To learn more about the application process and how to find and connect with a research supervisor please visit the Graduate Research School website.
Begin your study journey today with the university rated 5/5 stars for graduates starting salaries* and start the degree that’s right for you.
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PhD is short for Doctor of Philosophy – a globally recognised research qualification. Traditionally, PhD students completed a substantial piece of original research which is presented as a thesis or dissertation. This research is conducted under the guidance of at least one expert supervisor.
Discover more about higher degrees by research at UniSQ.
If you have a passion for research and want to expand your knowledge in your choose field beyond a masters degree, a PhD might be for you. Other reasons to study a doctorate degree include:
A PhD qualification can open up many exciting career paths in a variety of roles and settings including:
A PhD degree will take you approximately three years to complete. Some students choose to study part-time which increases the time it takes to complete the doctorate.
To start a PhD you need to clarify your research topic and seek an academic staff member to be your supervisor, therefore we recommend allowing several months to consider your application.
Graduating with a PhD is a noteworthy achievement as it is considered the highest postgraduate achievement you can earn. After completing your Doctor of Philosophy you will likely be considered an expert in your field, opening up a variety of new career paths. After completing your PhD, take this unique opportunity to:
The cost of a Doctor of Philosophy (PhD) degree will vary depending on the education provider you choose.
When you study with us, your degree will cost approximately AUD 31000 (Domestic full fee paying).
All Australian citizens, Australian permanent residents, and New Zealand citizens commencing a Higher Degree by Research (HDR) degree will have their tuition fees paid by the Australian Commonwealth Government under the Research Training Program (RTP) Fees Offset scheme.
For further information on Fees, including RTP and scholarships, please view the Fees and scholarships section of this webpage.
The entry requirements for studying a PhD degree can vary depending on your chosen education provider. At UniSQ applicants must hold either a relevant bachelor honours degree, masters degree or other qualifications and satisfy applicable English Language requirements.
For further details please view the entry requirements section of this page.
Get a strong start to your research career:
Our research is driven by the big picture. The University of Sydney is home to leading researchers who are finding solutions to the world's most pressing issues by changing the way they look at them.
We are home to 90 world‑renowned multidisciplinary research and teaching centres that tackle some of the world’s biggest challenges, such as health, climate change and food security. These centres include the Charles Perkins Centre, the Brain and Mind Centre , The University of Sydney Nano Institute , the Sydney Policy Lab , the Sydney Environment Institute , and the Sydney Southeast Asia Centre .
Our interdisciplinary approach means that students are part of a community of scholars that unites experts in fields as diverse as medicine, arts, social sciences, engineering, information technologies and science.
As a researcher at Sydney, you'll work alongside some of the world's brightest and most accomplished academics. You can access high-calibre facilities and unique international partnerships with top-ranked institutions, including Stanford, UCLA, the University of Edinburgh, Utrecht University, Shanghai Jiao Tong University, and the University of Hong Kong.
Master's degree by research.
A master's degree by research at Sydney:
*Part-time is not available to international student visa holders.
A PhD at Sydney:
If you’re interested in a Joint PhD program, you need to follow the Doctor of Philosophy (PhD) application steps 1-3. In addition, your proposed supervisor will need to complete a proposal to negotiate a student agreement form. If accepted, you will also be required to sign an individual student agreement. After your student agreement is finalised, you will then be sent an application form for the Joint PhD program.
Please refer to the University's Dual and Joint Degree Policy for full policy details.
Download our Joint PhD programs factsheet (pdf, 116KB) to learn more.
A professional doctorate at Sydney:
Grow professionally and academically through a paid 3-6 month internship with an industry partner as you complete your degree.
The University of Sydney has partnered with Australian Postgraduate Research Intern (APR.Intern) to provide domestic and international HDR students with internship opportunities in a range of sectors and disciplines.
A paid internship will allow you to:
HDR coursework is mandatory for some of our research degrees. HDR coursework adds to your researcher toolkit so you can graduate with a robust set of skills, for a career in academia or industry.
Your faculty may elect to define certain units of study as mandatory for a given degree, or define any other studies as required by the progress evaluation panel of the research project. Refer to the relevant course in the handbook .
Getting started, do i need prior research experience.
Yes, all HDR courses require prior research experience. This is because HDR courses are largely self-driven, requiring pre-requisite research, time and project management skills.
If you do not have any previous research experience, there are ways to gain what you need. Both the one-year honours and masters by coursework degrees containing substantial research components are great pathways into research. These courses will allow you to gain the research skills necessary to apply for the PhD.
The PhD is our premier research award and the highest qualification on the Australian Qualifications Framework. The PhD is usually three years full-time or six years part-time.
The Master of Philosophy/Research is usually one to two years full-time or four years part-time (part-time is available to domestic students only). A PhD thesis is generally around 80,000 words while a master’s thesis is 50,000 words.
To browse through the profiles of our researchers and learn about their current and past research, please refer to Find a Researcher . Here, you will also be able to access the publications lists and contact details of our researchers.
No. Interdisciplinary research is highly regarded in the world of academia and working across disciplines can be very beneficial in developing and demonstrating different analytical skills. Working on research from two perspectives can also offer insight that you would not be able to achieve from one discipline perspective.
Please check your course page for the requirements of each course. Generally, the English requirements are between 6.0 to 7.0 IELTS overall or equivalent in other accepted English proficiency tests.
There are no course fees for domestic students – fees are covered by the government Research Training Program (RTP) fee offset. However, fees apply to international students. Please refer to the course page for fee details.
We have one of the largest research schemes in Australia. Opportunities include the Australian government-funded Research Training Program (RTP) stipend scholarships, and the University of Sydney and faculty-specific awards. Explore your options .
Do i have to undertake hdr coursework.
It depends on your degree. Your faculty may define certain units of study as mandatory for a given degree. Where this is not the case, you may still have the opportunity to complete units of study that you find useful to support your learning and research.
It is possible for students to move to the PhD after the first year of study, if you have made satisfactory progress and if the transfer is approved by your Faculty. It is important to inform your supervisor of your plans early so that you can work on a timeline together to achieve this goal.
Am i able to work while studying my hdr course full-time.
Yes, you can work during your PhD. How many hours you take on is at your own discretion, and you must ensure that you still allow time for the completion of your research. International HDR students can generally work more hours than coursework students. Please check your individual visa for specific restrictions.
There are sometimes opportunities for PhD candidates to engage in paid employment at the University, but this is not guaranteed and is dependent on the Faculty/Department. If opportunities do arise, they may be in the form of teaching, marking, acting as a research assistant, or other roles.
There is extensive support for research students at Sydney, including 100+ multidisciplinary research and teaching centres.
Other services:
Find a supervisor.
Search by keyword, location, topic or supervisor name
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If you’re an international student who has completed higher education studies, you might now be considering studying a doctorate degree, also known as a PhD. In Australia, this is the highest level of study and, once completed, can unlock doors to better employment, higher wages, and industry recognition.
Here’s a handy guide on how to apply, what to expect, and where to find further information for your exciting next step.
An honours is an extra year of study in Australia. To qualify you need to have completed your undergraduate degree, otherwise known as a bachelor’s degree, to a high standard. This is often considered a stepping stone to further postgraduate study.
Graduates with a bachelor’s degree might consider a graduate certificate, which usually takes one semester of full-time study and can help you specialise in your chosen career path. One step up from a certificate is a graduate diploma. This type of study takes one year of full-time study and can often be continued on from the graduate certificate.
A master’s by coursework is similar to a graduate diploma but takes a little longer and is regarded as a higher qualification. In most cases, you need a relevant bachelor’s degree; however, in certain circumstances, extensive relevant work experience might be accepted instead. This type of course typically takes 18 months to complete. A master’s by research takes two years of full-time study and is based on a research project supervised by a university academic.
A doctorate by research or a PhD is the highest level of study offered in Australia. A PhD requires submission of a thesis that is assessed by examiners who determine whether the research is worthy of the qualification. A PhD student must show through their thesis that they have made a significant contribution to their field. Once graduated, the candidate may use the title of Doctor.
A PhD in Australia is usually studied over the course of three years. While some students take a little longer, extensions are subject to funding, as well as other important factors. Domestic students may have the option to study part-time but as an international student, you must study full-time in order to be eligible for a student visa .
According to the Australian Government , fees to study a PhD range from A$19,000 to A$78,000 per year, depending on the education provider. There is a chance you may not have to pay the full amount if there is funding available, which is common in Australia. Most universities have funding for promising PhD students set aside. Get in touch with your chosen university directly to find out what scholarships are available to international students. The Australian Government also runs Destination Australia , which funds eligible education providers in regional areas to offer scholarships to both domestic and international students. The government also offers the Research Training Program for participating universities.
International students also need to consider the cost of living while abroad to qualify for their visa. You’ll need at least roughly A$21,041 for each year of your study in your bank account in order to be granted a visa.
