Chinese Studies is inviting expressions of interest from domestic applicants seeking admission to the Doctor of Philosophy (PhD)commencing in 2027.

This call invites prospective PhD applicants to develop and propose an original research project aligned with the discipline’s research strengths and supervision expertise.

We welcome applications from highly motivated candidates with strong academic preparation and a clear interest in contributing to the discipline’s areas of research focus. Applicants should demonstrate the capacity to undertake independent research and develop a well-conceived PhD project.

IMPORTANT: Do not use the “Submit an Expression of Interest” button on this page. To be considered, you must submit your Expression of Interest (EOI) using the School EOI form (click here to access the form).

The academic staff listed below represent the areas of supervision available in Chinese Studies within the Asia Institute. Applicants should review the academic expertise and consider how their proposed project aligns with the research interests of potential supervisors.

The composition of the supervisory panel will be based on staff’s availability and expertise and may draw on expertise from other programs and schools in the Faculty of Arts.

Dr Ivan Franceschini (Principal and Co-Supervisor)

My research focuses on transnational crime, with a particular emphasis on the online scam industry in Southeast Asia and its intersections with organised crime, human trafficking, and forced labour. Drawing on methods from criminology, China studies, and labour studies, I examine how criminal economies operate across borders, how victims and perpetrators are often entangled in overlapping roles, and how survivors of forced criminality are framed by legal and humanitarian systems.

Research Areas: Transnational Crime, Labour, Civil Society

Dr Lily Fu (Co-Supervisor)

Trained in sociology, my research centres on environmental governance and livelihood strategies in pastoral settings, alongside the broader social and economic transformation of rural China. I examine the dynamics of policy change and the interplay among state, local governments, markets and community actors, with particular attention to how competing interests and social structures shape governance outcomes and local livelihoods. My approach is grounded in sociological theory and empirical analysis, aimed at elucidating the mechanisms through which policy processes and actor interactions produce uneven environmental and socio-economic change.

Research Areas: China studies, development studies, grassland management, environmental governance, rural development

Prof Jia Gao (Principal and Co-Supervisor)

I welcome applications from students looking for PhD supervision on new Chinese migrants in Australia, and post-1978 Chinese society, especially social stratification in post-1978 China, elite dominance and ideology of post-Mao China, and public opinion and socio-political dynamics.

Research Areas: New Chinese migrants in Australia, socio- political dynamics in post-Mao China

Dr Yu Hao (Principal and Co-Supervisor)

Yu Hao conducts research in Chinese-English translation and museum accessibility. Her research interests include teaching translation technology in the era of agentic AI, multilingual and cross-cultural public communication at multicultural societies, and audio description (for the blind and visually impaired) in museum settings.

Dr Ke Hu (Principal and Co-Supervisor)

Ke’s research explores how AI-driven language technologies can be used in language and translation education, and how natural language processing and computational linguistic methods can be applied in humanities research.

Research Areas: Language Technologies; Language and Translation Education; Computational linguistics.

A/Prof Ester Leung (Principal and Co-Supervisor)

I have adopted the principle and perspective that research is a form of social action, and by research that we can change society for the better. Therefore, I have conducted research that addressed particular social issues such as medical interpreting for ethnic minorities, and legal interpreting of sexual offences cases. I have also pioneered medical interpreting training courses, and medical and legal interpreting trainer courses for the ethnic minority interpreters.

Research Areas: Interpreting in the legal and medical contexts, forensic linguistics and the application of AI /MT in the process of translation and interpreting studies

A/Prof Delia Lin (Principal and Co-Supervisor)

Trained in linguistics, translation studies and political discourse analysis, I use political humanities methods to compare how contemporary regimes remake culture and inner life. I examine how state discourse and moral–political concepts conduct political soulcraft, shape subjectivities and legitimise rule within expansive visions of security, with a particular focus on China today, illuminating authoritarian resilience, emerging global authoritarianism, citizenship and governance through language. I also have more than ten years’ experience as a NAATI-accredited professional translator and interpreter.

