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Higher Degree by Research Scholarship Application and Assessment Procedures

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Section 1 - Purpose

(1) The purpose of this Procedure is to provide guidance to applicants for Higher Degree by Research (HDR) scholarships at the University of Canberra (University).

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Section 2 - Scope

(2) This Procedure applies to applicants for HDR scholarships at the University, including applicants to the University and currently enrolled research candidates.

(3) This Procedure also applies to University staff involved in the application and assessment of research scholarships offered at the University.

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Section 3 - Policy

(4) Nil. 

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Section 4 - Procedure

(5) HDR scholarships will only be offered to applicants who are eligible for an offer of place to an appropriate HDR course or are currently undertaking an HDR course with the University.

(6) Australian Government Research Training Program Stipend Scholarships managed by the University are allocated in accordance with Commonwealth Scholarship Guidelines (Research), the Higher Degree by Research Scholarship and Australian Government Research Training Program Scholarship Policy, and this Procedure.

(7) Priority allocation of Research Training Program Stipend Scholarships will be determined each year by the Deputy Vice-Chancellor (DVC) and identified priority groups will be published on the University’s website.

(8) Research Training Program Fees Offset allocation is automatic for domestic HDR candidates and is based on their admission to an approved HDR course.

(9) Research Training Program Fees Offsets may be offered to international HDR candidates whose application for stipend scholarship has been assessed in a competitive assessment process (University level process only).

(10) The University coordinates a single main allocation process each calendar year for Research Training Program Stipend Scholarships and other HDR stipend scholarships managed by Graduate Research School. Faculty managed scholarships are not included in the main allocation process.

(11) A mid-year scholarship allocation process may be coordinated at the discretion of the Deputy Vice-Chancellor.

(12) Applicants must ensure that they follow the correct application process for the scholarship/s for which they are applying, noting that some scholarship applications are made directly to the relevant Faculty or Research Area.

Faculty Managed Scholarships

(13) Scholarships funded by Faculty funds or external funding awarded to individual academics or research groups within a Faculty are managed by the Faculty. This includes the scholarship application and allocation processes.

(14) Applicants must ensure that when applying for a Faculty managed stipend scholarship, they have also submitted a complete application for admission to an HDR course (as per the usual process). An offer of scholarship cannot be made to a candidate who is not eligible for admission to an HDR course.

(15) The application processes for Faculty managed scholarships are advertised on the University’s website. Application requirements for Faculty managed scholarships will be specific to the scholarship being advertised and may require additional evidence and supporting documentation be provided.

(16) Allocation of Faculty managed scholarships will be undertaken in accordance with the individual scholarship conditions of award.

Applying for a Research Training Program Stipend Scholarship or other Graduate Research School managed scholarship

(17) Applicants must ensure that when applying for an Research Training Program Stipend Scholarship or HDR scholarship managed by Graduate Research School, they have also submitted a complete application for admission to an HDR course (including all relevant supporting documentation).

(18) To apply for an Research Training Program Stipend Scholarship or other Graduate Research School managed scholarship, applicants must complete and submit all required documentation by the advertised closing date (advertised on the University's website), including:

  1. HDR Application for Admission/Scholarship Form;
  2. Research Publication/Output Details form; and
  3. Research and Professional Experience Form.

(19) Current HDR candidates who are not in receipt of a stipend scholarship are permitted to apply, and must provide the following documentation by the advertised closing date:

  1. Research Scholarship Application for Current Research Candidates; 
  2. Research Publication/Output Details form;
  3. Research and Professional Experience Form;
  4. Revised Research Proposal;
  5. Research Scholarship Supervisor Referee Report (submitted by the Primary Supervisor directly to Graduate Research School, HDR Services).

(20) Applications for stipend scholarships are processed by the Graduate Research School, HDR Services team. They are assessed for completion and eligibility for entry into the relevant HDR course, and priority group as determined by the Deputy Vice-Chancellor.

(21) Applications that have passed this initial assessment are then forwarded to the appropriate Faculty for the relevant academic staff to assess for eligibility for admission into a University HDR course and scholarship.

