Research Services Division
Research
A. Details about application for both Domestic and International applicants can be found on our Higher Degrees by Research - Candidature and Scholarships web page.
Once your candidature application is complete (i.e. you have provided all the required documents and your referees have sent in their reports), your file will be sent to the appropriate School for consideration. If the School recommends candidature, it will be forwarded to the Faculty for a recommendation. If the Faculty also recommends candidature, the application will be considered by the Research and Research Training Committee which makes the final decision. Please note even if your proposed supervisor or somebody else in the School or Faculty has indicated that they will support your application, it does not mean it has been approved. The decision to offer candidature can only be made by the Research and Research Training Committee.
While every effort is made to complete this process within eight weeks, it can take longer in certain circumstances.
Applicants for candidature and a scholarship
If you are applying for candidature and a scholarship, the above process applies to the candidature component of your application. In addition, if the School considers you eligible for a scholarship, it will rank you against the other applicants. The final order of merit (across the whole University) is determined by the Scholarships Subcommittee of the Research and Research Training Committee.
Applicants for scholarship only
If you are already a candidate and are simply applying for a scholarship, the appropriate School will consider your application. If the School considers you eligible for a scholarship, it will rank you against the other applicants. The final order of merit (across the whole University) is determined by the Scholarships Subcommittee of the Research and Research Training Committee.
A. Details can be found on our Higher Degrees by Research - Candidature and Scholarships web page.
A.The reason for requesting academic referees is to receive their assessment of your academic abilities, especially your abilities as a researcher. That is why the referee report form contains specific questions relating to your previous experience with research and the quality of that research work. If you are not able to obtain a referee report from an academic source, a report from somebody else who is qualified to comment on your research ability may suffice.
A. Letters of reference are only useful if they address the specific questions raised in the referee report form, i.e. about your previous experience with research and the quality of that research work.
A. No. Referee reports are meant to be confidential and should be sent separately to the University.
A. To allow someone to proceed to a higher degree by research program when they have not demonstrated the necessary skills to complete it successfully can be an expensive mistake. It is expensive for a student who spends years with no useful outcome, and it is expensive for the University and the tax-payer. The University is therefore obliged to satisfy itself that students are properly prepared before it lets them undertake a higher degree by research.
Success in a higher degree program requires a range of abilities. Some of these are tested during the bachelor degree program. However, two key skills are hardly touched in that program: the ability to undertake original research, and the ability to write a substantial document about it. Experienced supervisors generally agree that many problems during candidature arise from deficiencies in one or both of these areas. Doing research and writing about it are tested during the standard 3 years Bachelor Degree plus 1 year honours or equivalent honours program. This forms the basis of the normal entry to higher degree by research candidature (at least H2A for doctoral programs and H2B for masters programs).
Students who have not achieved the minimum honours standard, or who do not have an honours degree, have not demonstrated these skills and can only be allowed to proceed with caution. The caution may take the form of enrolment as a provisional candidate with a significant hurdle, equivalent to an honours thesis, after about a year. This hurdle is to demonstrate the level of skills in doing research, and writing about it, that has been demonstrated by someone with H2A or H2B honours (depending on whether they are aiming at a doctoral or masters program). In some cases other requirements may also be set, e.g. the completion of a research methods unit.
Please also see What is provisional candidature?
A.In the Australian higher education system, an honours course is considered the ideal preparation for a masters or doctoral degree by research. Having completed a three-year undergraduate degree, some students are permitted to undertake a fourth year involving advanced studies in the area of one of their majors. In addition, the honours year involves a thesis which requires the student to undertake original research and write a substantial document about it. An honours thesis typically constitutes approximately 50% of the honours program. An overall grade is awarded for honours courses using the following scale:
Mark Required at Deakin |
||
| First Class | (often referred to as H1) | 80-100% |
| Second class, upper division | (H2A) | 70-79% |
| Second class, lower division | (H2B) | 60-69% |
| Third class | (H3) | 50-59% |
Not all countries offer honours degrees as described above and not all applicants for a research degree have completed honours. It is therefore necessary to assess such applicants for a research degree and/or a scholarship in terms of their equivalence to an honours standard. This involves the applicant's proposed School making a case for honours equivalence.
