• Charles Sturt research to examine why coming from rural and remote Australia still influences how likely you are to attend university
• Professor Sarah O’Shea’s project will help create fairer pathways to higher education for rural and remote Australians who are the first in their family to attend university

Despite decades of efforts to improve access to higher education, students from rural and remote communities remain significantly underrepresented at Australian universities.

For those without any university graduates in their family, that representation is even more limited.

Charles Sturt University educational sociologist, Distinguished Professor Sarah O’Shea, will lead a research project investigating why that is the case and what needs to be done to remedy it.

Professor O’Shea has been awarded an Australian Research Council Future Fellowship to examine how space, place and community resources intersect to influence educational pathways and outcomes for first-generation students from rural and remote areas.

The research findings will be translated into practical resources and policy guidance designed to improve educational opportunities for rural and remote Australians.

According to the Department of Education, students from regional, rural and remote communities make up about 20 per cent of Australia’s domestic university students. About 27 per cent of Australians live in regional, rural or remote communities.

Professor O’Shea said understanding the influence of place is critical to ensuring all Australians have equitable access to higher education.

“Educational opportunity is not experienced equally across Australia and the spaces that people occupy can significantly influence how they imagine university as well as their post-schooling decision making,” she said.

“This research will help us better understand how place shapes educational experiences and identify how to improve university access and success for first-generation rural and remote learners.”

The project will produce a conceptual toolkit, practical resources and evidence-based policy recommendations to support more equitable, place-based approaches to higher education.

Charles Sturt Deputy Vice-Chancellor (Research) Professor Neena Mitter said Charles Sturt is committed to research that addresses the challenges facing regional Australia.

“Research that helps remove barriers to education has the power to transform lives, strengthen communities and create opportunities for future generations of Australians who might otherwise be overlooked and left behind,” Professor Mitter said.

“As Australia’s leading regional university, Charles Sturt University is proud to support research that delivers practical solutions to improve educational outcomes for rural and remote Australians.

“Congratulations to Professor O’Shea on this grant, which is clear recognition of her national leadership in promoting educational equity.”

Professor O’Shea’s grant is for $1,239,736, with the project to run over four years.

The research project sits within the Higher Education Equity Research Unit that Professor O’Shea leads and will complement Dr Maree Martinussen’s DECRA fellowship on how trauma impacts higher education equity cohorts.

Charles Sturt’s Professor Dale Nimmo also received an ARC Future Fellowships 2026 (Round One) grant for a research project to enhance Australian wildlife resilience to bushfires.