Assessment for Scholarship Allocation

(22) Assessment for Research Training Program Stipend Scholarships and other Graduate Research School managed stipend scholarships is undertaken within the Faculties. The final allocation decision is made by the University Research Scholarship Ranking Committee as part of a University-level competitive assessment process.

(23) All applications will be held in confidence by those involved in the scholarship nomination and selection process, until the outcomes have been finalised.

Eligibility for a Stipend Scholarship

(24) For an applicant to be considered for an HDR stipend scholarship, the applicant must:

  1. have been assessed as eligible for admission to an HDR course;
  2. hold a First-Class Honours degree, Master by Research degree, or Master by Coursework degree with a significant research component, or a combination of formal training and professional or research experience assessed by the University as equivalent (determined through the process of assessment for Recognised Prior Learning);
  3. be able to undertake study on a full-time basis (or part-time if the specific scholarship and/or visa allows); and
  4. be able to commence their HDR course within the scholarship offer year (e.g. scholarships offered for the year 2020 must be taken up during 2020 or are forfeited).

(25) Applicants whose results are provisional or predicted can be made an offer of HDR scholarship conditional on receipt of a result at a particular level, for example, First-Class Honours. If an applicant fails to achieve the required result as specified in the conditional offer, the offer of the scholarship will be revoked.

Ranking Process Within the Faculty

(26) Stipend Scholarships allocated as part of a scholarship round are awarded based on eligibility and ranked Order of Merit. For each round, the Faculty determines its own Order of Merit list, ranked in order of score from highest to lowest.

(27) Faculties may propose and rank a maximum of 15 candidates for the main allocation round of Research Training Program Stipends Scholarships.

(28) The score attributed to an applicant is based on the Faculty evaluation and consideration of the following:

  1. qualifications;
  2. strategic alignment;
  3. research proposal;
  4. research experience/outputs.

(29) Following the Faculty assessment of HDR stipend scholarship applications, the Faculty provides a list and supporting documentation to the University Research Scholarship Ranking Committee, through the Graduate Research School, HDR Services team. The HDR Services team collates the lists for discussion, determination and allocation at the Committee meeting.

University University Research Scholarship Ranking Committee Ranking and Allocation

(30) The Committee reviews each applicant’s HDR Scholarship Scoring form and considers the evidence provided by the Faculty. In addition, documentation provided by the applicant and the Faculty are discussed and considered prior to final ranking by the Committee.

(31) An Order of Merit list comprising all eligible applicants is produced. Applicants are ranked in order from highest to lowest.

(32) The Order of Merit list is ratified by the University Research Scholarship Ranking Committee.

(33) The Order of Merit list is confidential, and its distribution limited to members of the University Research Scholarship Ranking Committee.

(34) The Committee must also determine a reserve list from ranked eligible applicants.

Offers

(35) Following the approval of the final ranking list by the University Research Scholarships Committee, the confirmed list is used by the Graduate Research School, HDR Services team to make offers to applicants. While the initial round of offers is made as soon as possible following the ranking meeting, the time frame of subsequent offers is dependent upon the acceptance or rejection of the initial offers.

(36) Offers of stipend scholarships must be accepted, and any conditions on the offer must be met, and the candidate enrolled in the HDR course detailed on the offer letter within three months of the date of offer, or the offer will be considered declined and will be revoked.

(37) Successful applicants who wish to defer an offer of stipend scholarship to a future commencement period must request deferral in writing to the relevant Faculty via Graduate Research School, HDR Services. A deferred stipend scholarship must commence in the scholarship offer year or be forfeited (e.g. scholarships offered for the year 2020 must be taken up during 2020).

(38) Applicants who are unsuccessful for a stipend scholarship may apply to be considered for a future round. However, a new stipend scholarship application and application for admission must be submitted.

(39) Questions relating to scholarship applications or assessment can be directed to Graduate Research School, HDR Services at graduateresearch@canberra.edu.au.