The Faculty of Information Technology (https://www.monash.edu/it) at Monash University in Melbourne Australia has two graduate scholarships for exceptionally initiating and talented students to pursue a PhD in HCI and creative technologies. The selected students will have the opportunity to join an expanding HCI group with expertise in state-of-the-art areas such as: human-centered interfaces, mobile and wearable interfaces, natural multimodal interfaces (speech, writing, images, touch), agent-based conversational interfaces, multimodal-multisensor interfaces, data analytics for predicting user cognition and health, and brain-computer and adaptive interfaces.

Successful PhD student applicants would conduct research on topics related to those outlined above in the HCI group. Most applicants would have a background in Computer and Information Systems, HCI, Interaction or Media Design, or a multidisciplinary topic related to their PhD interests such as Psychology, Cognitive Science, Neuroscience, Medicine and Health Sciences, Linguistics, or Engineering. Dr. Sharon Oviatt, director of the HCI area, will provide supervision. She is an internationally known pioneer in human-centered, mobile, and multimodal interfaces, and an ACM Fellow (see https://www.monash.edu/it/our-research/graduate-research/scholarship-funded-phd-research-projects/projects/human-centred-mobile-and-multimodal-interfaces)

HCI Group & University: The HCI group designs, builds, and evaluates state-of-the-art computer interface technologies. It has multidisciplinary interests spanning computer science and engineering, cognitive and learning sciences, communications, medicine and health, media design, and other topics. The group?s research is based on empirical science, statistics, deep learning and data analytics, and HCI methods. We are interested in applications in many areas, such as health, education, communications, personal assistance, robotics, automotive, and digital arts.

Monash is Australia?s largest university, and ranks in the top 60 universities worldwide, with Computer and Information Systems rated in the top 70 (QS World University rankings 2018). It is growing rapidly in human-centered interfaces, software, and cyber-security, but also includes data science and machine learning, artificial intelligence and robotics, computational biology, social computing, digital humanities, and traditional computer science.

Experimental Labs & Design Spaces: The university has made recent strategic investments in facilities for prototyping innovative concepts, collecting and analyzing data, and displaying digital installations and interactive media?including sensiLab (tangible, wearable, augmented and virtual reality, multimodal-multimedia, maker-space), Immersive Visualization platform and Analytics lab, the Centre for Data Science, and the ARC Centre of Excellence on Integrative Brain function (pioneering new multimodal imaging techniques for data exploration). The university currently is investing in HCI group facilities for prototyping and developing new mobile, multimodal, and multisensory interfaces, analyzing human multimodal interaction (e.g., whole-body activity, speech, writing), and predicting users? cognitive and health status.

Melbourne Area: Melbourne recently has been rated the #1 city worldwide for quality of life (see Economist & Guardian, http://www.economist.com/blogs/graphicdetail/2016/08/daily-chart-14 and https://www.theguardian.com/australia-news/2016/aug/18/melbourne-wins-worlds-most-liveable-city-award-sixth-year-in-a-row), with excellent education, healthcare, infrastructure, low crime, and exceptional cuisine, cultural activities, and creative design. The regional area is renowned for its dramatic coastline, extensive parks, exotic wildlife, and Yarra Valley wine region.

Scholarship Support: The funded PhD positions are for full-time study at the Monash Caufield campus in Melbourne, to begin during the 2018 academic year. They include $26,682 AUD scholarship (non-taxable), relocation allowance ($1,000), tuition waiver and Overseas Student Health Cover for international students. Full-time Monash Graduate Scholarships for PhD students are for 3 to 3.5 years. PhD students may be eligible for other Monash scholarships, or for supplements for data collection, publications, and conference travel. Monash has a Women in IT Program and scholarships for female students. We especially welcome female, minority and international applications. For further information, see https://www.monash.edu/__data/assets/pdf_file/0009/704763/2017-stipend-conditions-of-award-1.pdf and https://www.monash.edu/graduate-research/future-students/support, or email Dr. Sharon Oviatt (with ?PhD Student Application? in header) at:  Oviatt@incaadesigns.org

Scholarship Requirements: To be competitive, applicants should have first-class honors (H1), or the equivalent grade of 80% or above. Research experience and publications also are considered, so students with lower grades but strong evidence of research aptitude and experience are encouraged to apply.

To apply: For information about required application materials, and to submit an application online by the deadline, see https://www.monash.edu/graduate-research/future-students/apply and https://www.monash.edu/graduate-research/contact-us/faqs/how-to-apply. The academic term 1 begins in late February, and term 2 in late July. Graduate applications with scholarship support are due March 31 or August 31 for international students, and May 31 or Oct. 31 for domestic Australian students.