PhD, Master by coursework & research programs

Entry requirements

Admission to PhD programs commonly needs attainment of a Master degree or a Bachelors honours degree (1st or 2nd class ) or equivalent and demonstrated ability to conduct research in the relevant field.

Fees

Australians and other PhD and research based Masters candidate do not need to pay fees, as they are paid for by the Government under the Research Training Scheme. overseas students and Coursework Masters ( ie. non Research) students must pay tuition fees, unless they already have a scholarship.

Scholarship

PhD candidates are sometimes granted a scholarship  enabling them to complete their degree. In Australia, the most common type is the government-funded Australian Postgraduate Award (APA), which provides a living stipend to students of approximately$22.5K per annum (tax free). APAs are paid over 3 years and 6 month extensions are usually possible.Some unis also fund a similar scholarship that is equal to the APA sum. Recently, as a consequence of cost cutting in research funding , such scholarships have become harder to get. But, APAs have become less competitive as the number of scholarships was to be doubled by 2012. As a result of rising living expenses, many PhD students have to live very frugally. As well as APA and University scholarships, Australians may consider applying for other scholarship funding, with the JASON Postgraduate Scholarship Database.