What you'll investigate

This scholarship is a collaboration between ACU, the Australian College of Nursing Foundation, and Monash Health.

Potential research areas include:

• Understanding the use of standardised nursing terminologies in advancing the visibility and value of nursing care
• Investigating digital health workforce requirements for successful health transformation
• Exploring the impact of co-designing and co-evaluating digital health technologies with patients and consumers
• Contemporary application of artificial intelligence to nursing work
• Exploring the impact of integrating standardised nursing data into local and national ecosystems
• Strengthening nurse care planning and multi-disciplinary care coordination through digital technologies
• Investigating the relationship between standardised nursing terminologies taught in education and those used in electronic medical records.

Scholarship package

The successful applicant will be awarded a scholarship package consisting of:

Your research community

Principal supervisor

Will be appointed once the scholarship recipient is selected.

Faculty

Faculty of Health Sciences

The Faculty of Health Sciences is committed to improving the lives of others by providing world-leading health care. We are guided by evidence and the values of excellence, dignity, and engagement. The faculty plays a key role in delivering research excellence in nursing, public health, digital health, and health services-among other areas.

Visit the FHS website

Industry partners

The Australian College of Nursing Foundation

The Australian College of Nursing Foundation collaborates with the community-at-large to raise funds in support of nurse-led initiatives. These initiatives focus on research, policy development and advocacy, education, scholarship, nurse leadership, and the curation of Australian nurse history.

Visit the Foundation's website

Monash Health

Monash Health exists to reimagine care, so that people can live their best lives. We provide safe and equitable care, for every stage of life, delivered with world-leading expertise and over 175 years of experience.

As a leading academic health service, we're committed to providing tomorrow's care today by integrating research, teaching, and training into everyday practice.

Every day, our team of 24,000 people provides more than 250 integrated services at over 40 locations and in the community for 1.2 million residents in south-east Melbourne, Australia. With a significant digital health footprint spanning eight hospitals, residential health services, and community centres, Monash Health is at the forefront of health informatics innovation. Our leadership is reflected through active representation on national forums and committees, driving advancements in digital health, and shaping the future of healthcare delivery. It is the lead site for the International Council of Nursing Standardised Nursing Terminology Research and Development Centre in Australia. The Nursing and Midwifery Informatics team actively pursue and undertake a range of research activities related to digital health technologies that impact nurses, midwives, and our consumers.

Visit the Monash Health website

How to apply

Step 1: Assess your eligibility

Eligibility

Before you apply, confirm you meet the following eligibility criteria:

• This opportunity is open to domestic applicants only.
• The eligibility criteria for the PhD program at ACU can be found in the Higher Degree Research Policy.
• The eligibility criteria for research scholarships can be found in the ACU Research Training Program Scholarship Policy.

Requirements

In addition to the eligibility criteria, the successful applicant should have:

• a strong interest in advancing knowledge in relation to the intersection digital health, nursing practice, and outcomes of nursing care
• experience working in digital health and health care.

Conditions

By applying, you acknowledge and accept the following conditions:

• The scholarship package is subject to satisfactory progress and full-time study mode.
• The scholarship conditions align with the ACU Research Training Program Scholarship Policy.
• The successful applicant will be required to assign their intellectual property (IP) to ACU as a condition of enrolment.

Step 2: Submit an expression of interest

Submission of an Expression of Interest, including:

• An outline of your proposed research topic and methodology (200 words)
• A statement outlining your eligibility for admission to ACU's Doctor of Philosophy Program (200 words).

If you believe you are eligible for admission under section f), please include:

• details of your articles/chapters accepted or published in peer reviewed journals or academic books, and/or
• your government, think tank, industry, or similar report that has a structure like an academic journal article (e.g., has a literature review, methods, and results).

Expressions of interest should be forwarded to the Faculty of Health Sciences Associate Dean of Research:

Email: fhs.adr@acu.edu.au

Expressions of interest close: Friday 27 February 2026, 11:59 pm AEDT

Step 3: Complete a full application

Submission of a full application to the PhD program at ACU, as detailed in the How to Apply instructions, plus:

• A CV outlining relevant academic and practical experience; and
• A cover letter detailing demonstrated interest and/or experience in the program of research described.

When completing the PhD application form, please indicate that you are also applying for an RTP Stipend Scholarship and include the name of this scholarship: "Cynthea Wellings PhD Scholarship".

Full applications close: Wednesday 1 April 2026, 11:59 pm AEDT

Please note: Applicants for the Cynthea Wellings PhD Scholarship will be considered alongside all RTP Scholarship applicants through a merit-based selection process.