Global St Andrews and Macquarie Doctoral Scholarship - Chemistry and Engineering

Project

The project will involve the development of homogeneous and heterogeneous catalysts for the synthesis and recycling of renewable polyesters, polyamides and polyurethanes using the approach of catalytic dehydrogenation and hydrogenation.

The research will be jointly supervised by Dr Amit Kumar (University of St Andrews), whose group specialises in molecular organometallic catalysts, and Prof. Yijiao Jiang (Macquarie University), an expert in recyclable heterogeneous catalysts. By uniting expertise from chemistry and engineering, the project will explore how to immobilise highly active catalysts on solid supports to enable both efficient depolymerisation and catalyst recyclability—two critical steps towards making chemical recycling economically viable.

The PhD student will receive interdisciplinary training across both universities, developing skills in synthetic chemistry, catalyst immobilisation, materials characterisation, polymer degradation, and process scale-up.

References:

1. (a) Kumar et.al., ACS Catalysis, 2025, 15, 3619-3635; (b) Kumar et.al., Chemrxiv.
2. Jiang et.al., JACS Au, 2024, 4, 3135.

The project will be managed jointly between the School of Chemistry at St Andrews and the School of Engineering at Macquarie University. The student will be supervised by Dr Amit Kumar (St Andrews) and Prof. Yijiao Jiang (Macquarie).

Value of award (per year)

For the period spent at the University of St Andrews, the scholarships will comprise a full tuition fee award and an annual stipend paid at a rate set by the University of St Andrews. For 2025-2026, the stipend is £19,775 p.a., with an annual uplift published by the University each academic year. 

Macquarie will fund a living allowance scholarship per position at an annual rate of AUD39,700 (2026 rate, tax exempt), paid pro-rata while the student is in Australia.  A tuition fee scholarship will be granted for the period of joint enrolment up to 42 months.

Macquarie will also provide an airfare allowance for flights between the UK and Australia up to a maximum of $4,000 AUD to be arranged by the Graduate Research Academy.

Unless otherwise specified, the scholarships do not cover:

• Any continuation, extension, or resubmission period/fees.
• A research training grant or another equivalent award for research expenses.
• Support for travel, immigration, health insurance and related charges between the partner institutions.

Duration of award

Up to 3.5 years. The student will be expected to spend half of the award term at the University of St Andrews and half at Macquarie University. The successful candidate will be expected to have completed the doctorate degree by the end of the award term. The award term excludes the continuation period and any extension periods.

Additional criteria

Admission and scholarship criteria of both universities must be met.

Applicants must not already (i) hold a doctoral degree; or (ii) be matriculated for a doctoral degree at the University of St Andrews, Macquarie University, or another institution.

How to apply

Call for expressions of interest (EOIs) from students opens mid-October 2025. 

Call for EOIs closes 3 December 2025.

Students are to submit their EOIs to the MQ and St Andrew’s supervisor and cc gr.globalprograms@mq.edu.au. The participating schools at St Andrews and the Graduate Research Academy at Macquarie in coordination with the academic supervisors will be expected to complete the selection process. 

EOI documents to be submitted:

• CV including information about publications
• Transcripts of most relevant/recent degrees
• Information about thesis components of existing qualifications (thesis mark, word count, weight/length in comparison to the degree overall)
• Statement of suitability as a candidate for the project (max 500 words)
• Indication that the student meets the English language requirements for entry into a PhD program at both universities, or willingness to obtain relevant English language proficiency test results

The Global Office at St Andrews will work with the Graduate Research Academy at Macquarie to arrange official notification of scholarship awards, invite scholarship awardees to formally apply for admission to both universities by mid-January 2026, and conclude contractual arrangements which must be in place prior to the start of the degree.

Shortlisted applicants will be invited for an interview. The successful applicant will then be asked to formally apply for the relevant PhD course code and Cotutelle/joint PhD scholarship through the MQ application portal:

https://www.mq.edu.au/research/phd-and-research-degrees/how-to-apply

Next steps

Successful scholarship applicants will be invited to apply for admission to both universities from mid-January 2026, and then formal outcomes of the position will be made, subject to provision of full application details and materials for entry to the programme at the agreed entry point in 2026-2027.

Successful scholarship applicants must meet all relevant entry requirements for admission including any immigration requirements that may be in place.

For St Andrews, please refer to details of how to apply and of entry requirements here: https://www.st-andrews.ac.uk/study/apply/postgraduate/research/.

For Macquarie University, please refer to the PhD entry and English language requirements, and graduate research scholarship eligibility criteria.

Terms and conditions

Terms and conditions of scholarships for St Andrews can be found here: Awards general terms and conditions.

These are applicable during the St Andrews duration of the award; please consult the partner institution for their terms and conditions relating to scholarships.

When will I know the outcome?

By mid-January 2026. Awards are subject to final signatures of contracts between the parties and successful admission to both institutions.