In most cases you will need an undergraduate degree with a minimum of Second Class Honours (Division A) – also known as ‘upper second-class’ honours – to apply for your PhD to demonstrate you have significant research experience. However, many education providers offer research-based qualifications to give you this experience if you didn’t complete an honours degree originally.
PhDs in Australia are usually research-based and, while they may contain other aspects, the focus of your studies will be on working towards your doctoral thesis.
In general, a PhD begins with a literature review that collects, analyses and summarises the current research published on your chosen subject. This then provides the basis for designing, implementing and analysing your own research that you’ll write about for your thesis.
In Australia, you are not required to undergo a viva voca , which is an assessed oral exam in defence of your research topic, method and predicted results. Instead, you are assessed solely on your thesis.
To apply for an Australian PhD, the first step is to contact a university academic working as a supervisor for PhD projects. You contact them, usually about four months before you wish to commence your studies, with the research topic you would like to propose. The person you choose should be the lead researcher for the institution you wish to apply to, in the relevant field you wish to study.
Once you have what is known as an ‘expression of interest’ from a provisional supervisor, you can begin your formal application to the university. Most universities won’t consider an application without an expression of interest from a supervisor, so make sure you have this first.
To study as an international student in Australia, you must have a student visa (subclass 500) from the Australian government. Unless you are exempt, the application fee for this visa is AUD$710. You can read more about student visas and their requirements here .
Australian PhDs are delivered in English and have language skill requirements. There are various tests you can take to verify your English language skills including the IELTS, CAE and PTE. The score you need is usually specified on the universities website and will depend on the test you take.
International students must have Overseas Student Health Cover (OSHC) in order to be granted their student visa. There are a variety of providers to choose from, including many universities, but the policy you choose must adhere to the Overseas Student Health Cover guides. Explore your options in greater detail here .
The new international student working limit of 48 hours every fortnight does not apply to international students who are pursuing a doctorate or a master’s degree through research. These students are not restricted in terms of the number of hours they can work. However, your actual work hours should align with your study requirements and also require approval from your academic supervisor. This is to ensure that your employment does not interfere with your primary objective of completing your academic research.
PhD study is an excellent way to enter the Australian workforce and graduate visas are available that can entitle you to stay in Australia for up to four years after you have finished your PhD. In other words, if you have dreams of both furthering your education and settling long-term in Australia, a PhD could be the perfect way to make those dreams a reality.
Sarah Price
Originally from the UK, Sarah has worked as a freelance writer for nearly 10 years, both at home and now in Perth where she lives. Once an international student in South West WA herself, she loves to help new students feel welcome, confident, and ready to make the most of their study abroad. Having lived in Perth and explored a lot of WA, Sarah knows just how wonderful it is to discover this beautiful state.
Knowing where to start when applying for a phd can be tricky, especially when applying for one in a different country. this guide from monash university explains all the key information you need when applying for a phd in australia, amarpreet abraham, .css-76pyzs{margin-right:0.25rem;} ,, fiona lilley.
/student/advice/what-phd-advice-phd-students Applying for a PhD is a big step in anyone’s academic career. While it may sometimes seem like a daunting and often quite lengthy process, applying for a PhD shouldn’t have to be a chore and the way you do so varies by country and university. To make this process as clear as possible, Fiona Lilley from the graduate research office at Monash University in Australia answers the most pressing questions when it comes to applying, especially as an international student. With help from Monash PhD student and teaching associate, Amarpreet Abraham, this will be your go-to for all things PhD in Australia.
When applying to study a PhD in Australia, applicants are encouraged to identify possible academic supervisors and contact the faculty they would be enrolling in. Each university will have its own process, so it is important to familiarise yourself with the enquiry and application process. Not following the process or having the incorrect documentation can result in delays. For example, at Monash there is a two-step process. First, applicants submit an “Expression of Interest” (EOI) to the faculty where they intend to study; each faculty has different requirements, so it is important to check what is required. If the faculty determines that they have resources and facilities to support the student project, they will issue an Invitation to Apply (ITA), permitting the applicant to make a formal application for admission (and scholarships).
The right supervisory match for the student and their project is crucial. Universities have different processes – some require a supervisor to confirm they will supervise before an application; others may appoint a suitable supervisor for the student’s project. In Australia there is a requirement for all research students to have a minimum of two supervisors. Most universities will have several options to support applicants in identifying and connecting with supervisors, such as a Find a Researcher database. This is an extensive resource of all academic research in the university.
Top tip : Look for the “Available to supervise PhD” indicator on a researcher’s profile. “When looking for a supervisor it is important that they are involved in your field in some way. A prospective supervisor could be someone you have a pre-established positive academic relationship with, where you work well together or are aware of the expectations and boundaries from this academic,” says Amarpreet Abraham.
First step would be to decide which university you would like to do your PhD at and approach researchers depending on your interests – this could include emailing them with a brief research proposal and why they are best suited to your project. From there, the prospective supervisor can let you know if they are interested in your proposal/have availability to take on a new PhD student. “Picking someone with the knowledge of your field is important, but I would stress that choosing a supervisor who you have a positive working relationship with is even more vital,” says Abraham.
Start initial conversations as early as you can. In some instances, potential supervisors may want to review a research proposal, interview the applicant and identify if the project scope is something that they have the capacity and resources or facilities to supervise.
There is no hard and fast rule on when you should start your application, but it is always advisable to start researching supervisors and topics as soon as you can.
How long will the application process take?
Each university will have different processes, deadlines and outcome notification dates. At Monash, it is generally six weeks after closing for the notification of either scholarship offer or admission offer to be sent.
This also depends on the time of year, volume of applications and, most importantly, whether the applicant has submitted all the required documentation, such as academic transcripts and evidence of English language proficiency.
Universities and supervisors will have different approaches to research proposals, so it is important to check and understand the requirements before you start. According to Abraham, “a research proposal should include a tentative title, an abstract, an introduction, proposed theoretical/conceptual framework, research questions, significance of the study, limitations, literature review, methodology/research approach, data collection and analysis methods, and a reference list. For all the criteria of the research proposal to be fulfilled, a lot of thought and discussion with your potential supervisor(s) is required. This allows you to voice your interests and approaches for your PhD, while your supervisors can make suggestions on what they think is best suited for your research. It is also important to note that all the elements of the thesis outlined above change/develop as the PhD candidature progresses.”
This will differ depending on the university, and in some instances whether an applicant chooses to engage a registered agent to assist them with their application. At present, there is no application fee at Monash for international PhD or masters by research applicants. Other fees, including tuition fee costs, are published on university websites. Depending on the course, there may be associated costs for laboratory materials or travel for study (such as fieldwork). Applicants should check with the university and the faculty to understand what these may be. The Australian Government requires service providers to provide full details of course tuition and non-tuition costs in any formal offer or International Student Contract.
“Find a supervisor you work well with, be prepared, attend workshops around how to do research and practice self-care and self-kindness right from the beginning. It is easy to lose sight of boundaries when doing a PhD, but it is essential to look after yourself because life continues to happen at full speed while you are pursuing a PhD. I would also recommend getting involved in social research groups, as a PhD can be an isolating endeavour and having others who are in a similar position as you can be reassuring,” Abraham concludes.
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With unique PhD opportunities in everything from anthropology to zoology, excellent post-grad study visas and a country full of opportunity, it’s the ideal location for your PhD. Australia’s focus on STEAM (Science, Technology, Engineering, Arts, Mathematics) and environmental issues make it one of the foremost research destinations in the world.
Your PhD can help you to get employment in Australia, and can be a pathway to permanent residency. Choosing the right area of study can give you specialised, in-demand knowledge that employers and Australia need.
There are a range of occupations on the Australian medium to long term skills shortage list. Studying in these areas strengthens the likelihood of gaining relevant employment after your PhD is complete, and this gives you an advantage for PR.
Australia also offers a generous graduate visa (485) that allows you to stay in the country once your degree is complete. It gives you time to find a job in your field and apply for a permanent visa. Once you’ve found employment, the visa system in Australia is points-based. Higher levels of education and studying within Australia award you more points, strengthening your application.
An Australian PhD, when studying full-time, takes around three years. While some students can study part time and stretch the PhD over six years, international students must study full time as part of their visa conditions.
The Australian PhD is usually a pure research qualification. While there may be some taught modules or units, most of the course will be spent working towards your doctoral thesis. Once you have a thesis supervisor and have decided on your topic together, you’ll complete a literature review, then begin your own original research. This requires analysis of source materials, producing experimental results or collective survey data.
