Application, Scholarships and On-Boarding
HDR Life Cycle
HDR candidates can commence their HDR program at any time throughout the year. As such each candidate is on a unique pathway throughout their 4 years on program. There are deadlines associated with some Scholarship rounds, but in general the major life cycle events are as follows.
Enquiry / Application
All potential HDR applicants are required to find a supervisor prior to applying for a HDR program with one of the seven research schools in the College of Science and Medicine.
Enquiries received by the Student Services team will be passed to the HDR Administrator within the relevant research school. The HDR Administrator will then contact the relevant academic identified by the applicant, or an academic in a relevant area of research.
Potential supervisors should seek the academic transcripts, up-to-date CV and research proposal from the applicant to assess their eligibility to the HDR program and the relevance to the research area. If supervisors are available to supervise and the applicant is eligible to apply the supervisor should reach out to the applicant to interview them via zoom / teams as appropriate, prior to requesting the applicant submit an application via the ANU Programs and Courses website.
Following receipt of the application the school HDR Administrator will collate the application and supporting documentation and calculate the GPA. This full application will be passed to the potential supervisor with the Supervisor Recommendation Form for completion.
Supervisor Recommendation Form
This form enables the potential supervisor to:
- confirm their availability to support a HDR candidate for the duration of their candidature (up to 4yrs for PhD and up to 2yrs for MPhil).
- confirm the suitability of the candidate to undertake a HDR program, highlighting the eligibility requirements for admission. (For more information on eligibility for admission into a HDR program please see the Programs and Courses website for the particular HDR program).
- confirm their ability to fund a stipend scholarship, top-up scholarship, tuition fee scholarship and / or Overseas Student Health Cover (OSHC).
The Supervisor Recommendation Form is used as approval to offer admission and if required scholarship offers to the applicant.
Scholarships
Centrally Funded Scholarships
The University currently conducts three annual central scholarship rounds which include the Australian Government Research Training Program (AGRTP), University Research Scholarship (URS), and a few other centrally managed scholarships. During these rounds the College will also consider applications for the Deakin Scholarship and a few other endowment scholarships.
| Scholarship Round | Closing Date | Commencement Year |
| Round 1 International | CD: 31 August each year | By 31 March of the following year. |
| Round 1 Domestic | CD: 31 October each year. | By 31 March of the following year. |
| Round 2 (International & Domestic) | CD: 15 April each year. | By 31 August of the same year. |
The College (CoSM) have written a protocol to assist HDR Conveners in assessing and ranking HDR applications received for the central scholarship rounds (College of Science and Medicine Protocol). The framework outlined in the protocol should be used to assess all applications for transparency and equity.
Other Scholarships
Candidates can receive scholarships funded from a number of sources:
- External sources such as the China Scholarship Council (CSC) or overseas government agencies.
- Supervisor funds such as ARC, NHMRC etc.
- School scholarships; or
- Endowment scholarships.
NB: these scholarships can be full stipend scholarships (to same or greater value of the AGRTP scholarships), top-up or supplementary scholarships, grants and bursaries. For more information on scholarships available from the ANU please visit the ANU Scholarships Website.
If a supervisor or research school have funds and wish to set up a new scholarship or to advertise a scholarship please contact the College HDR Governance Officer (hdr.cos@anu.edu.au) for up-to-date information, and guidance on developing or revising Conditions of Award.
Enrolment / On-Boarding
Following enrolment, the Supervisor should meet with the candidate as soon as possible to discuss the research project, as well as discuss and confirm the supervisory panel.
HDR Welcome Event / Induction
All candidates must receive an induction within the first few weeks of enrolment, this is to ensure any health, safety & risk assessments are completed, as well as providing the candidate with information to assist with their candidature. School inductions are managed within each school, however, twice a year the University organise a weeklong induction that all new candidates are encouraged to attend. Part of this weeklong event the College will organise a session to introduce candidates to others within the College and to meet the Associate Dean HDR.
More information about the induction process can be provided by the School HDR Administrator, or College HDR Governance Officer.
Research Integrity Training
In the first three month of enrolment candidates must complete the Research Integrity Training (RIT) milestone as part of the ANU progression requirements. If candidates fail the RIT test twice the Supervisor is required to discuss the results with the candidate to ensure understanding and compliance and complete the eForm as required.
Further information on the milestone progression requirements can be found on this webpage.
Candidate Supervisor Agreement
Candidates are required to complete and upload the Candidate Supervisor Agreement with their first Annual Plan milestone.
This agreement is a dynamic document that should be reviewed throughout the candidature and ensures both the candidate and supervisor have agreed realistic expectations of each other, and the requirements for the research project.