School of Historical Studies The Australian Centre

Facilities and support for postgraduates

Australian Centre Postgraduate Coordinator

The Australian Centre Postgraduate Coordinator is available to provide general advice about candidature, to discuss progress and supervision issues and to facilitate activities at the Centre. See the contact page for details.


Australian Centre Postgraduate Representative

A student representative is nominated each year. The student represents the interests of Australian Studies students on the School of Historical Studies’ Postgraduate Committee and provides some assistance to the coordinator in organising postgraduate events.


Space allocation for research students

The Australian Centre Postgraduate Room is located at 149 Barry St, Australian Centre Building B. This room provides access to six computers, a printer and two extra desk spaces. An informal roster system operates and students should discuss their need for space with the postgraduate representative and/or coordinator. A number of lockers are also available, as well as shelving and lockable drawers in filing cabinets.


Kitchen facilities

Australian Centre postgraduate students may use the kitchen at 149 Barry Street, where a fridge, microwave and other eating and drinking facilities are available. Postgraduate students are also welcome at the Australian Centre Morning Teas.


Postgraduate Seminars

Australian Centre Postgraduate Seminars are generally held on the first Thursday of every month during semester. They provide a supportive environment in which to discuss work, present papers, hear guest speakers and get to know other postgraduate students.


Work-in-Progress Days

The Australian Centre participates in the two School of Historical Studies Work-in-Progress days. The Centre holds its own mid-year Australian Studies stream and encourages students to participate more broadly in the School event at the end of the year.

Library collections

The Australian Centre has a small but very rich collection of reference materials in its library.

The Chris Wallace-Crabbe Library
Housed in Room 211, Building A at 137 Barry Street, the library contains a wide range of poetry, fiction, history and biography, with a strong emphasis on Australian literature. The Centre also has a substantial collection of Australian journals and magazines. The collection is available to researchers and postgraduate students for research use, but there are no provisions for borrowing. The library is also available to postgraduate research students as a study and discussion area.

The Davies Collection
Professor Alan Davies was appointed to a lectureship at the University of Melbourne in 1946, and was Professor of Political Science from 1968 until his premature death in 1987. Mr Stephen Davies generously donated his father's library to the Centre in 1991. The collection comprises over 2,000 books and periodicals with particular strength in the fields of politics, sociology, psychology and psychotherapy, and reflects Professor Davis’ professional interest in dream interpretation.

Examples of past theses
Past Masters and PhD theses are available for consultation by current students and researchers. For access to these collections, contact the Postgraduate Coordinator.


Scholarships and funding

See the scholarships page.

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