You will be required to submit your thesis, which is generally around 80,000 - 100,000 words. There can also be practical components or presentations depending on the topic you have researched.Often, you will be required to submit your thesis defence, or ‘viva voce’. This is when the student orally presents the thesis to a board of assessors, who will ask questions and require that you defend your process and results.Sometimes, due to distance and isolation, viva voce is not required in Australia. Instead, your thesis will be sent to external examiners, who will study it and submit their written report on it. This process may take several months. The outcome of your thesis will be one of the following options:
A pass: Awarded a doctorate without corrections
Pass with minor corrections: Minor amendments noted
Pass with major revisions: Amendments noted in the thesis
Revise and re-examination: Requires the student to re-enrol for up to 12 months. The thesis will be resubmitted after changes are made as outlined by the examiners. Once changes are made and all concerns addressed, the thesis is re-examined in its entirety.
Denial of PhD: Rare
Fees are high in Australia, but there are often funding and grants available to help subsidise the cost. International students can expect to pay between AU$18,000 and $42,000 a year. However, if your topic has funding attached, such as an in a high-demand STEM topic, the cost could be reduced considerably.
Australian universities may fund scholarships, and these can be accessed through the university itself or you can check out PhD funded projects looking for candidates.
Students are also expected to pay for their cost of living, with the government anticipating the average cost of living requiring AU$21,041 a year.
In general, the first step for your PhD application is finding a potential supervisor. Universities won’t usually accept applications from international students who have not done this. Find someone in your field who is a lead researcher for an area of research related to your proposed topic. Send them an email, clearly outlining your interests and project idea.
Concisely show the link between your proposed topic, and their research
Outline your area of interest of study and proposed topics
Show awareness for current debates and study within that field
Identify any gaps in current knowledge
Suggest your relevant research hypothesis that can fill one of these gaps
Explain your intended approach to methodology
Discuss implications for your research in the real world.
The university may then indicate they want to interview you online. This is a positive sign and indicates they think there is potential.Once the supervisor has expressed an interest, you can formally apply to their university. Each university has their own requirements, but it’s likely you’ll need:
an existing bachelor’s and master’s degree in an appropriate subject
evidence of your qualifications
your research proposal
a personal statement
professional and/or academic references
evidence of English ability with an IELTS, TOEFL, CAE or PTE test
Start applications at least four months prior to your intended PhD start date.
The most important step in your PhD journey is finding your supervisor and thesis topic. The interview will be a crucial step in this journey. Preparing for this, and putting thought into the following questions, may help you.There is no right or wrong answer to this. Your answer should address your passion, motivation, and also your ability to complete the PhD. This is a big undertaking and the interviewers need to know you have the drive to see this through to a successful completion.Why did you choose this university? Why is it special or unique in its field? Are their certain supervisors or professors who are outstanding in their field? Are your goals aligned with theirs? Prove to the interviewers that you don’t just want a PhD; you want one from this institution.While the interviewers will have read your CV/ Resume, this is your opportunity to ensure they understand your skills, strengths, and qualifications. Have you got examples from your bachelor’s degree or employment experience that makes you an ideal candidate for a PhD at their university?Choose a strength that specifically relates to your PhD; are you a meticulous researcher? Do you love to understand the underlying reasons why things happen? Use some examples of a time this strength has helped you.Be honest and choose a weakness you’re aware of. Talk about some examples, and the steps you are taking to overcome this. Do you procrastinate, so you have to set micro-goals?Completing a PhD is a long, meticulous, often frustrating slog. You’re going to encounter a lot of problems. Provide an answer from your academic journey that shows your resourcefulness, ability to use your initiative, and how you overcame the problem.
Why do you want to do a PhD?
Why are you interested in this program?
What experience makes you a good candidate?
What are your strengths and weaknesses?
Tell us about a time you experienced a setback
The most common PhD programs in Australia are health, legal, education, engineering and biology/ biomedical sciences.
From doctors to nursing, across a broad spectrum of physical and mental illnesses, PhDs are a valuable addition for those in the medical profession. Topics can include:
Biochemistry
Epidemiology
Environmental health
Pharmacology
Biotechnology
Explore more courses here
A field that’s in demand world-wide, engineering has scope to specialise in:
Civil engineering
Computer engineering
Electrical engineering
Mechanical engineering
Geological engineering
Petroleum engineering
Explore engineering PHD programs here
There are a range of specialties:
Educational administration and policy
Education policy
Early Childhood education
Teacher leadership
Higher education
Explore education and teaching PHD courses here
A common PhD in law is the Juris Doctor (JD), but there is also the opportunity to complete a Doctor of Philosophy in some universities. A JD usually study general topics before choosing an area of interest such as business or public law. A PH.D in law is available after a JD graduates and allows trained lawyers to research a particular area of concern.
With a combination of lab research and advanced coursework, PhD programs in offer several areas of specialisation.
Developmental biology
Biochemistry and molecular biology
Cancer biology
Genetics and genomics
Gene therapy
Neurobiology of disease
Find out how IDP Education can help you search your dream course in Australia. With years of experience helping PhD candidates find supervisors, apply for universities, and get their student visas, we are uniquely qualified to help you.
An australian professor had some breaking moves, and people had thoughts., by nbc staff • published august 9, 2024 • updated on august 9, 2024 at 3:19 pm.
As Dr. Rachel Gunn, she's a 36-year-old lecturer at Macquarie University in Australia . She holds a PhD in cultural science. She researches and lectures on the cultural politics of breaking .
As Raygun, she's an Olympian breaker, competing for Australia.
Raygun lost all three of her matches, against B-Girls named Nicka, Syssy and Logistx. Yes, that sentence is accurate.
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But Raygun had some moves. And people had some thoughts.
What my nephew does after telling all of us to “watch this” pic.twitter.com/366LjIRl4j — Liz Charboneau (@lizchar) August 9, 2024
There has not been an Olympic performance this dominant since Usain Bolt’s 100m sprint at Beijing in 2008. Honestly, the moment Raygun broke out her Kangaroo move this competition was over! Give her the #breakdancing gold 🥇 pic.twitter.com/6q8qAft1BX — Trapper Haskins (@TrapperHaskins) August 9, 2024
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All I can think about when I see this is the hip hop dance teacher from Bob’s Burgers but if instead she was from Australia and was a 36 year old woman named Raygun https://t.co/nUwYVLnrms pic.twitter.com/Wl5FResHw7 — Shereef Sakr (@ShereefKeef) August 9, 2024
Watch all the action from the Paris Olympics live on NBC
when Raygun hit the kangaroo jawn I couldn't see the screen I was crying so hard pic.twitter.com/jcICfTu11d — Bradford Pearson (@BradfordPearson) August 9, 2024
I think I found the source of inspiration for the Raygun breakdance at the Olympics. https://t.co/t94Iyu1dPZ pic.twitter.com/a7DL9etwRz — Noodson (@noodson) August 9, 2024
Raygun was like pic.twitter.com/KvXVPVGScx — Charles J. Moore (@charles270) August 9, 2024
Raygun did THE SPRINKLER at this breakdance thing, this is the worst thing Australia has ever done. — Luis Paez-Pumar (@lppny) August 9, 2024
Rachael gunn earned a zero in breakdancing at the paris 2024 olympic games., aleksandra wrona, published aug. 13, 2024.
About this rating
Gunn's Ph.D. thesis, titled "Deterritorializing Gender in Sydney's Breakdancing Scene: a B-girl's Experience of B-boying," did cover the topic of breakdancing. However ...
... Gunn earned her Ph.D. in cultural studies. Moreover, a "PhD in breakdancing" does not exist as an academic discipline.
On Aug. 10, 2024, a rumor spread on social media that Rachael Gunn (also known as "Raygun"), an Australian breakdancer who competed in the 2024 Paris Olympics, had a Ph.D. in breakdancing. "This australian breakdancer has a PhD in breakdancing and dance culture and was a ballroom dancer before taking up breaking. I don't even know what to say," one X post on the topic read .
"Australian Olympic breakdancer Rachael Gunn has a PhD in breakdancing and dance culture," one X user wrote , while another asked, "Who did we send? Raygun, a 36-year-old full-time lecturer at Sydney's Macquarie University, completed a PhD in breaking culture and is a lecturer in media, creative arts, literature and language," another X user wrote .
The claim also spread on other social media platforms, such as Reddit and Instagram .
"Is she the best break dancer? No. But I have so much respect for going on an international stage to do something you love even if you're not very skilled at it," one Instagram user commented , adding that, "And, I'm pretty sure she's using this as a research endeavor and will be writing about all our reactions to her performance. Can't wait to read it!"
In short, Gunn's Ph.D. thesis, titled "Deterritorializing Gender in Sydney's Breakdancing Scene: A B-girl's Experience of B-boying," indeed focused on the topic of breakdancing. However, Gunn earned her Ph.D. in cultural studies, not in breakdancing. Furthermore, it's important to note that a "PhD in breakdancing" does not exist as an academic discipline.
Since Gunn's research focused on the breakdancing community, but her degree is actually in the broader field of cultural studies, we have rated this claim as a "Mixture" of truths.
Gunn "secured Australia's first ever Olympic spot in the B-Girl competition at Paris 2024 by winning the QMS Oceania Championships in Sydney, NSW, Australia," the Olympics official website informed .
