The University of Newcastle, Australia now offers PhD scholarships to study the social geography of heavy metal, according to an announcement made on the website of Professor Simon Springer, who is a Professor of Human Geography and Director of the Centre for Urban and Regional Studies at the university. 

The University of Newcastle is offering a scholarship of AUD $27,596 per annum to two domestic (Australian) students and one International student, to study social geographies across a series of topics. They can choose where they want to focus their PhD study on from four topics – homelessness, veganism, unschooling, or heavy metal music. 

The study of heavy metal music will see students inquire into areas such as the lyrical themes of Australian metal bands, the relationship between the cultural evolution of Heavy Metal in Australia and colonialism, how gender is negotiated within the Australian metal scene, and more

Scholarship recipients will study at the Centre for Urban and Regional Studies under the direction of Professor Springer in the Discipline of Geography and Environmental Studies at UoN. The successful applicants must commence their studies between 1 January 2020 and 31 August 2020.

To apply for the scholarship, one must have a minimum of a BA Honours, and ideally a Master's degree in Geography or a related field, such as Sociology, International Studies, Media Studies, or Political Science.

For more information, check out the full announcement on Professor Springer’s website here.