Frequently Asked Questions

As an international student, unless you hold a scholarship, you will be required to pay research degree tuition fees. If you are a local student you will be exempt from paying fees under the Research Training Scheme for a specified period of time. Students undertaking a doctor of philosophy are exempt from paying fees for 8 full-time or 16 part-time semesters. Students undertaking a Masters by research or a Doctor of Public Health are exempt from paying fees for 4 full-time or 8 part-time semesters.

Only medical graduates, i.e. those with the degree of Bachelor of Medicine/Bachelor of Surgery (MB BS), can enrol in the Master of Medicine. If you do not have an MB BS but do have a Bachelor’s degree with first or second class honours you may enrol in the Master of Science in Medicine. In most cases, in a given field of study, students enrolled in the Master of Medicine and Master of Science in Medicine follow exactly the same program of study, with the only distinction between them being the title of the degree they are awarded on completion.

Only medical graduates, i.e. those with the degree of Bachelor of Medicine/Bachelor of Surgery (MB BS), can enrol in the Graduate Diploma of Medicine. If you do not have an MB BS but do have a Bachelor’s degree with first or second class honours you may enrol in the Graduate Diploma of Science in Medicine. In most cases, in a given field of study, students enrolled in the Graduate Diploma of Medicine and Graduate Diploma of Science in Medicine follow exactly the same program of study, with the only distinction between them being the title of the degree they are awarded on completion.

For research students, the annual progress report form and the annual review process are mechanisms whereby the faculty can be assured that satisfactory progress is being made. Click here for further information.

You must enrol every year in order to remain a candidate for a degree. You cannot pursue your studies as a candidate for the degree unless you are enrolled. When you enrol in a new course you are required to attend the University in person on a specific enrolment day. If you are unable to attend on that day you should arrange for someone else to attend on your behalf. Proxy enrolment guidelines and authorisation forms are available from the Student Centre website. In the subsequent years that you remain a candidate for a degree you are normally required to pre-enrol either on the web or by submitting your pre-enrolment form in person, by mail or by fax to the Postgraduate Student Administration Unit.

Please note that students returning to their studies after a period of suspension must enrol in person – they are not permitted to pre-enrol. Click here for further information on enrolment and pre-enrolment. Fax and e-mail enrolment facilities are available to students undertaking a distance course. Distance learning students will need to determine which units of study they will be undertaking and must then contact the Postgraduate Student Administration Unit prior to the commencement of the relevant semester. These students must also pre-enrol in subsequent years.

Full-time candidates for research degrees do not keep to the normal semesters but work continuously throughout the year except for a period of four weeks’ recreation leave. There is no strict definition of what constitutes full-time candidature but, generally speaking, if you have employment or other commitments that would prevent you from devoting at least the equivalent of a 35-hour working week to your candidature (including such attendance at the University for lectures, seminars, practical work and consultation with your supervisor as may be required) you should enrol as a part-time candidate. If in doubt you should consult your faculty or supervisor. Scholarship holders should check the conditions of their scholarship as many prohibit a student being part-time and receiving a salary for paid work for any more than 20hr per week.

Whether a coursework candidate is part-time or full-time is determined solely by credit point load for all coursework masters, graduate diplomas and graduate certificates. A student is part-time (full-time) in a semester if he/she is enrolled in units of study which total less than (at least) 18 credit points. Therefore, a student’s status can vary between part-time and full-time from one semester to the next depending on their study load.

If you are a research student you need to complete the candidature variation form, obtain the necessary approvals and submit to the Postgraduate Student Administration Unit. It is not necessary for coursework students to request a change in their attendance pattern since whether they are full-time or part-time is determined solely by the credit point load of the units of study in which they are enrolled in a particular semester. If a coursework student is enrolled in units of study worth less than 18 credit points they are automatically considered to be part-time. If they are enrolled in units of study worth 18 credit points or more, they are considered to be full-time. Click here for further details.

Research candidates are permitted to spend “time away” which is time in another university or institution during their candidature and also to complete their candidature away from the University of Sydney. A candidature variation form should be completed, the necessary approvals obtained and the form submitted to the Postgraduate Student Administration Unit. Candidates and their supervisors are expected to provide details for provision of their continued supervision whilst they are away from the University, such as the name of institution and alternate supervisors. Click here for further details.

If, having received an offer of admission letter, you would like to postpone the commencement of your chosen course you can apply for a deferral. If, after having commenced your course, you need to take a break in your studies you can apply for a suspension.

You need to apply for a suspension of your candidature by completing a candidature variation form, obtaining the necessary approvals and submitting the form to the Postgraduate Student Administration Unit. Click here for further details.

It is possible to transfer between articulated coursework degrees and certain research degrees. All students wishing to transfer to another degree should complete the candidature variation form, indicating the degree that they wish to transfer from and to and the amount of credit sought and obtain the approval of their postgraduate co-ordinator before submitting the form to the Postgraduate Student Administration Unit. Research students should in addition obtain approval for the transfer from their supervisor. Click here for further details.

While every coursework program has a course co-ordinator, every research discipline or unit has a postgraduate co-ordinator. A postgraduate co-ordinator is an academic staff member that approves research degree applications and provides academic guidance and support to all the research students enrolled in a particular academic discipline. In some cases, a discipline is so large that it has several postgraduate co-ordinators, as in the case of the discipline of Medicine for which there are three postgraduate co-ordinators: one for Northern Clinical School, one for Central Clinical School and one for Western Clinical School. Click here for a list of Postgraduate Coordinators.

