Instant noodles and extra jobs: PhD candidates ‘barely scraping by’ on stipends below minimum wage

Students are pleading for reforms amid rising rent and cost of living, as experts warn research could suffer if people are put off higher study

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When Maddy Hoffman started her PhD in Perth in 2019, the stipend was $500 a week. The cheapest place she could find to rent was $300 – more than half her weekly income.

If it weren’t for her partner, she said her PhD in nuclear radiation simply “wouldn’t have happened”.