For candidature admission purposes, it is necessary to demonstrate the following levels of equivalence:
•If you are applying for masters candidature - you require at least H2B
•If you are applying for doctoral candidature - you require at least H2A
For scholarship application purposes, it is necessary to demonstrate equivalence to first class honours. Qualifications for which it may be possible to make a case for equivalence to first class honours include:
• Masters degrees by research;
• Coursework masters degrees with a substantial research component;
• Graduate diplomas with honours;
• Other qualifications together with evidence of research achievement such as a substantial publication record.
The case must be based on research achievement for which there is evidence of independent assessment. Such as publications in refereed journals or research-related honours or prizes or thesis examination reports. For qualifications other than honours, the case should include a report on the length and content of the program, with particular attention to relating the research component to the honours standard. If the evidence includes publications with several authors, the contribution of the applicant must be clearly identified.
For further information on the scholarship ranking process, please see the section How does the University's scholarship ranking process work?
A. A distinction needs to be made between the requirements of provisional candidature and the candidature confirmation procedures which applies in some faculties.
Most candidates are admitted as "full" candidates unless they do not meet the entry requirements, in which case they may be admitted on a provisional basis.
If you are a provisional candidate, you will have been advised of this status in your candidature offer letter. In the vast majority of cases, provisional candidature is prescribed because of the candidate's relative inexperience in research. The following is a typical paragraph that would be included for a doctoral candidate:
As a provisional candidate, there will be a formal assessment of your progress after twelve months of full-time candidature. The continuation of your candidature will be subject to the satisfactory outcome of that assessment. This will require completion of a substantial piece of written work demonstrating independent research capability, and of the scale and standard of at least a second-class Honours thesis (upper division). The work will be examined within your School and must be approved by the the Research and Research Training Committee. We recommend that you discuss the format and scale of this document with your supervisor as soon as possible.
Please also read the section What is the significance of an honours degree in assessing eligibility for masters or doctoral candidature?
A small number of candidates are required to do coursework, in which case the requirement is normally that they pass the unit(s) or achieve a certain minimum grade.
Most faculties have continued with their confirmation processes, but it should be noted that this is independent of the University's (i.e. Research and Research Training Committee's) provisional candidature requirements. Nevertheless, if you are a provisional candidate in a faculty which follows the confirmation process, it makes sense for the two processes to be merged. You should seek the advice of your supervisor or School about this.
A.The PhD is the entry point for an academic or research position. It forms an ideal basis for many other careers, and PhD graduates are in demand for a range of positions in business and industry. Professional doctorates such as Doctor of Psychology combine a research project, coursework and structured research tasks which are specifically related to professional practice, and are often carried out in the workplace. The standard is equivalent to the PhD but the orientation is towards the development of professional practice rather than primarily as a contribution to academic knowledge.
A. Yes, if you are enrolled in a higher degree by research at another institution, it may be possible to transfer to a similar program at Deakin University as outlined below.
A.You would need to fill in a new application, available from Higher Degrees by Research - Candidature and Scholarships web page.
Your application will be assessed according to the same criteria as any other, including your academic background, the feasibility and size of the proposed topic, achievability in deadline, the availability of supervision and resources.
If you transfer to Deakin, it will involve the appointment of a new supervisor. In addition to the above criteria, your application will also be assessed in terms of:
•The progress you have made.
•The extent to which your previous work can be incorporated in the project at Deakin (i.e. will there be any shift in the focus of the topic?), bearing in mind the particular supervisory expertise and research facilities available at Deakin.
•Whether the transfer (i.e. change of supervisor and institution) will be disruptive to the flow of the project and, if so, to what extent (i.e. how much time will be lost?).
•The likely amount of time required for you to complete the project.
If your supervisor at the previous institution is taking up an appointment at Deakin and you wish to follow them, your application will also be assessed in terms of the factors listed above although, since there will be no change of supervisor, it is likely that the disruption to the flow of the project will be minimal.
In both cases, Deakin University will normally deduct the time you have spent at the previous institution from the maximum time available. In some other cases, however, the University may offer you some additional time or even a completely new period of candidature, i.e. a fresh start (2 years full-time equivalent for masters; 4 years full-time equivalent for doctoral candidature).
