowship website signed by MLS Academic Contact.
Wednesday 22 July 2026
EOI applicants are notified of the outcome. Successful EOI applicants invited to apply in the full application round. Full application round opens in SmartyGrants (link to be provided in July 2026).
Thursday 19 August 2026 (3pm AEST)
Full application due via SmartyGrants and referee written testimonials due to ecr-fellowships@unimelb.edu.au
End of October 2026
Outcomes announcement and notification to successful applicants.
Overview
Established by the Deputy Vice-Chancellor (Research) in 2010, the McKenzie Postdoctoral Fellowships scheme is the University of Melbourne’s flagship postdoctoral development program that contributes to research excellence and builds the capability of high-calibre academics during the pivotal early career stage. The Fellowship is a period of concentrated research time that enables outstanding early career researchers to strengthen their research, generate new projects and collaborations, develop research leadership capabilities, and contribute to the broader research objectives of the University. The McKenzie Postdoctoral Fellowships is a research Fellowship. No teaching is expected or permitted.
Applicants with a PhD from the University of Melbourne are now eligible to apply for a McKenzie Postdoctoral Fellowship.
For the current round (commencing in 2027), applicants must have completed the requirements for the award of their PhD degree no earlier than 1 April 2023. The date of the award is considered to be the date of the official notification letter, i.e. your PhD must be verified as complete by the awarding institution.
Note, in 2027 the McKenzie Postdoctoral Fellowships scheme is administered within the University of Melbourne’s RDS-Early Career Researcher Fellowships scheme. MLS applicants will need to select ‘McKenzie Postdoctoral Fellowship’ within the Early Career Research Fellowships SmartyGrants forms.
Melbourne Law School Academic Contact
If you are interested in a McKenzie Postdoctoral Fellowship based at Melbourne Law School (MLS), you are required to identify an Academic Contact at MLS to support your application. The Academic Contact must complete and sign the Early Career Researcher Fellowships Endorsement Form available on the UoM McKenzie webpage. Signed Endorsement Forms are to be submitted by the applicant with the EOI via SmartyGrants by the EOI due date (7 May 2026 at 3pm AEST).
To identify a potential Academic Contact, we suggest:
- Searching on UoM find an expert and/or MLS Staff Research Expertise
- When you e-mail a potential Academic Contact, please send them your draft expression of interest so they can make an informed decision
- If and when an MLS academic agrees to act as your Academic Contact, send them the Endorsement Form that they need to complete and sign (form downloadable from the Fellowship website). The Academic Contact should return the signed form to the EOI applicant before the EOI due date to ensure a timely EOI submission on or before 7 May 2026.
Please note we do not require or expect MLS Academic Contacts to assist prospective applicants with their expression of interest. A panel of senior academics at MLS will review and rank all eligible expressions of interest, and we want to assess your own work.
Further information
Ms Paula Arcari
Senior Research Officer
Office for Research
Melbourne Law School
Email: law-research@unimelb.edu.au
Please direct any queries to Melbourne Law School's Office for Research, not to current McKenzie Fellows.