Gunn earned a zero in breakdancing at the Paris 2024 Olympic Games and clips of her routine went viral on social media, with numerous users creating memes or mocking dancer's moves. "As well as criticising her attire, social media users mocked the Australian's routine as she bounced around on stage like a kangaroo and stood on her head at times," BBC article on the topic read .
The website of the Macquarie University informed Gunn "is an interdisciplinary and practice-based researcher interested in the cultural politics of breaking" and holds a Ph.D. in cultural studies, as well as a bachelor of arts degree (Hons) in contemporary music:
Rachael Gunn is an interdisciplinary and practice-based researcher interested in the cultural politics of breaking. She holds a PhD in Cultural Studies (2017) and a BA (Hons) in Contemporary Music (2009) from Macquarie University. Her work draws on cultural theory, dance studies, popular music studies, media, and ethnography. Rachael is a practising breaker and goes by the name of 'Raygun'. She was the Australian Breaking Association top ranked bgirl in 2020 and 2021, and represented Australia at the World Breaking Championships in Paris in 2021, in Seoul in 2022, and in Leuven (Belgium) in 2023. She won the Oceania Breaking Championships in 2023.
Gunn's biography further revealed that she is a member of the Macquarie University Performance and Expertise Reasearch Centre, and has a range of teaching experience at undergraduate and postgraduate levels "across the areas of media, creative industries, music, dance, cultural studies, and work-integrated learning."
Moreover, it informed her research interests included, "Breaking, street dance, and hip-hop culture; youth cultures/scenes; constructions of the dancing body; politics of gender and gender performance; ethnography; the methodological dynamics between theory and practice."
Gunn earned her Ph.D. from the Department of Media, Music, Communications, and Cultural Studies within the Faculty of Arts at Macquarie University. Below, you can find the abstract of her paper, shared by the official website of Macquarie University:
This thesis critically interrogates how masculinist practices of breakdancing offers a site for the transgression of gendered norms. Drawing on my own experiences as a female within the male-dominated breakdancing scene in Sydney, first as a spectator, then as an active crew member, this thesis questions why so few female participants engage in this creative space, and how breakdancing might be the space to displace and deterritorialise gender. I use analytic autoetthnography and interviews with scene members in collaboration with theoretical frameworks offered by Deleuze and Guttari, Butler, Bourdieu and other feminist and post-structuralist philosophers, to critically examine how the capacities of bodies are constituted and shaped in Sydney's breakdancing scene, and to also locate the potentiality for moments of transgression. In other words, I conceptualize the breaking body as not a 'body' constituted through regulations and assumptions, but as an assemblage open to new rhizomatic connections. Breaking is a space that embraces difference, whereby the rituals of the dance not only augment its capacity to deterritorialize the body, but also facilitate new possibilities for performativities beyond the confines of dominant modes of thought and normative gender construction. Consequently, this thesis attempts to contribute to what I perceive as a significant gap in scholarship on hip-hop, breakdancing, and autoethnographic explorations of Deleuze-Guattarian theory.
In a response to online criticism of her Olympics performance, Gunn wrote on her Instagram profile: "Don't be afraid to be different, go out there and represent yourself, you never know where that's gonna take you":
We have recently investigated other 2024 Paris Olympics' -related rumors, such as:
Gunn, Rachael Louise. Deterritorializing Gender in Sydney's Breakdancing Scene: A B-Girl's Experience of B-Boying. 2022. Macquarie University, thesis. figshare.mq.edu.au, https://doi.org/10.25949/19433291.v1.
---. Deterritorializing Gender in Sydney's Breakdancing Scene: A B-Girl's Experience of B-Boying. 2022. Macquarie University, thesis. figshare.mq.edu.au, https://doi.org/10.25949/19433291.v1.
Ibrahim, Nur. "Lifeguards Are Present at Olympic Swimming Competitions?" Snopes, 8 Aug. 2024, https://www.snopes.com//fact-check/lifeguards-paris-olympics-swimming/.
"Olympic Breaking: Criticism of Viral Breakdancer Rachael Gunn - Raygun - Condemned by Australia Team." BBC Sport, 10 Aug. 2024, https://www.bbc.com/sport/olympics/articles/c2dgxp5n3rlo.
ORCID. https://orcid.org/0000-0002-1069-4021. Accessed 12 Aug. 2024.
Paris 2024. https://olympics.com/en/paris-2024/athlete/-raygun_1940107. Accessed 12 Aug. 2024.
Saunders, Grant Leigh, and Rachael Gunn. "Australia." Global Hip Hop Studies, vol. 3, no. 1–2, Dec. 2023, pp. 23–32. Macquarie University, https://doi.org/10.1386/ghhs_00060_1.
Wazer, Caroline. "2024 Paris Olympics Are 'Lowest-Rated' Games in Modern History?" Snopes, 1 Aug. 2024, https://www.snopes.com//fact-check/paris-olympics-lowest-rated-games/.
---. "Hobby Lobby Pulled $50M in Ads from 2024 Paris Olympics?" Snopes, 8 Aug. 2024, https://www.snopes.com//fact-check/olympics-hobby-lobby-ads/.
Aleksandra Wrona is a reporting fellow for Snopes, based in the Warsaw, Poland, area.
Since Australian breaker Rachael "Raygun" Gunn failed to score a single point in any of her Olympic bouts, many have asked how she qualified for the Games.
Fellow breaker and anthropologist Lucas Marie says she won her qualification "fair and square" last year, but African American man Malik Dixon has criticised the Olympic body for letting her in.
Breaking will not be an event at the 2028 Los Angeles Olympic Games — a decision made before Raygun's performance.
The 2024 Paris Olympics marked breaking's debut as a sport at the global event, with 36-year-old lecturer and breaker Rachael "Raygun" Gunn representing Australia for the first time.
Having failed to win a single point in any of her Olympic bouts, Raygun quickly became a viral sensation.
The question on many people's minds now is: How did she even qualify?
Lucas Marie is a breaker who has competed, performed, taught and judged breaking competitions over the past 25 years. He's also an anthropologist who recently co-authored an article with Gunn.
He says the answer to that question is simple.
"There was an Oceania qualifier in which any B-boy or B-girl from Australia [or] New Zealand could enter, and that was in Sydney in October 2023," he told ABC News.
"And leading up to that, there were a lot of other events in which breakers were competing.
"She won those battles fair and square and won the qualification in Sydney.
"And it wasn't really a surprise to anyone.
"She's been fairly consistent, winning or coming second or third at a lot of breaking events in Australia for the last five to 10 years."
Marie said there was nothing out of the ordinary about Raygun's performance.
"It's not like gymnastics where there's this kind of agreed-upon standard," he said.
"It's always had a rawness to it. It's always had an improvisational kind of quality. And I think looking different and trying different stuff has always been celebrated.
"And I think Raygun, in a way, was just expressing a core kind of hip hop trait in a way a lot of breakers do."
He described her efforts as bold.
"I thought — and this is how I judge a lot of breaking events — I thought, 'Oh, she's making some really interesting choices to mimic Australian animals.' And you can kind of see the choices that she's making in the moment."
Team Australia chef de mission Anna Meares insisted after Raygun's performance that she was the best breaker the country had to offer. But is this true?
"It's sometimes just who's performing better on the day," Marie said.
"And at the qualification event in which she won, and other events in which she's won, she performed better on that day and won the ticket.
"That doesn't mean she's the best. It doesn't really work like that.
"I think she's a great breaker. She won the qualification. She's won other events in the past, and she was a good representative for Australia at that competition."
Asked whether there were B-girls in Perth, regional Victoria or rural Brisbane who might have qualified but could not afford to travel to Sydney for the tryouts, Marie agreed this was possible.
"Of course, there's breakers all over the country that maybe should have been in that event, but they weren't."
Breaking will not carry over to the 2028 Olympics in Los Angeles, a decision made before Raygun's battle.
Marie described this as sad.
"Maybe, based on the ratings, they'll reassess that and maybe allocate some medals to breaking," he said.
"I really hope that's the case, and I hope that for other breakers who want to compete in it as a dance sport."
Marie said that at the end of the day people should remember they were dealing with a human.
"As a friend of Rachael's, there's a human being who's getting a lot of negative attention," he said.
"I think people kind of miss that sometimes and forget the human aspect of all this."
Malik Dixon is an African American who has been living in Australia for more than a decade and is a Sydney University graduate.
He said Raygun made a total "mockery" out of breaking at the Olympics.
"She was dressed like a member of the cricket team or an Australian PE teacher, and from that point it just seemed like satire," Mr Dixon told ABC News.
"It just looked like somebody who was toying with the culture and didn't know how culturally significant it was being the first time in the Olympics and just how important it was to people who really cherish hip hop and one of the elements of hip hop, which is breakdancing.
"It made me think, was Borat her breakdancing coach?"
Mr Dixon said too many people felt entitled to African American culture.
