Chapter 2: Admission to doctoral candidature

2.6 Application procedures

All research degree and scholarship applications at Monash University are handled via a single online application form available at http://www.monash.edu.au/study/research/.

New candidature applications may be submitted throughout the year. Applications for scholarships, however, must be submitted by 31 May and 31 October for the mid- and end-of-year scholarship rounds respectively.

The intake for professional doctorates is limited to the commencement of each semester. The same may apply for PhD candidates who have a skills training or coursework component in their program. Admission into professional doctorate programs may also involve a formal interview.

Applicants are encouraged to:

  1. check their eligibility;
  2. find a potential supervisor who could supervise a research project proposed by the applicant (for applications approved after 1 January 2012, two supervisors are required);
  3. complete and submit the online application.

All of the following information must be provided before consideration can be given to an application:

  • officially certified transcripts of the applicants’ academic record, including full details of all complete and incomplete course attempts and grades obtained;
  • details of published papers, if any;
  • details of any experience since graduation that is relevant to the proposed field of research;
  • in the case of applicants for whom English is not their first language, documentary evidence of English proficiency; and
  • evidence of any government financial support or other scholarship offered to the applicant.

The general field of study, supervision arrangements and the availability of requisite resources and facilities should be discussed thoroughly with the prospective candidate before the academic unit forwards the application to the relevant faculty office for endorsement.

If appropriate supervision and resources can be provided by the academic unit to suitably qualified applicants, the application will be approved by the head of the relevant academic unit and then forwarded to the Graduate Studies Committee of the relevant faculty. All doctoral applications must receive faculty endorsement before transmission to the Graduate Research Committee for consideration (the Graduate Research Steering Committee meets once a week to review applications for admission). In all cases, the Committee will need to be assured that the prospective candidate meets the eligibility criteria and that suitable facilities and effective supervision are available for the duration of candidature.

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