Scholarships & funding

USYD-UofG Collaborative PhD Scholarship - Epistemic Infrastructures of Planetary Health Governance in Southeast Asia

Project details

This project examines how knowledge systems shape planetary health governance in Southeast Asia. As the region faces climate change and ecological degradation, it is pertinent to understand the implications of new ‘green’ and ‘smart’ development initiatives that are presented as planetary health interventions though often involve massive land transformation, environmental destruction, and displacement of local and indigenous communities. The project focuses on the concept of ‘epistemic infrastructure’, which relates to the material, institutional, and discursive systems that determine what counts as evidence, who qualifies as expert, and how knowledge circulates. It investigates how these infrastructures mediate between local environmental knowledge and global planetary health frameworks, and how epistemic authority is geographically and geopolitically distributed. Central research questions include:

• How do epistemic injustices shape whose futures are imagined in planetary health governance?
• What knowledge forms become invisible in policy processes?
• How might alternative epistemic infrastructures enable more just, pluralistic governance?

Drawing on science and technology studies, global governance scholarship, and multispecies ethnography, the project positions Southeast Asia not merely as vulnerable to climate change but also as a laboratory for interventions. This framing challenges universalising Anthropocene narratives and contributes to decolonising planetary health scholarship. Case studies will examine controversial sustainable development projects ( for instance Indonesia’s Nusantara Capital City, Malaysia’s Forest City, or the Philippines’ New Clark City). Promising ‘green’ and ‘smart’ designs, these projects exemplify how techno-scientific knowledge legitimises large-scale interventions while marginalising alternative ways of knowing and living with environmental change. By revealing how epistemic infrastructures produce uneven governance outcomes, the research aims to make visible the power relations embedded in knowledge production and open pathways toward more equitable planetary health futures

Supervisory Team

Principal Supervisor: Professor Sonja van Wichelen (USYD)

Secondary Supervisor(s): Professor Sotiria Grek (UofG), Dr Sophie Chao (USYD) & Dr Emiline Smith (UofG)

About the School/Research Unit

The School of Social and Political Sciences (SSPS) at the University of Sydney is a leading social science environment, focusing on five research themes: health, markets, governance, inequality and environment. This School is proudly home to one of the most successful academic groups in the world for research and teaching in the social sciences, and their work interprets and makes sense of societies, nation states and people.

In conjunction with two Multi-Disciplinary Initiatives at the University of Sydney, namely the Sydney Southeast Asia Centre (SSEAC) and the Charles Perkins Centre (CPC), the School of Social and Political Sciences is seeking a PhD candidate. You will work with Professor Sonja van Wichelen and Dr. Sophie Chao, conducting research focused on the social, political, and epistemic aspects of planetary health governance in Southeast Asia. This is an exciting opportunity to work closely with a multidisciplinary research team, advancing knowledge in both science and technology studies and medical/public health research.  The successful candidate will have the opportunity to share their work within a vibrant PhD community at the MDI level (SSEAC and CPC), School level (SSPS), and Discipline level (Sociology and Anthropology).

 

 

The successful candidate will also join a vibrant PhD and wider research community at the University of Glasgow (UofG)' School of Social and Political Sciences. The objectives and motivations of the candidate’s project are entirely congruent with the School’s commitment to research as part of an interdisciplinary agenda to further social justice and support the development of more equitable societies. 

More specifically, indicating its pertinence and ambition, the candidate will benefit from and contribute to the wider College of Social Sciences (CoSS) research environment. It speaks directly to the College's Interdisciplinary Research Theme “Peaceful, Secure and Empowered Societies” which is guided by the question how research might contribute to building such societies at grassroots, local, national, and international levels. Moreover, the candidate will benefit from and contribute to the research communities engaging - across topics, methods and contexts - with CoSS’ Interdisciplinary Research Network “Skills and Livelihoods for Better Futures”, concerned with grand challenges, such as just transitions and socio-economic inequality and exclusion.

In addition, the project resonates with the Glasgow Research Beacon “Addressing Inequalities”, which brings together researchers from across the University to address inequalities and their effects on individuals, communities and populations across the world by working with communities, governments and international organisations to evaluate and develop policies that seek to create fairer societies. In doing so, the project supports the four United Nations Sustainable Development Goals highlighted by the UofG (1: No Poverty; 3: Good Health and Well-being; 4: Quality Education; and 10: Reduced Inequalities).

From a practical point of view, the successful candidate will have the opportunity to present at the Urban Studies and Social Policy (USSP) workshops and seminar series and will be encouraged to present their work, as it develops, at national and international conferences. Specifically, the candidate will join the Just Cities and Societies research cluster at USSP (Grek is co-lead of the cluster) and will also benefit from the activities of multiple research groups and networks based at the division of Sociological and Cultural Studies.

Eligibility

Applicants must meet the following eligibility criteria

• Applicants will have a a First Class Honours degree, or Master's by Research with outstanding results (at least 80%) [or overseas equivalent]
• Applicants must be able to study full-time basis only
• Applicants must have a demonstratable interest in the topic area under investigation.
• Applicants must be able to commit to enrolling/registering on PhD programmes at both institutions simultaneously and spend time physically based at each institution during the PhD
• Successful applicants must be physically based at USYD for commencement of the Collaborative PhD.
• A background in Anthropology, Sociology, Science and Technology Studies is desirable
• Applicants from or with research and/or working experience in the Southeast Asian region are desirable

Please note that all applicants must also meet the entry requirements for the Doctor of Philosophy (Arts and Social Sciences) [USYD] and the Social & Public Policy, PhD [UofG]. 

Number of Scholarships

1

Value

The scholarship is available as a full-time +3 (3 year) PhD programme only. The programme will commence in January 2027. The funding is provided by USYD and includes:

• An annual stipend valued at 42,754 p.a. (2026 rate) via a UPA for domestic students or USYDIS for international students;
• Tuition fees covered by RTP fee offset for domestic students or covered by University of Sydney Tuition fee scholarship for international students;
• A one-off Sydney Global Mobility Joint PhD Travel Scholarship ($5000 AUD)

Additionally, the UofG's College of Social Sciences will provide a Fee Waiver to cover the tuition fees for the UofG PhD programme.

How to apply

Applicants must apply via the Scholarships Application Portal (please see Scholarships Application Portal - Applicant Guide for more information).The funding opportunity is under 'College of Social Sciences Postgraduate Research Funding > COSS-25-013'), uploading the following documentation:

• USYD-UofG Scholarship - Epistemic Infrastructures application form (in Word format)
• Academic transcripts (All relevant Undergraduate and Master’s level degree transcripts (and translations, if not originally in English) – provisional transcripts are sufficient if you are yet to complete your degree).
• Contact details for two referees (where possible your referees should include an academic familiar with your work (within the last 5 years). Both referees can be academics but you may include a work referee, especially if you have been out of academia for more than 5 years). Please note, a CoSS PGR Funding Reference template will be sent to your referees for completion)*. Note that no member of this project's supervisory team can act as your referee. Please see CoSS PGR Funding Reference request guide for further guidance
• Curriculum Vitae (CV) (academic where applicable)

*Please note that when you enter your referees contact details on the Scholarships Application Portal and send the reference request, your referees are expected to provide their references by the closing date of the Scholarship (below). It is strongly recommended you complete this as soon as possible, as late or incomplete applications will not be considered.

 

Closing Date: 21 April 2026

References from referees are due no later than 28 April 2026