"The African American space has been one where we've shared our community so much and without any restraints, any barriers, roadblocks, obstacles, any gatekeepers, that essentially what should have been African American cultural capital is just shared, which is cool," he said.
"We like to share, right?
"We shared 400 years of free labour.
"To see Rachael in her attempt to be a part of the culture just be grossly underwhelming made it seem like she didn't take it seriously."
Mr Dixon criticised the body that qualified Raygun, saying she devalued breaking with her performance.
"Whatever governing body nominated her as Australia's entrant into the Olympics either did not understand the assignment or didn't really believe in the integrity or significance of breakdancing, because if they did they would just say, rather than disrespect the culture, we're just not ready to send an applicant this year."
He said Raygun was extremely audacious and not self-aware.
"You've got to know your role, know your position, know your limitation," he said.
"And I think that part of privilege is saying that there are no limits to what I can do.
"Part of privilege is having the authority to say that there are no limits and there are no requirements, there are no prerequisites to what I can do."
Raygun's degrees do not hold much water with Mr Dixon.
"Due to consumerism, this Foundational Black American product, which is hip hop, is global," he said.
"And even people who have no connection to any African Americans or any local or regional things that come out in these songs, they have become a part of the whole experience now.
"If I came in and said that I was an authority on Greek music and I was going against the grain of what the mainstream Greek musicians thought, or the school of thought, and I've said that I was the authority, people would check me on that.
"If I had a PhD in sprinting, does that qualify me to go against Noah Lyles? No, it doesn't."
He also doubts Raygun was the best breaker Australia had to offer.
"[There's] got to be somebody out here that's better than that! The kangaroo! The sprinkler! She did the sprinkler out there, man!" he said.
Should we lighten up? Mr Dixon does not believe so.
"Larrikinism is used as a get-out-of-jail-free card and to escape responsibility of how words or actions impact a hurt person," he said.
"But when the majority culture is offended, there's no playing around.
"This is a part of my culture, and I don't think Australians are in a place to tell me how I should feel about breakdancing being mocked on an international stage.
"People who don't have any or limited access to black people or hip hop culture now may see Rachael and her buffoonery as a representation of hip hop and black culture.
"People who were already side-eyeing breakdancing as an Olympic sport, Rachael Gunn has put the nail in that coffin.
"This might be the most viral clip of the whole Olympics. From a comedy standpoint, she's got it, but from an Olympics perspective, its regressive."
'i absolutely love her courage': meares defends raygun after wave of online ridicule for paris performance.
Australian breakdancer Rachael Gunn, known by her competition name Raygun , became a viral sensation during the Paris Olympics as her unusual performance raised eyebrows. While some praised her unique style, her performance attracted online criticism and ridicule, which Gunn described as "devastating."
"I really appreciate the positivity, and I'm glad I was able to bring some joy into your lives. That's what I hoped," Gunn said in a video posted to Instagram on Thursday. "I didn't realize that that would also open the door to so much hate, which has, frankly, been pretty devastating."
"I went out there, and I had fun. I did take it very seriously. I worked my butt off preparing for the Olympics, and I gave my all. Truly,” Gunn added.
Gunn is a 36-year-old college professor who wrote her PhD thesis on the intersection of gender and Sydney’s breaking culture. She lost all three of her group-stage breaking battles in Paris, failing to score a single point.
Gunn pleaded for privacy as she faces increased scrutiny for her participation at the Olympics and critics question how she could have been selected for the Australian team.
“I would really like to ask the press to please stop harassing my family, my friends, the Australian breaking community and the broader street dance community. Everyone has been through a lot as a result of this, so I ask you to please respect their privacy," Gunn said in the video.
View this post on Instagram A post shared by Rachael Gunn (@raygun_aus)
Gunn’s distinctive moves and low scores led to online speculation that she had manipulated the Olympic selection process. A petition published to change.org to “hold Raygun accountable” demanded an investigation into how she was selected for the Australian Olympic team. The petition, which had garnered over 55,000 signatures, has since been removed.
The Australian Olympic Committee (AOC) released a statement Thursday in defense of Gunn, condemning the petition as “vexatious, misleading and bullying.”
The statement refuted every detail of the allegations against Gunn, saying she was selected through “a transparent and independent qualification event and nomination process.”
“It is disgraceful that these falsehoods concocted by an anonymous person can be published in this way. It amounts to bullying and harassment and is defamatory,” AOC CEO Matt Carroll wrote in the statement .
“It’s important that the community understands the facts and that people do not form opinions based on malicious untruths and misinformation,” Carroll added.
Gunn addressed the allegations in her Instagram video, urging viewers to refer to the AOC’s statement on the “misinformation floating around.”
Breaking made its debut at the 2024 Paris Olympics , but it will not return at the 2028 Los Angeles Games .
Australia’s Rachael Gunn, known as B-Girl Raygun, competes during the Round Robin Battle at the breaking competition at La Concorde Urban Park at the 2024 Summer Olympics, Friday, Aug. 9, 2024, in Paris, France. (AP Photo/Frank Franklin)
Australia’s Rachael Gunn, known as B-Girl Raygun, competes during the Round Robin Battle at the breaking competition at La Concorde Urban Park at the 2024 Summer Olympics, Friday, Aug. 9, 2024, in Paris, France. (AP Photo/Abbie Parr)
Lithuania’s Dominika Banevic, known as B-Girl Nicka, competes during the B-Girls quarterfinals at the breaking competition at La Concorde Urban Park at the 2024 Summer Olympics, Friday, Aug. 9, 2024, in Paris, France. (AP Photo/Frank Franklin)
American artist Snoop Dogg stands on stage prior to the breaking competition at La Concorde Urban Park at the 2024 Summer Olympics, Friday, Aug. 9, 2024, in Paris, France. (AP Photo/Frank Franklin)
PARIS (AP) — From the Australian b-girl with the meme-worthy “kangaroo” dance move to the silver-medal winning Lithuanian in a durag, breaking’s Olympic debut had a few moments that raised questions from viewers about whether the essence of the hip-hop art form was captured at the Paris Games.
Rachael Gunn, or “b-girl Raygun,” a 36-year-old professor from Sydney, Australia, quickly achieved internet fame, but not necessarily for Olympic-level skill. Competing against some b-girls half her age, she was swept out of the round-robin stage without earning a single point, and her unconventional moves landed flat while failing to match the skill level of her foes.
At one point, Gunn raised one leg while standing and leaned back with her arms bent toward her ears. At another, while laying on her side, she reached for her toes, flipped over and did it again in a move dubbed “the kangaroo.”
B-Girl Raygun competes during the Round Robin Battle on Friday, Aug. 9, 2024, in Paris, France. (AP Photo/Abbie Parr)
Gunn has a Ph.D. in cultural studies, and her LinkedIn page notes she is “interested in the cultural politics of breaking.”
“I was never going to beat these girls on what they do best — their power moves,” said Gunn. “What I bring is creativity.”
Clips of her routine have gone viral on TikTok and elsewhere, and many cringed at her moves platformed on the Olympic stage as a representation of hip-hop and breaking culture.
“It’s almost like they are mocking the genre,” wrote one user on X.
Many Black viewers, in particular, called out Lithuania’s silver medalist b-girl Nicka, (legally named Dominika Banevič) for donning a durag during each of her battles. Durags, once worn by enslaved Africans to tie up their hair for work, are still worn by Black people to protect and style their hair. They became a fashionable symbol of Black pride in the 1960s and 1970s and, in the 1990s and early 2000s, also became a popular element of hip-hop style. But when worn by those who aren’t Black, durags can be seen as cultural appropriation. Banevič is white.
Lithuania’s Dominika Banevic, known as B-Girl Nicka, competes during the B-Girls quarterfinals. (AP Photo/Frank Franklin)
2024 Paris Olympics:
Actor Kevin Fredericks responded on Instagram to Banevič donning the headwear by saying it looked “weird to see somebody who don’t need it for protective style or waves to be rocking the durag.”
The 17-year-old breaker ultimately won the silver medal after losing in the final to Japan’s b-girl Ami (Ami Yuasa).
For her part, Banevič has credited the breakers from the 1970s in the Bronx — the OGs — or “original gangsters” in hip-hop who created the dance — for her own success and breaking style.
“It’s a huge responsibility to represent and raise the bar every time for breaking because they did an amazing job. Big respect for the OGs and the pioneers that invented all those moves. Without them, it wouldn’t be possible,” she said. “Without them, breaking wouldn’t be where it is today. So I’m grateful for them.”
Friday night’s slips “may have alienated too many new viewers to garner the anticipated response from our Olympic premiere,” said Zack Slusser, vice president of Breaking for Gold USA and USA Dance, in a text message to the Associated Press.
“We need to change the narrative from yesterday’s first impression of breaking as Olympic sport. There were significant organizational and governance shortcomings that could have been easily reconciled but, unfortunately, negatively impacted Breaking’s first touching point to a new global audience.”
