Australian universities
Research programmes ▲
This article gives you a detailed look atAustralia’s research (research master’s or PhD) programmes and the application process,hoping to help applicants interested in scaling the heights of academia.
Written by Newstars Sydney education consultant Jessica (Registered Education Agent Counsellor, QEAC No. O782) — feel free to scan the QR code at the end of the article with any questions.
The advantages of doing a PhD in Australia!
1. Australia has set up many migration pathways exclusively for high achievers
For example, Canberra’s state nomination has a PhD Graduate stream
Applicants’ occupations don’t need to be on the ACT Critical Skills List — they only need to be on the Department of Home Affairs’ Subclass 491/190 occupation list, along with holding a skills assessment.Applicants don’t need a Matrix score — they just need an EOI score of 65 or above.
For Canberra residents, meeting the following conditions makes you eligible to apply for nomination:
–Have lived in Canberra for at least 12 months at the time of invitation
–Obtained a PhD from an ACT university
–Currently living interstate can also apply
having obtained a PhD from an ACT university within the past two years,are still eligible to apply for ACT PhD nomination. (The overseas applicant stream remains closed for now due to pandemic-era border closures.)
Another example: South Australia (SA) has an Outstanding Graduate stream
South Australia’s outstanding graduatesenjoy favourable migration policy, a lower invitation threshold, and more exemptions,including an exemption from the requirement of at least three months’ relevant post-graduation work experience. The South Australian Government hasn’t yet officially announced its new financial-year policy — this is expected during the week of 19 July, and we’ll keep monitoring it. Under the existing state nomination policy, applicants currently living in South Australia who completed a research master’s, PhD, or master’s degree at a South Australian public university within the past two years, in a field of study matching their nominated occupation, qualify for the South Australia Outstanding Graduate stream.
GTI(Australia’s Global Talent Independent Program)
Besides state nomination, PhD students can also consider the GTI (Global Talent Independent Program) to secure PR in one step — it’s been one of Australia’s hottest migration pathways over the past year,GTI has now expanded to ten target sectors,specifically including:
1) Resources(expanded from the original mining sector to cover resources broadly — analysts believe this may include natural gas, oil, and heavy metals)
2) Agri-food and AgTech(newly added agriculture and food-related fields, not limited to technology)
3) Energy(already existing, retained, and now a standalone stream)
4) Health industries (expanded from health technology to encompass the entire health-related industry)
5) Defence, advanced manufacturingand space(a purely new addition — defence — which, together with the original advanced manufacturing and space technology, forms a new stream)
6) Circular economy(purely new)
7) DigiTech(replacing the original Advanced Digital, Data Science and ICT)
8) Infrastructure and tourism (purely new)
9) Financial services and FinTech(expanded from fintech to financial services)
10) Education(purely new)
Under the reforms at the end of last year, applicants without a PhD need to meet the Department of Home Affairs’ income requirement of an annual salary of AUD153,600. This shows thatbeing a current PhD candidate or PhD holder is a real advantage when applying for this visa!
(2) A relatively lower threshold:Australia requires an English test score rather than the GRE, and places weight on an applicant’s overall abilities rather than GPA alone
(3) Flexible application and enrolment timing:There’s no fixed application cycle — you can apply at any time of year. (Because of scholarship applications, students typically apply in July-August for a March intake the following year, or September through January for a July intake the following year.)
(4) Top-tier research resources:Australian universities have strong research groups across many fields — astronomy, biomedicine, geology, solar cells, and more — with many groups having produced Nobel Prize winners, making them well worth applying to.
(5) Full-time work rights:Once their course begins, research master’s and PhD students and their partners are not bound by the student visa’s cap of no more than 40 hours’ work per fortnight, and can work full-time. In addition, these students can apply for a 3-4 year Graduate Work visa after graduating.
A detailed look at degree types
The research (non-coursework) degrees offered by Australian universities
fall mainly into the following two categories:
(1) Research master’s (Master of Philosophy (MPhil))
(2) PhD (Doctor of Philosophy (PhD))
Research master’sis the research degree ranked just below a PhD in Australia’s qualification framework.It’s typically two years full-time; during the research period, students conduct academic research under a supervisor’s guidance and produce a thesis, with a small amount of coursework in some fields.In the end,the thesis runs to around 40,000-50,000 words, and students with excellent results can upgrade to a PhD either within the first year or after completing the degree,reaching the top tier of academic research qualifications.
Take UNSW’s engineering research master’s as an example —students need to complete two coursework subjects plus a research methods and management subject, all within the first year, with the rest of the time spent doing research in the lab.
PhDis the highest qualification level in Australia.The degree typically takes three to four years,and besides guidance from a supervisor,it also involves a large amount of independent research and thesis writing, with the final PhD thesis running to around 100,000 words.
Applicants will choose a directionaligned with their own field of study,or even a very narrow sub-field. However,cross-disciplinary research is also possible,for example in basic sciences such as mathematics or physics.That said, fields like engineering generally aren’t recommended for cross-disciplinary applications.
