Graduate research

Ready to take your study of the history of philosophy to the next level, and join the debates shaping the field?

The Centre for the History of Philosophy (CHOP) offers one of Australia’s most dynamic environments for graduate research in the history of philosophy. We support PhD, MRes, and MPhil candidates whose projects engage with philosophical traditions across cultures, eras, and religious contexts. Graduate researchers are fully embedded in CHOP’s scholarly life—participating in seminars, masterclasses, reading groups, and international collaborations.

We particularly welcome proposals that resonate with CHOP’s research strengths and current staff research projects, including (but not limited to):

  • Philosophy in the Abrahamic traditions: creative interaction between religion and philosophy in the Jewish, Christian, and Islamic intellectual traditions.
  • Ancient philosophy: ethics, metaphysics, and epistemology in ancient Greek and Roman philosophy.
  • Philosophy of nature: diverse conceptions of nature and their relation to culture, science, and value

Funding opportunities

  • Graduate research degrees have zero tuition costs for Australian citizens and permanent residents.
  • Competitive applicants can apply for a $33,500 p.a. tax-free stipend through Notre Dame’s Higher Degree Research (HDR) scholarship program.
  • Competitive International applicants can apply for an international fee-offset scholarship.

Learn more about HDR scholarships and funding.

Meet our graduate research students

  • Cecilia Hunt – PhD, Neo-Aristotelian Powers Ontology and the Mind, supervised by Angus Brook and David Bronstein
  • Matthew Cain – MPhil, Vision or Exemplification? Augustine and Aquinas on Divine Illumination, supervised by Nathan Lyons and Renée Köhler-Ryan
  • Brent Keogh – MPhil, The Nature of Music and the Music of Nature: An Ecomusicological Engagement with Hildegard von Bingen, supervised by Nathan Lyons and Catherine Wesselinoff
  • Julian Milkovitsch – MPhil, Aristotle’s Theory of Courage, supervised by David Bronstein and Timothy Smartt
  • Rebekah Fulop – PhD, Intractable Powers Problems and Aristotelian Metaphysics, supervised by Angus Brook and Nathan Lyons
  • William Taylor – PhD, Aristotle on Productive Knowledge: Delimiting the Role of Technē in his Philosophical System, supervised by David Bronstein and Angus Brook

Contact us

For enquiries about graduate research in the Centre, contact chop@nd.edu.au.