The challenge for Olympic organizers was to bring breaking and hip-hop culture to a mass audience, including many viewers who were skeptical about the dance form’s addition to the Olympic roster. Others feared the subculture being co-opted by officials, commercialized and put through a rigid judging structure, when the spirit of breaking has been rooted in local communities, centered around street battles, cyphers and block parties. Hip-hop was born as a youth culture within Black and brown communities in the Bronx as a way to escape strife and socio-economic struggles and make a statement of empowerment at a time when they were labeled as lost, lawless kids by New York politicians.
Refugee breaker Manizha Talash, or “b-girl Talash,” channeled that rebellious vibe by donning a “Free Afghan Women” cape during her pre-qualifier battle — a defiant and personal statement for a 21-year-old who fled her native Afghanistan to escape Taliban rule. Talash was quickly disqualified for violating the Olympics’ ban on political statements on the field of play.
Refugee Team’s Manizha Talash, known as Talash wears a cape which reads “free Afghan women.” (AP Photo/Frank Franklin)
Both American b-girls were eliminated in Friday’s round-robin phase, a blow to the country representing the birthplace of hip-hop in what could be the discipline’s only Games appearance. B-girl Logistx (legal name Logan Edra) and b-girl Sunny (Sunny Choi) both ranked in the top 12 internationally but came up short of the quarterfinals.
“Breaking for the Olympics has changed the way that some people are dancing,” said Choi, referring to some of the flashier moves and jam-packed routines. “Breaking changes over time. And maybe I’m just old-school and I don’t want to change. ... I think a lot of people in our community were a little bit afraid of that happening.”
The b-boys take the stage on Saturday to give Olympic breaking another chance at representing the culture.
Associated Press Race & Ethnicity Editor Aaron Morrison contributed to this report from New York.
AP Olympics: https://apnews.com/hub/2024-paris-olympic-games
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Breaking made its debut at the 2024 Paris Olympics — and while she didn't earn a spot on the podium, the Australian breaker Rachael Gunn, known as Raygun, has received plenty of recognition online.
Gunn is a 36-year-old lecturer at Macquarie University in Sydney whose research focuses on the "cultural politics of breaking," according to her faculty profile .
But Gunn's time on the Olympic stage was short-lived. The B-girl was eliminated during the round-robin stage of the women's breaking competition, losing in one-on-one battles to the United States' Logistx, France's Syssy, and Lithuania's Nicka.
Raygun didn't earn a point in any of those battles, but as clips of her performance spread online, she got something else: instant meme status.
Here's what you need to know about Raygun now that the breaking competition is over.
Before Gunn went to the Olympics, she approached the 2024 Games from an academic perspective.
With her coauthor, Lucas Marie, Gunn published an article in the June 2023 issue of Global Hip Hop Studies titled "The Australian breaking scene and the Olympic Games: The possibilities and politics of sportification." The article examined how the Olympics' institutionalization would affect the Australian breaking scene.
Alongside her academic career, Gunn is a competing B-girl. But before she got into breaking, she had experience with ballroom dancing, jazz, hip-hop, salsa, and tap, The Australian Women's Weekly reported. Gunn told The Sydney Morning Herald that her husband, Samuel Free, introduced her to breaking in 2008 while they were at university. Free is still her coach, she said.
Gunn told Women's Weekly that breaking "hooked" her in 2012, around the time that she began her doctoral program in cultural studies. She began competing more seriously in 2018 and eventually set her sights on the Olympics.
According to her university profile, she was the top-ranked B-girl of the Australian Breaking Association in 2020 and 2021, representing the country at the World DanceSport Federation Breaking Championships in 2021, 2022, and 2023. She also won the WDSF Oceania Breaking Championships in 2023.
"My bag always has two main things: It's like, my knee pads and my laptop," Gunn said on the podcast " The Female Athlete Project ." "Because I need my knee-pads to break. And then, yeah, just do some emails quickly. Or like, do some revisions on a chapter I submitted, or copyedit this article I did, or moderate those grades."
The athlete also told the Herald that she preferred to wear "baggy jeans and a baggy T-shirt" while breaking.
"I like the heaviness they bring," Gunn said. "Maybe it's my background in hip-hop, but having weight closer to the ground works for me, gets me in the right headspace."
Raygun took the stage at the Olympics wearing a tracksuit in Australia's green and gold, breaking out moves that included hopping like a kangaroo. Her performances attracted attention online and memes that compared her moves to, among other things, dancing children.
Related stories
The fact that RayGun has a Ph.D in breakdancing is its own commentary on academia vs real world expertise. https://t.co/pQcL8HzAW9 — BioTechSnack (@SnackBioTech) August 9, 2024
me forcing my mom to watch the dance i made up in the pool pic.twitter.com/zbtwEFjpTG — kenzi (@kenzianidiot) August 9, 2024
Judges made the right call here because what was that move lol #Olympics #Breakdancing pic.twitter.com/sXAs9AdHjX — MⓞNK BLOODY P👑s (@MonkeyBlood) August 9, 2024
But some critics argued that Raygun's performance didn't represent breaking — a sport that will not return to the 2028 Games in Los Angeles.
Breaking came from Black and brown communities in the Bronx in the 1970s. Malik Dixon, an African American man who lives in Australia, told the Australian Broadcasting Corporation that Gunn came off as "somebody who was toying with the culture" during a significant moment for the sport.
(You can watch the 2024 Olympic events — including Raygun's full performance — on Peacock.)
There were three ways to qualify for breaking at the Olympics, which the World Dance Sport Federation (WDSF) outlined in April 2022: at the WDSF championship in Belgium in September 2023, in a continental qualifier, or in an Olympic qualifier series held in 2024. Gunn qualified regionally by winning the WDSF Oceania Breaking Championships, which were held in Sydney in October 2023.
AUSBreaking organized the Oceania Breaking Championships, according to the WDSF .
AUSBreaking posted on Instagram about the Oceanic Olympic qualifying event on Instagram in September 2023, announcing in a September 25, 2023 post that competitor registration was open. The panel of judges was composed of 10 breakers from multiple countries, led by head judge Katsu One of Japan.
Per the Sydney Morning Herald, Gunn was the highest-scoring B-girl on day one of the championships. She won two battles on the second day to secure her title and a qualifying spot in the 2024 Olympic Games in Paris.
AUSBreaking released a statement on Instagram Monday about the selection process, saying that the qualifying event was "open to all interested participants in the Oceanic region," conducted in line with WDSF standards, and adjudicated by an international panel that used the same judging system as the 2024 Olympics.
"Ultimately, Rachael Gunn and Jeff Dunne emerged as the top performers in exactly the same process, securing their spots to represent Australia in Paris," the statement reads. "Their selection was based solely on their performance in their battles on that day."
Claims have circulated online that Gunn unfairly obtained her spot in the games. Posts online, as reported by the Australian Associated Press , claimed that Gunn's husband was one of the judges in her qualifying event. One petition hosted on change.org claimed that she established the governing body that ran the selection process. That petition was eventually removed after it was placed under review, per an archived snapshot .
Change.org did not immediately respond to a request for comment as to why the petition was taken down.
Despite the online claims, Free was not one of the judges at Gunn's qualifying event. And Gunn did not establish AUSBreaking. The organization said in a statement that it was founded by its president Lowe Napalan in 2019, and "at no point" was Gunn "the founder, an executive, committee member, or in any position of leadership."
The Australian Olympic Commission (AOC) also released a statement condemning the change.org petition, and demanding its removal. It also said that by winning the Oceania championship, Gunn was "legitimately nominated" by DanceSport Australia to the AOC to represent Australia at the Olympics.
"The petition has stirred up public hatred without any factual basis. It's appalling," AOC chief executive officer Matt Carroll said in the statement. "No athlete who has represented their country at the Olympic Games should be treated in this way and we are supporting Dr. Gunn and Anna Meares at this time."
In a video uploaded to her personal Instagram account, Gunn said that she was "honored" to have represented Australia and breaking during its Olympic debut. But the "hate" that followed was "devastating," she said. When it came to misinformation around her qualification, Gunn referred viewers to previously issued statements from the AOC and AUSBreaking.
At a press conference on Saturday, the day after Gunn's competition, Anna Meares, the head of the Australian team, responded to criticism of Gunn online.
"I love Rachael, and I think that what has occurred on social media with trolls and keyboard warriors, and taking those comments and giving them airtime, has been really disappointing," Meares said, per ESPN .
"Raygun is an absolutely loved member of this Olympic team. She has represented the Olympic team, the Olympic spirit with great enthusiasm. And I absolutely love her courage," Meares continued. "I love her character, and I feel very disappointed for her, that she has come under the attack that she has."
During a press conference on Sunday, Martin Gilian, the Olympic breaking head judge, defended Gunn's performance, saying breaking was "all about originality" and representing your roots, the Australian Broadcasting Corporation reported.
