Flinders University The Critic Counts: Creative Practice PhD Scholarship 2026

“The Critic Counts” is a research project funded by the Australian Research Council that responds to the crisis in theatre criticism in Australia and Aotearoa New Zealand by developing new strategies for archiving and developing critical cultural down under. As part of this project, we are offering a PhD scholarship for a candidate to develop a creative practice research response to the critical archive. 

The PhD candidate will produce a written exegesis and a creative artefact drawing on the expertise of the Creative and Performing Arts discipline cluster at Flinders University, in Creative Writing, Drama, Film and Television, and Virtual Production. The project will also be able to draw on the creative practice research infrastructure managed by the Assemblage Centre for Creative Practice Research at Flinders. 

We are particularly interested in projects which:

• Interrogate theatre criticism authorship and audience through decolonial, crip, queer, trans, or feminist perspectives;
• Employ verbatim theatre methodologies in response to the archive of theatre criticism; 
• Engage with theories and practices of playwriting and dramaturgy, particularly in relation to solo performance, site-responsive practices, or community engagement; and/or
• Explore theatre criticism in regional, rural, or community contexts.

This project will be supervised by Associate Professor Sarah Peters at Flinders University, with adjunct supervision from Dr Charlotte Farrell (UNSW Sydney) and Dr James Wenley (Te Herenga Waka – Victoria University of Wellington). We envisage that the creative artefact will be performed and/or exhibited as appropriate across the project’s major sites in Adelaide, Sydney, and Te Whanganui-a-Tara Wellington.

• Table of Content
• About Flinders University
• The Critic Counts: Creative Practice PhD Scholarship Postgraduate Scholarship
• Aim and Benefits of The Critic Counts: Creative Practice PhD Scholarship Postgraduate Scholarship
• Requirements for The Critic Counts: Creative Practice PhD Scholarship Postgraduate Scholarship Qualification
• Application Deadline
• How to Apply

The Critic Counts: Creative Practice PhD Scholarship Postgraduate Scholarship

Aim and Benefits of The Critic Counts: Creative Practice PhD Scholarship Postgraduate Scholarship

• The PhD scholarship is paid at the rate of $36,061.00 (2026 rate) for a period of three years, and can only be undertaken full-time.
• Ideally, the candidate will demonstrate a preexisting creative practice that this PhD project presents the opportunity to deepen and expand upon through focused research and creative experimentation.

Requirements for The Critic Counts: Creative Practice PhD Scholarship Postgraduate Scholarship Qualification

Applicants should also ensure that they meet the Flinders University PhD eligibility requirements:

• A Bachelors degree with Honours class 1 or 2A;
• A Graduate Diploma or Masters degree by coursework with a research component of at least 18 units, with an average GPA of at least 6 in the research component; or
• A Masters by Research degree.

Application Deadline

How to Apply

• To discuss potential projects, please contact Professor Chris Hay ([email protected]) with a brief, one-page project proposal. Prospective candidates who have have not already applied for admission to a relevant HDR program will then be directed to apply via the ‘How to apply’ page on the Flinders website.

For more information, kindly visit Flinders University scholarship webpage.