Application steps
Step 1: Determine your intended degree based on your academic background
Note:Some top Australian universities’ research master’s and PhD programmesonly accept applicants with a bachelor’s honours degree or above (contact me for details on which specific universities).
Take the University of Sydney as an example —for Australian qualifications, the research master’s requires a First or Second Class Honours bachelor’s degree (average mark of 75 or above); PhD admission typically requires a First or Second Class Honours degree, or a master’s degree with a research component and excellent results. For students from mainland China, factors considered include whether the university is a 211/985 institution, undergraduate results, and thesis/final-project marks, alongside the faculty’s specific academic requirements for the relevant field.
Step 2: Identify your intended research area and supervisor, and write a Research Proposal
① Determine the university and research area:
Use various online resources, such asuniversity or research institution websites, to find universities you’re specifically interested in, along withthe faculty hosting the programme you want to apply for — identify an area within your field that you’re interested in exploring further, and seek out a research supervisor in that area.Once you’ve contacted a supervisor, you can discuss your specific research direction or cross-disciplinary angles in more depth, and match your planned research with the supervisor’s existing work to identify technical support and points of innovation.
Take the Australian National University as an example:
First find the website of the faculty you’re interested in on the university’s official site (e.g. the College of Engineering& Computer Science), and locate the Research section
find that faculty’s specific research topics
find a topic that suits you, look into the details, and find the supervisor’s contact information
② Complete the Research Proposal:
Write your research proposal in detail — besides setting out your reasons and views on the research,you also need to highlight the core value of the research,as well ashow it aligns with the supervisor’s own research area to maximise academic outcomes.
③ Contact the supervisor:
Prepare materials such as your academic background, research experience, intended research area, research proposal, and CV (so the supervisor understands your educational background, work experience, research direction, research experience, etc.) and send them to the supervisor to seek their agreement.Even though it’s just an email, be sure to observe proper email etiquette and professionalism.
If the supervisor is interested, you’ll receive a response, and some supervisors will even tell you how likely you are to get a scholarship. Also, if your university or research institution has a partnership with an Australian university or research institution,you may be able to secure a recommendation letter from a leading academic,which will improve your chances of getting the supervisor’s approval.
Generally, once you have the supervisor’s endorsement, your application is more than halfway to success!
If you have questions about any of the steps above,
feel free to contact me
Next,
let’s keep going
Applying for scholarships
Applicants with outstanding academic results and research performance can apply for various scholarships.A full scholarship can cover not only tuition fees but also living costs during study.The amount and number of scholarship placeseither need to be applied for separately, or are automatically assessed and decided by the university’s academic committee, and whether it’s the Research Training Program scholarship provided by the Australian Government or one offered by the university, competition is fairly fierce. However, most research master’s students are self-funded,while PhD students have a higher chance of securing a scholarship.
Factors that determine whether you get a scholarship, and how much, include:
GPA results
Research ability:This includes published papers, research projects, internship/work experience, and research-related awards. Many Australian professors are keen to take on applicants who have published international papers and have strong research ability.
Supervisor endorsement:Having a professor’s support is a prerequisite for any scholarship application — depending on a professor’s standing and seniority, they can typically take on 1-3 fully-funded overseas students.
Referees:If your GPA and publication record aren’t strong, securing referees can help — having a well-known referee in your field can improve your chances of success.
English proficiency:For scholarship applications, English proficiency isn’t the most important factor, but it plays a key role. Supervisors generally consider English proficiency to determine the standard and professionalism of your writing.
Formally submitting your application
Once you have the supervisor’s endorsement, confirmed your funding source, and settled on a formal start date for your research degree, you can formally submit your application.Application materialsincludethe research proposal, English test results, visa information, proof of supervisor agreement, CV, previous academic transcripts and degree certificates, and a statement of financial capacity, among others.
Generally speaking,research degrees usually have 3-4 intakes a year,which differs from the intake dates of standard coursework degrees,so this needs to be confirmed separately.
It’s worth noting thatmany Australian institutions don’t accept individual applicants submitting research degree applications directly — applications must go through the university’s designated official agents. Newstars can help students submit research degree applications, and check and verify certain materials required by specific universities.
Completing the follow-on visa steps
Once you receive an unconditional offer, you can formally accept it and pay tuition fees. If you’ve also been awarded a scholarship, you can accept that at the same time.After receiving your Confirmation of Enrolment (CoE), we can help you apply for a student visa in the research degree category.
We should remind students here that the student visa for research degrees is one of the most complex categories of Australian student visas — the required documentation is fairly complex and processing times are long.If the visa isn’t handled properly and a case officer requests additional documents, you may end up waiting at least a year — we’ve previously had a number of clients who, because they submitted an under-prepared application themselves or used an inexperienced agent, were asked for further documents and ended up waiting 12-18 months before their visa was granted,delaying their enrolment and throwing their original study plans into disarray — which isn’t worth it.
So it’s best to leave professional matters to professionals —we have years of successful experience helping students with this type of visa. Feel free to scan Newstars consultant Jessica’s QR code for a detailed consultation.We hope this article has been helpful if you’re interested in Australian research degrees!
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