Research Areas: Chinese politics and social governance; law-morality-ideology under Xi Jinping; nationalism and political legitimation in contemporary China; citizenship and ‘civilising’ projects; political humanities of China (discourse, philosophy, ideology, rhetoric)

Dr Lewis Mayo (Principal and Co-Supervisor)

Research Areas: Chinese History - All Periods (Medieval Focus) ; China and Inner Asia; China and Southeast Asia; China and the Pacific (including Australia and New Zealand); Taiwan; China and Social Theory; Chinese Environmental History; Chinese Intellectual History: China and the Sociology of Language

Dr Qiuping Pan (Principal and Co-Supervisor)

My research focuses on the transnational mobilities associated with migration and international higher education, with particular attention to how grassroots communities, citizenship practices, gender relations, civic participation, and entrepreneurship both shape and are shaped by these trajectories. I welcome students interested in migration, diaspora, international education, gender, transnational mobility, and Chinese communities in Australia and the Asia–Pacific.

Research Areas: Migration studies; Chinese diaspora; international education/student; citizenship and civic participation

A/Prof Sarah Rogers (Principal and Co-Supervisor)

Trained as a geographer, my research focuses on the environmental dynamics of China both domestically and in its overseas investment and aid. I have a strong focus on water, agriculture, and climate change, and my analysis is framed by political ecology, political geography, and critical agrarian studies. I welcome students interested in China’s evolving environmental politics domestically and well as the environmental aspects of Global China, particularly in Southeast Asia.

Research Areas: China’s environment, climate governance, climate adaptation, resettlement, poverty alleviation, rural development, agrarian change, grassroots politics, authoritarian environmentalism, Global China, hydropolitics

A/Prof Craig A. Smith (Principal and Co-Supervisor)

Craig’s work on Taiwan Studies, twentieth century East Asian intellectual history and translation is largely related to his interest in efforts to engage with or abrogate Western hegemony. He is an active translator and has translated works by numerous Chinese intellectuals and historians.

Research Areas: Taiwan Studies; Literary Translation; Chinese Intellectual History; Regionalisation

Prof Anthony J. Spires (Principal and Co-Supervisor)

My research on China is grounded in political sociology and encompasses the study of civil society, globalisation, organisational development, and philanthropy.

Research Areas: Civil society; philanthropy; volunteering

Dr Sow Keat Tok (Principal and Co-Supervisor)

Research Areas: China politics and foreign relations: elite politics, central-local relations, historical memory construction, identity politics, policy discourses, developmental politics, developments in Contemporary China Studies. international politics of the Asia-Pacific and international relations theory.

Dr Anthony Williams (Co-Supervisor)

Anthony is a linguist and translator focusing on mathematical approaches to systematising and mapping between language systems. He has a particular interest in Chinese linguistics and tense/aspect systems, and utilises computational linguistics approaches to create models of language, analyse language data and implement machine learning. A fluent Mandarin speaker, Anthony has worked as a professional NAATI translator and teacher of Chinese as a second language.

Research Area: Chinese linguistics; Mathematical linguistics/translation; Computational linguistics/ translation

HOW TO APPLY

Before submitting an Expression of Interest (EOI)
Applicants should review the research areas and supervision expertise listed above and consider how their proposed research project aligns with the discipline’s areas of expertise. You do not need to contact a potential supervisor before submitting an EOI.

You should also ensure you meet the entry requirements for the Doctor of Philosophy (PhD) [click here to view the Handbook]. Competitive applicants typically demonstrate excellent academic achievement in a relevant master’s degree, honours degree (or equivalent), usually placeing in the upper range of the grading scale at their institution, together with strong performance in a substantial independent research project (e.g. thesis).

IMPORTANT – How to submit your EOI

To be considered you must submit your expression of interest using the School EOI form:

→ Submit your Expression of Interest (School EOI form) - click here to access the form

Do not use the page “Submit Expression of Interest” button. Applications submitted via the page button will not be considered.

Deadlines

EOIs are currently being accepted from domestic applicants only. The deadline for domestic applicants is 30 August.

The EOI round for international applicants closed on 30 June and is no longer accepting submissions.

To complete the School EOI form [click here to open], you will be asked to provide:

a research proposal
a curriculum vitae (CV) - use this template [click here to open]
academic transcripts for all tertiary study
evidence of English language proficiency (if applicable)
the names of two potential supervisors aligned with your project

What happens next
Shortlisted applicants will be invited to a Zoom interview with potential supervisors within approximately two weeks of the closing date.

Applicants who receive supervisor support may be invited to submit a formal application to the Doctor of Philosophy – Arts (DR-PHILART).

Submission of an EOI does not guarantee admission or scholarship selection.

Further information about the application process is available here: https://arts.unimelb.edu.au/study/graduate-research [click here to open]

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Ke Hu

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