"This is exactly what Raygun was doing," Gilian said. "She got inspired by her surroundings, which in this case, for example, was a kangaroo."
Gunn said during the Saturday press conference that "all of my moves are original," ESPN reported. She told The Guardian that her biggest strength was "creativity."
"I was never going to beat these girls on what they do best, the dynamic and the power moves, so I wanted to move differently, be artistic and creative," Gunn told The Guardian, "because how many chances do you get that in a lifetime to do that on an international stage. I was always the underdog and wanted to make my mark in a different way."
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Careers Published 8 Feb, 2024 · 9-minute read
Studying a higher degree by research isn’t something you choose to do overnight – well, not for most people. So, to help you make this decision, we’ve reached out to some alumni and compiled some data to help you work out if a Doctor of Philosophy would be worthwhile for you.
When you’re considering such a big academic step, it’s normal to wonder: is a PhD worth it?
Anecdotal evidence and statistics both tell us the benefits of PhD study do indeed outweigh the time and effort required. Let’s explore:
For UQ PhD alumni Angie Knaggs, Benjamin Jones and Brigid Lynch, answering this question in hindsight is easy – and the answer is a resounding yes . Their stories may help you make this choice without that advantage of hindsight.
My PhD is as much a part of my identity as the colour of my hair.
Angie’s PhD was a natural continuation of the theses she wrote during her honours and master’s programs, focusing on popular culture representations of masculinity in crisis. In short, she studied the connections in language, culture and communication in shows like Prison Break – rather than watching them for the drama like most of us do.
“I’ve always connected strongly with work in gender and performativity,” says Angie.
“I found the deep dive into thinking and analysis rewarding and engaging. My final thesis remains the piece of work I’m most proud of – even after a decade!”
Her career after completing her PhD was rocky at first. But, as is often the case, the hurdles in the journey ended up emphasising the successes.
“I was very focused on applying for an early-career academic role with the aim of becoming a full-time academic,” says Angie.
“I had experienced a good deal of academic success, and I had publications in top journals. I felt certain I was in a good position to achieve my dreams.
“I went to interview after interview, and it was disheartening to hear how I was almost it or not quite it . What it was, I could never quite work out, but it became increasingly clear to me that I didn’t have it .”
After tutoring and course convening at multiple universities for a while (and quickly growing bored of the constant commuting between campuses), Angie decided to apply for some roles that looked fun and interesting, even if they weren’t at traditional universities. This is how she accidentally fell into – and fell in love with – a whole new world: teaching film studies .
Angie’s new path eventually led to her current role as Senior Learning Specialist – Employability with UQ’s School of Languages and Cultures . Here, she uses her intercultural competencies and higher order thinking skills to great use, as well as publishing about her work in international journals.
“I don’t think I would have been open to following a new pathway if I hadn’t let go of the assumption that my doctorate automatically meant I would have a traditional academic career,” she says.
“Letting that go involved some deep self-work, but it was worth it.”
Now, with over a decade to reflect, Angie sees her PhD as an essential part of how she got to where she is today as well as a vital factor in all her successful career steps along the way.
“I like to think of my PhD as the ultimate employability bootcamp,” she says.
“My PhD gave me an edge – a way of thinking about problems in different ways. It taught me resilience, the ability to pivot and the ability to give and receive feedback. It has also helped get my CV to the top of the pile.”
My PhD equipped me well to move in and out of different roles until I found the one which was best for me.
Ben's career has evolved quite a lot since completing his PhD, in which he investigated the rehabilitation and revegetation of bauxite tailings.
"I chose this topic as I'm interested in environmental science," he says.
"I thought that mine rehabilitation was an important and in-demand area which I could contribute to."
And he has indeed been contributing to this field – most recently in his role with the Queensland Department of Environment and Science, which has allowed him to do satisfying and technical work behind the scenes on high-profile projects. His journey since graduating has been filled with rewarding stepping stones across various positions.
"I've worked in academia and within the private and public sector," says Ben.
"My PhD equipped me well to move in and out of different roles until I found the one which was best for me."
The benefits of a PhD have been obvious and numerous to Ben, both in terms of the career opportunities and lifestyle advantages available. But these benefits aren't necessarily things you have to wait for – you may experience some of them while studying.
"From a remuneration perspective alone, some industry PhD scholarships are quite attractive," says Ben.
"They also offer flexible working hours, and this offers time for other commitments."
"Workplaces are becoming more competitive, especially for recent graduates. Attaining a PhD provides graduates with valuable work experience and specialist knowledge within their chosen field."
Ben recognises a higher degree by research isn't for everyone, but he also sees multiple reasons why a PhD is worth it for candidates.
"Obtaining a PhD is only one of many options, and having a PhD isn't a prerequisite for success," he says.
"However, a PhD is a requirement for many positions within academia or research, so for people embarking on this career path, a PhD is likely essential."
He also believes the PhD path can provide:
Ultimately, Ben believes the decision of whether to pursue a PhD comes down to personal circumstances and goals.
"I think people need to weigh up their different options and decide what’s best for them."
I now get to work with some of the world's most talented and inspiring epidemiologists. I couldn't think of a better job.
Brigid completed a PhD in population health, looking specifically at how physical activity could impact quality of life for colorectal cancer patients. Her motivation and drive came from combining her previous study areas with a personal passion for the topic.
“The project brought together my undergraduate training (Human Movement Studies and Psychology at UQ) with my interest in epidemiology,” says Brigid.
“So, it was something I could really commit to for the long haul.”
Not long after finishing her PhD, Brigid received a postdoctoral fellowship from the National Health and Medical Research Council, funding her for 2 years of international work followed by 2 years back in Australia.
“Having a PhD is a passport to live and work around the globe,” she says.
“As a postdoctoral fellow, I moved to Alberta, Canada, to work with one of the world’s leading researchers in the physical activity and cancer field. After 2 years of snow and Chinook winds, I returned to Australia.
“One of my career highlights was being funded to spend 3 months working at the University of Bristol. Being able to work and study abroad has opened up a lot of opportunities for research collaboration.”
Brigid is now Deputy Head of the Cancer Epidemiology Division at Cancer Council Victoria.
As someone who continues to work in research, Brigid says the benefits of having a PhD are still obvious to her every day. However, she also recognises how a higher degree by research can help those who follow other paths – just like Angie.
“Even for people who want to work in industry or for government, I think there are very clear benefits of a PhD,” says Brigid.
“So many of the skills you develop when doing a PhD are transferrable, such as project management, critical thinking and strong communication.”
While Angie and Brigid’s thesis topics and PhD journeys were quite different, there’s one thing they have in common: the first thing that came to mind when asked for the highlights of studying their PhD at UQ. They both went straight to talking about the people.
“The colleagues and friends I met along the journey are a highlight,” says Angie.
“My supervisor remains one of my closest friends and a long-time mentor.”
Brigid whole-heartedly agrees.
“I met some great people along the way, many of whom I still work with in one way or another,” she says.
“I really enjoy dropping into the School of Public Health when I’m in town.”
Building a supportive network was a key benefit for Ben, too.
"My research organisation placed a high value on networking and provided opportunities to grow," he says.
"I've remained in contact with my PhD supervisor and some of my colleagues, and this has given me a network of old friends at UQ."
Doing your PhD at UQ means you'll get to create connections with some of the most influential and highly cited researchers in the country . And yes, some of these researchers might just become your lifelong friends.
A good way to determine whether a PhD is worth it for you is to consider your motivations – what are your reasons to do a PhD?
For Angie, this boils down to asking yourself 2 key questions:
Hint from Angie: “If the answer to either question involves any person other than yourself, that’s a red flag. You should only ever do a PhD for yourself. It will be the toughest challenge you ever set for yourself – and it’s only worth doing if you’re doing it for yourself.”
Brigid suggests adding these 2 questions to your decision-making process:
If your reasons to do a PhD are genuine and you have a strong vision of what you’ll study and why, this may make your decision clearer.
Reading Angie and Brigid’s stories may lead you to think that most candidates are driven solely by their passion for research and that the PhD starting salary is irrelevant. But this is a valid and common consideration for many people. After all, knowing what to expect from a PhD graduate salary can help you justify pursuing your doctorate and plan appropriately for your future career.
The median salary of a PhD graduate is around $96,000pa , though it’s important to note this figure can vary significantly depending on your field.
Wondering if you'll get a PhD income while you study? Find out more about living stipend scholarships .
While making decent money is an enticing perk, perhaps the more important financial benefit of having a PhD is the higher chance of getting (and staying) employed in the first place. According to QILT's Graduate Outcomes Survey , in 2022, the overall employment rate for postgraduate research students in Australia was 91.9%, with 84.7% of graduates in full-time employment.
A comprehensive report from Ribit.net and the Australian Mathematical Sciences Institute shows there is increasing demand for PhD graduates across many industries in Australia. Some of the nation’s most competitive firms are recruiting higher degree by research students from a wide range of disciplines. This further proves Angie and Brigid’s point about PhD research equipping graduates with transferrable and highly employable skills – skills that are recognised beyond the realm of academia.
