Global St Andrews and Macquarie Doctoral Scholarships - Psychological Sciences

Project

Since the start of the Industrial Revolution, global emissions have steadily risen, with approximately half attributed to unsustainable resource consumption. Globally, household consumption accounts for 50% to 80% of total resource use and over 60% of greenhouse gas emissions. Australian households have one of the highest per capita carbon footprints in the world. They also hold the largest land footprint, the second highest material footprint, and the third highest water footprint per capita. The consequences of this overshoot are evident today in soil erosion, deforestation, habitat and species loss, global warming, weather extremes, loss of livelihoods, malnutrition, and mental health difficulties.

Existing behaviour change interventions have not significantly enhanced pro-environmental behaviour outside of recycling. Although recycling is important, recycling is expensive and resource-intensive, and it only delays the depletion of virgin raw materials for a few decades at best. Thus, to effectively mitigate climate change and resource depletion we need interventions that effectively increase behaviours higher up on the waste hierarchy: refuse, reduce, and reuse.

In response to this need, Professor Norberg developed the world’s first online eco-wellness program, Breaking Up with Belongings. This self-directed program helps individuals improve their health and wellbeing, and that of the planet, by addressing overconsumption through strategies grounded in self-control, emotion regulation, and self-efficacy theories. In the first trial of the program, participants who were randomly assigned to the intervention showed greater cautious shopping, reduced impulse buying, lower expenditure, less attachment to objects, and better emotion regulation than those placed on the waitlist.

In the first two years, a Global PhD student supervised by Professor Norberg at Macquarie University will explore how the intervention achieves its effects. The student will investigate whether improved self-control, self-efficacy, and emotion regulation explain the intervention's success. The student will then work with Dr Barbara Dritschel at St Andrews to generate additional knowledge that will be used to advance behaviour change theories. Specifically, they will conduct two experimental studies: one focused on future thinking and the other on autobiographical memory in relation to self-control, self-efficacy and emotion regulation. Work by Dr Dritschel and colleagues has shown that thinking about unresolved social problems, prior to problem solving, is associated with poorer problem solving. This future thinking methodology will be implemented regarding (un)resolved consumption problems to understand if Dr Dritschel’s earlier work extends to sustainability issues. The student will also conduct an autobiographical memory study. The study will explore how consumption-related memories differ from memories of nature, focusing on their impact on emotions, self-efficacy, and self-image. Understanding how these memories relate to mood and memory recall is key to grasping how autobiographical memory influences consumption behaviours.

The project will be managed jointly between the School of Psychology and Neuroscience at St Andrews and the School of Psychological Sciences at Macquarie. The student will be supervised by Dr. Barbara Dritschel (St Andrews) and by Prof. Melissa Norberg (Macquarie).

Informal enquiries regarding this scholarship may be addressed to Dr. Barbara Dritschel (bd9@st-andrews.ac.uk) or Prof. Mellisa Norberg (melissa.norberg@mq.edu.au).

Value of award (per year)

The funding comprises a scholarship equivalent of a full-fees award and stipend for a period of up to 3.5 years. It is expected that the student will spend half of the scholarship term at the University of St Andrews and half at Macquarie University:

• For the period spent at the University of St Andrews, the scholarship will comprise a full fees award and a stipend paid at the current UK Research Council rate (£19,237 each year in 2024–2025)
• For the period spent at Macquarie University, the scholarship will comprise a stipend at an annual rate of AUD $38,500 (tax exempt, 2025 rate), paid pro-rata. A tuition fee scholarship will be granted for the period of joint enrolment up to 42 months. Macquarie University will also provide an airfare allowance for flights between Scotland and Australia up to a maximum value of $4,000 AUD to be arranged in accordance with the University’s travel policy.

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 approximately 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

Submit an application/expression of interest to the School of Psychology and Neuroscience.  Applications/expressions of interest should include the following documents:

• CV including information about publications.
• Transcripts of most relevant/recent degrees.
• Information about thesis components (thesis mark, word count, weight/length in comparison to the degree overall) for an undergraduate psychology thesis or a Masters thesis in an area relevant to the project
• Statement of suitability as a candidate for the project (max 500 words)
• Two academic references
• Sample of written academic work in English of no more than 3000 words
• Applicants whose first language is not English must provide evidence of English proficiency; the School of Psychology and Neuroscience requires an IELTS score of at least 7.0 overall with at least 7.0 in writing. The University has further information on the language requirements page.

Applications for a scholarship will be assessed jointly by the co-supervisors. Following a successful application for the scholarship, candidates may be invited by the co-supervisors to submit an application to each university for admission into the program and award of the scholarship.

Please indicate in your application that you wish to be considered for this Global doctoral scholarship (Dritschel-Norberg). Applications should be submitted to the co-supervisors via email to: Dr. Barbara Dritschel (bd9@st-andrews.ac.uk) or Prof. Mellisa Norberg (melissa.norberg@mq.edu.au).

Informal enquiries regarding this scholarship may be addressed to Dr. Barbara Dritschel (bd9@st-andrews.ac.uk) or Prof. Mellisa Norberg (melissa.norberg@mq.edu.au).

Next steps

Successful scholarship applicants will be invited to apply for admission to both universities from mid-January 2025, and then formal outcomes of the position will be made, subject to provision of full application details and materials for entry to the programme on 27 September 2025 (for St Andrews starts) or 1 October 2025 (for Macquarie starts).

Successful scholarship applicants must meet all relevant entry requirements for admission including any immigration requirements that may be in place. Please see the advice on applying for research degree programmes at St Andrews and the PhD application guidelines at Macquarie.

Terms and conditions

Please read the University of St Andrews scholarships terms and conditions (opens in new tab).

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 2025. Awards are subject to final signatures of contracts between the parties and successful admission to both institutions.