- Hearing
Melbourne speech pathologist, Tegan Howell, is a passionate advocate for the Elisabeth Murdoch Scholarship, which provides master's and PhD students financial support while undertaking study or research in the field of hearing loss and deafness.
Tegan was awarded $5,000 under the scholarship in 2023 to help her undertake a Master of Philosophy (Speech and Audiology), at the University of Melbourne.
The money allowed her to cut back her hours working as a speech pathologist and focus on research into early communication for children who are deaf or hard of hearing.
— Tegan, 2023 Elisabeth Murdoch Scholarship recipientThe $5,000 supported me while I was doing my Master of Philosophy, allowing me to take a step back slightly from my clinical work, so I could dedicate more time to complete my master’s in the hope to then convert it to a PhD, which I've now done.
The funds also supported Auslan access for parents who are deaf and hard of hearing when they were interviewed as part of her research.
Applications for the 2025 scholarship are open until 31 August 2025 and Tegan encourages early childhood, educational, and health professionals undertaking study or research in hearing loss and deafness to apply.
“NextSense, like Elisabeth Murdoch did, wants to be involved in research that improves outcomes for deaf and hard of hearing children, adults, future generations,” Tegan says.
“Providing financial support to students like us, who would often miss out on government financial support, is really beneficial; we really appreciate their support.”
The scholarship was established in 1988 with a $100,000 donation from Dame Elisabeth Murdoch, one of Victoria’s most celebrated philanthropists, to combat a shortage of Teachers of the Deaf.
Today, NextSense is the trustee. It awards the scholarship every two years.
Dame Elisabeth’s links to NextSense date back to the late 1960s when she joined the Advisory Council for Children with Impaired Hearing (ACCIH) in Melbourne.
The Council, now part of NextSense, was established in 1968 by Dame Elisabeth’s daughter, Janet Calvert-Jones, whose son James was born deaf.
Early childhood, educational, and health professionals can apply for a scholarship to:
- undertake studies in the field of hearing loss and deafness; or
- conduct research in fields that add to the evidence base for family-centred early intervention services in support of children who are deaf.
Studies must be undertaken at a Master or PhD level at a tertiary institute in Australia. An example would be the Master of Disability Studies delivered by NextSense Institute, in affiliation with Macquarie University.
The value of the scholarship is based on the needs of the applicant up to a maximum value of $5,000 per year for a master’s course and $30,000 for PhD research in two tranches.
Dr Sue Silveira, Course Director of the Master of Disability Studies at the NextSense Institute, says completing a master's or PhD is “not an easy journey”.
— Dr Sue Silveira, NextSense InstituteElisabeth Murdoch obviously understood the conditions and role of Teachers of the Deaf; the features of the scholarship are all things that lead down the road to success and completion.
She says the scholarship helps students to overcome some of the barriers they face enrolling in higher tertiary studies to ensure there are sufficient specialist teachers into the future.
“PhDs are important as they build on the contemporary body of knowledge in the fields of deafness and hard of hearing.
“That can have a direct positive impact on students and families and the community around them.”