It will create 10 PhD scholarships to address the gaps in knowledge about women in every area of elite and community sport as part of its strategy to become Australia's leading university for women in sport by 2026.

As part of the funding announced on Tuesday, Canberra sports clubs - who co-fund a scholarship - will work with PhD students on an ongoing basis to conduct research, apply new findings and investigate their performance questions.

UC health faculty executive dean Michelle Lincoln said they wanted to develop and support industry professionals and researchers who would be the next generation in the area with the funds.

"At UC, we already have a history of supporting and championing women in sport," the professor said.

"What we want to do now is make real change in the women's sporting industry and ensure that equal research and funding is put into growing the knowledge around women in the sport industry as there is for men."

The university already has PhD candidates researching women's sport but the new funding will boost that further, formally embed students in teams, and allow research to focus on matters affecting women's sport in Canberra.

UC first year PhD student Michael Pengelly is an example. He is already committed to addressing the research gap in women's sport by looking at iron deficiency in elite female performance.

It was the lack of research that drew him to the area, as he wants to test if women's iron levels impact performance in particular sports.

"[The funding's] massive for students like myself where you can go out and be embedded within a team," he said.

"Not just from the perspective of students like myself being able to gain data ... but within female sports, you generally see that they are under resourced.

"So you'll see teams, professionals and athletes end up seeking your expertise and advice more, so that extends beyond what your project is itself."

Part of the investment will also be used to fund 150 sports scholarships, 12-month academic high performance fellowships, outreach programs and UC's elite athlete program.