So, what makes PhD graduates so employable? Well, at UQ, we expect our Career Development Framework plays a large part. This gives all our researchers access to workshops and other opportunities to capitalise on their research skills and turn them into industry practice.
UQ is also home to UniQuest , leaders in research commercialisation. Our researchers can work with UniQuest to translate their academic discoveries into commercial products, effectively taking their research to market.
Whether you’re driven by personal passions, academic ambitions, financial goals or a combination of all these reasons to pursue a PhD, the evidence is strong: a PhD is worth it.
Start your journey today
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Among the various breakers competing in the Paris Olympics, one in particular has taken the internet by storm: Australia’s Rachael Gunn.
In videos of her performances shared online, B-Girl Raygun was seen hopping around like a kangaroo, touching her toes while lying down and seemingly squirming around on the dance floor.
Netizens were quick to pick up on Gunn’s unusual moves and catapulted her to internet fame with thousands memes.
But who is she? Let’s take a look.
Born in Hornsby in New South Wales, Gunn was a former jazz and ballroom dancer. She was introduced to breaking by the man she later married, who had been practising for 10 years.
Although Gunn grew up dancing, she did not start competing in breaking competitions until her mid-twenties.
“I wasn’t a sporty kid, I was more of a dance kid,” Gunn had said. “I never thought the Olympics would be on the cards for me. It’s such a privilege and it’s hugely exciting.”
Gunn graduated university with her PHD thesis focusing on ‘the intersection of gender and Sydney’s breaking culture’ in 2017.
By 2020, Gunn worked her way up to become the Australian Breaking Association’s top ranked B-Girl.
She took part at the World Breaking Championships in Paris in 2021 and in Seoul 12 months later, and qualified for the Paris Games via the Oceania Championships in October 2023.
“I think a lot of people had doubted my ability to do it and maybe thought I was getting too old to be able to stay on top,” she said. “But I just kept pushing hard, I want to get better, and I want the scene to grow and get better.
Gunn’s experience had also influenced her beyond the dance floor as well.
She is a lecturer at the Department of Media, Communications, Creative Arts, Language and Literature at Macquarie University, where her biography states that she is an interdisciplinary and practice-based researcher interested in the cultural politics of breaking.
Despite Gunn’s experience in the discipline, her unique performance at the Paris Olympics quickly went viral on social media.
She finished the group phase with no points, which led many to question how she earned qualification.
Despite the jokes, Gunn defended her performance.
“I was never going to beat these girls on what they do best, the dynamic and the power moves, so I wanted to move differently, be artistic and creative because how many chances do you get in a lifetime to do that on an international stage?,” she said.
“I was always the underdog and wanted to make my mark in a different way.”
The memes drew an impassioned defence from Australia’s chef de mission Anna Meares as she hit out at “trolls and keyboard warriors”.
“If you don’t know Rachael’s story, in 2008, she was locked in a room crying, being involved in a male dominated sport as the only woman and it took great courage for her to continue on and fight for her opportunity to participate in a sport that she loved,” she said.
Meares noted that Gunn was the best female breakdancer the country had and was an “absolutely loved member” of the Olympic team.
COMMENTS
Let's discuss how to get a PhD in Australia - from choosing your topic to submitting your application. Just keep in mind that some of this information is specifically about how to apply for a PhD at UQ. It's still a useful guide in general, but the PhD application process may vary at other Australian universities.
A Doctor of Philosophy (PhD) is an internationally recognised graduate research program that will enable you to become an independent researcher.
What is a PhD? PhD stands for Doctor of Philosophy and is considered the highest postgraduate achievement you can earn. To complete a doctorate you must produce significant and original research. You'll develop critical knowledge and understanding of a particular research area.
PhD Study in Australia - 2024. Studying abroad in Australia has a lot more to offer than sun, sea and sand. With world-class research centres and internationally ranked universities, the country is also a vibrant hub for research and scholarship. Australian universities carry out pioneering work in ecology, renewable energy, antibiotic ...
As a Doctor of Philosophy (PhD) candidate, you'll complete a substantial program of independent and original research in your chosen field of study. A PhD prepares you for a range of careers - from academic to industry and is the highest degree qualification available.
PhD Degrees in Australia A PhD is the highest degree awarded at global universities. PhD study is based on a substantial research project in an area of academic interest, typically up to 100,000 words in length, written as a thesis which must be defended in an oral examination at the end of the program. All PhD students are assigned a supervisor, and the duration of a PhD is typically three ...
The cost of a PhD for international students is estimated to be between AUD $20,000-50,000 per year. While domestic students (Australians and New Zealanders) pay significantly lower fees, international students must anticipate this financial commitment when considering a PhD in Australia.
The UniSQ Doctor of Philosophy PhD program is a research degree available in all study areas & provides you with the skills to become an effective researcher.
Grow professionally and academically through a paid 3-6 month internship with an industry partner as you complete your degree. The University of Sydney has partnered with Australian Postgraduate Research Intern (APR.Intern) to provide domestic and international HDR students with internship opportunities in a range of sectors and disciplines.
The Monash Doctoral Program enhances your research project with advanced training that equips you with the knowledge, skills and abilities needed to: Make an impact in academia, industry, government or community after graduation. It is a PhD designed to prepare graduates with the skills and capabilities sought by employers, giving you a ...
Everything an international student needs to study a PhD in Australia. Finding a university, how to apply, tuition fees, living costs and more.
PhD in Australia is a 3-5 years, full time program offered across the top universities. You should find a potential supervisor before applying for PhD programs in Australia. Know more about the universities, cost, admissions in 2024-25, research proposals and more for PhD in Australia, here!
If you're an international student seeking better employment, higher wages and industry recognition, a PhD in Australia is for you.
This guide tells you everything you need to make an application for a PhD programme in Australia.
Australia's universities are well-established in the global top 250 and its government places great value on international PhD students, with generous post-study work visas.
If you're passionate enough about a topic to complete a PhD on it, we think that's amazing. But, understandably, you'll want some reassurance that you'll be supported financially during your research endeavours. Let's look at how to get a PhD scholarship in Australia.
How can I apply for a PhD in Australia as an international student? When applying to study a PhD in Australia, applicants are encouraged to identify possible academic supervisors and contact the faculty they would be enrolling in.
With unique PhD opportunities in everything from anthropology to zoology, excellent post-grad study visas and a country full of opportunity, it's the ideal location for your PhD. Australia's focus on STEAM (Science, Technology, Engineering, Arts, Mathematics) and environmental issues make it one of the foremost research destinations in the world.
PhD fees. As an international student in Australia you'll pay fees at a higher rate. The Australian government estimates that typical international PhD fees are between AUD $20,000-50,000 (USD $12,740-31,850) per year. This is what you can expect to pay if your project doesn't have funding attached or you're proposing your own topic.
As Dr. Rachel Gunn, she's a 36-year-old lecturer at Macquarie University in Australia. She holds a PhD in cultural science. She researches and lectures on the cultural politics of breaking. As ...
You already know a Doctor of Philosophy is a significant time investment, but just how long does it take to get a PhD? Here, we look at the possibilities and average timeframes to help you prepare for the exciting journey ahead. We've checked in with our Higher Degree by Research team to get the official answers to how long a PhD takes to complete.
Rachael Gunn earned a zero in breakdancing at the Paris 2024 Olympic Games.
A friend and fellow breaker has leapt to Rachael "Raygun" Gunn's defence after her controversial performance in Paris, but an African American man living in Australia says she appeared to be ...
Rachel Gunn, the Australian Olympic breaking competitor known as Raygun, responded to 'devastating' criticism against her in an Instagram video.
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A PhD is a big commitment - you've heard it before. It's a commitment of time, energy and (yep, you guessed it) money. But financial help is available. So, realistically, how much does it cost to do a PhD? There's how much a PhD costs, and then there's how much a PhD costs after you factor in tuition scholarships. It's also important to note that the cost of the program itself is ...
Two PhD Scholarships in Plant Molecular Biology and Horticultural Tree Genomics. Western Sydney University Hawkesbury Institute for the Environment. The Hawkesbury Institute for the Environment (HIE) is offering two postgraduate research scholarships to ambitious PhD candidates for a 3-year PhD program of research to commence in 2025.
The 2024 Paris Olympics debuted breaking (aka breakdancing) as a competition sport. One Australian competitor, "Raygun," became a viral meme.
After all, knowing what to expect from a PhD graduate salary can help you justify pursuing your doctorate and plan appropriately for your future career. The median salary of a PhD graduate is around $96,000pa, though it's important to note this figure can vary significantly depending on your field. Wondering if you'll get a PhD income while ...
Gunn graduated university with her PHD thesis focusing on 'the intersection of gender and Sydney's breaking culture' in 2017. By 2020, Gunn worked her way up to become the Australian ...