Under the University of Sydney Postgraduate Research Support Scheme (PRSS), eligible postgraduate research students may apply for grants from $200 to $1,200 for conference expenses for the purpose of presenting a paper or poster in connection with the students’ research (up to $2,000 to support presentations at conferences in overseas countries). Click here for further information.

The length of time taken to complete the examination process depends on a number of factors, most of which are beyond the control of the Postgraduate Student Administration Unit. The majority of research candidates will hear their results within 3 to 6 months of submitting their thesis. Why does it take so long? It may be that when you submit your thesis, examiners have yet to be nominated. Clearly, your thesis can only be sent out to examiners once appropriate examiners have been nominated by your supervisor and then your Postgraduate Co-ordinator and the Chair of the Board of Postgraduate Studies have given their approved. A delay in nominating the examiners will result in a delay in dispatching your thesis to the examiners therefore please advise your supervisor and the Postgraduate Student Administration Unit of your intention to submit your thesis at least three months in advance of doing so.

Examiners are given 8 weeks in which to provide their reports. Reminders are periodically sent to examiners who fail to submit their reports within 8 weeks and if a report has not been received within 16 weeks, Supervisors will be asked to provide a replacement examiner. Once the replacement examiner has been nominated and approved, a copy of the thesis will be dispatched directly. This replacement examiner will also be given the required 8 weeks to examine the thesis. Once all the reports have been received, it will be about another 2 to 6 weeks before the Unit writes to you with your result. During this time your Postgraduate Co-ordinator will make a recommendation to the Chair of the Board of Postgraduate Studies based on the examiners’ reports. The course of action by the Board of Postgraduate Studies very much depends on the nature of the recommendation. For a detailed description of the examination process please click here.

Examiners in the field of medicine and dentistry are very often practicing doctors and dentists with very heavy schedules, so although we ask examiners to report within eight weeks, they often have emergencies which prevent them from fulfilling our request. Examiners are used from around the world and operate largely on goodwill rather than payment by the University for their time. The amount of pressure the University can place on them to report promptly is limited as the Unit recognises the fine line between reminders and harassment.

PLEASE DO NOT CONTACT THE PG UNIT ABOUT THE EXAMINATION PROCESS. WE ARE UNABLE TO ADVISE YOU OF SPECIFIC DETAILS.

Further information is available here.

All research degrees have a minimum and maximum time limit for submission of the thesis. These minima and maxima time limits vary depending on the degree undertaken. A PhD candidate, for example, has a minimum of 3 years and a maximum of 4 years (full-time) to submit his or her thesis. If necessary, you may, in the final year of your candidature, apply for an extension. Extensions, if approved, are granted for one semester at a time. To determine your latest date for submission refer to your letter of offer, your last Annual Progress Report or any letters from the Postgraduate Student Administration Unit regarding suspensions, extensions or changes between full-time and part-time candidature.

A thesis may either be submitted as a printed and bound document (the most common format) or electronically. Further information is available here.

The resolutions for the PhD require four copies to be submitted and generally Master’s degrees require three copies.

Yes, it is possible to include published works in a thesis subject to the rulings approved by the Academic Board. Further information is available here.

Students in the Faculties of Medicine and Pharmacy should submit one hard-bound copy of their corrected thesis printed on acid-free (or archival) paper while students in the Faculty of Dentistry should submit two hard-bound copies printed on acid-free (or archival) paper. Submissions should be made to the Postgraduate Student Administration Unit. Further information is available here.

Students can only be awarded their degree if all the following steps have taken place.

Prior to submitting your corrected thesis you must consult your Postgraduate Co-ordinator to determine if the changes you have made are to his or her satisfaction. Gaining this approval from your Supervisor is not sufficient. Only if you have been notified that you can be awarded without further examination can you miss out this step.

Your Postgraduate Co-ordinator must then send his or her approval and recommendation to the Student Administration Unit in writing - mail or email are both acceptable.

Your thesis must be submitted to the Postgraduate Student Administration Unit, Room 208D, Edward Ford Building, The University of Sydney NSW 2006. Some Disciplines will send the thesis for you via the internal mail but you must ensure that this is done.

Once all of the steps above have been completed and the Chair of the Board of Postgraduate Studies has made a recommendation, you will then receive a letter explaining that you have been awarded the degree and giving details of the graduation ceremony to which you have been assigned.

If you believe all of the above has occurred and you have still not received a letter please check that the University has your current home address.

There are a number of reasons why your scholarship could have ended and the list below gives some examples.

1. Scholarships are only given for a set period of time which may not correlate with the length of time given by the University to complete your degree. You may be able to apply for an extension to your scholarship but this does not automatically give you an extension to your candidature.

2. One of the requirements of all scholarships is to remain enrolled and if you fail to enrol for a given year your scholarship will be terminated.

3. Most scholarships are only available to students undertaking full-time candidature. If you have changed to part-time your scholarship is likely to be terminated. It is highly recommended that students check the conditions of their scholarship before changing to part-time.

4. Under a suspension students are not eligible to receive their scholarship.

5. Most scholarships require that students prove satisfactory progress each year. This is done through the Annual Progress Report which is compulsory for all research students. If you do not complete your Annual Progress Report and submit it to the Postgraduate Student Administration Unit your scholarship will automatically be terminated.

6. If you have changed bank accounts you must inform the Research Office immediately.

7. Once a student submits their thesis their enrolment is terminated along with their scholarship.

8. If you have withdrawn from your candidature your scholarship is automatically terminated.

9. If you have commenced full time work or are working over the maximum number of hours (generally 20) your scholarship will be terminated.