Studying
for a PhD at C2IM
The general
information below is a summary of pertinent detail of doing a PhD within
C2IM at The University of Newcastle. The full detail of the rules for
PhD students can be found at the main University webpage
for research higher degrees. See the university prospectus
for an overview of studying at Newcastle. This University website is the
definitive source of information. A number of scholarships are available
for study at C2IM which are briefly outlined below. Details of specific
projects that are available for the next academic year are listed at the
bottom of the page.
A PhD
is a period (typically 3-4 years) of concentrated activity on a novel
topic of research. There is no coursework requirement though students
are free to sit-in on courses if they desire. Students are normally
admitted to work with a specific supervisor. Students for a PhD are
admitted
to a Masters program and then within 12 months they present a PhD
proposal to a PhD committee. If the proposal is deemed by the committee
to be adequate then the student's enrolment (and scholarship if
applicable) is upgraded to PhD status. The PhD committee consists of the
student's supervisor, 2 other members of academic staff who have
expertise in the area of research and a representative of the Head of
Department. At the conclusion of the research a thesis is submitted
which is then examined externally. After the examination (which normally
takes 3-6 months) and when any corrections requested by the examiners
are addressed to the satisfaction of the University the students is
awarded a PhD.
Note
that
the scholarship application deadlines for the following academic year
are (1) foreign students: end of September, and (3) Australian
students: end of October. Sometimes there is a mid-year scholarship
round but this varies from year to year. Contact
the scholarships office to find the exact date for this year.
If you don't need a scholarship (e.g. you have a scholarship from your
home country government) then the application deadline for admission to
the University PhD program is early January for Semester 1 and early
June for Semester 2. Contact the scholarships office to find the
exact date for this year.
General Information for
Non-Australian Applicants
See the university prospectus
for an overview of study at Newcastle. If you have Permanent Residence you
are considered an Australian applicant.
Non Australian students are required by the Australian Government to pay foreign
student fees, which vary from year to year but are
substantial. Accordingly most of our foreign students are on scholarships.
A range of scholarships are available. In general these scholarships are
tax-free. Some of these scholarships fund both the foreign student fees
and a stipend to cover living expenses, while others cover only the
foreign student fees. More information can be found at the Research Higher
Degrees scholarships
webpage. For those scholarships that only cover foreign student
fees, a living expenses stipend may be available as part of a funded PhD
project (see the list of projects for the next academic year at the bottom
of this page). In this case the stipend will need to be arranged
separately with the holder of that project.
For students whose previous degrees were not taught in English you will
need to provide evidence of English proficiency. Either of IELTS or TOEFL
results less than 2 years old are acceptable (details
here). For those students applying for scholarships it is important
to note that that these results must be submitted by the scholarship
application deadline otherwise the scholarship application will not be
considered by the University. The University applies this deadline
strictly and we have had incidents in the past where otherwise well
qualified applicaticants have been disqualified because they misjudged how
long it would take to get the results of English testing (allow at least 2
months). For those not applying for scholarships the requirements are less
strict but you may be required to do English courses once you arrive as a
condition of your candidature.
General Information for
Australian Applicants
See the
university prospectus
for an overview of study at Newcastle. Australian applicants are defined
as anybody with Australian citizenship or Australian Permanent
Residence. Australian applicants are not eligible for foreign student
scholarships.
The University of
Newcastle provides a HECS waiver for all students admitted to study for
a PhD. In addition, a range of living expenses scholarships are
available. In general these scholarships are tax-free. More information
can be found at the Research Higher Degrees scholarships
webpage. In
addition to these University wide scholarships living expenses scholarships
may be available as part of a funded PhD project (see the list of
projects for the next academic year at the bottom of this page). In this
case the scholarships
will need to be arranged directly with the holder of that project.
