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Research Higher Degrees

Research Scholarships

Scholarship Information for Academic Staff

Introduction

The following procedures describe the processes surrounding the establishment of a research scholarship established through Faculty funding obtained from research grants or ARC Linkage projects. Academic staff should familiarise themselves with these processes and contact the Office of Graduate Studies should they have any queries in relation to the establishment of research scholarships. Some funding bodies have specific requirements with regard to the appointment of scholars, e.g., by set timelines.

Academic staff should contact ResearchScholarships@newcastle.edu.au for advice on current minimum conditions required for UNRS External (UNRSE) scholarships. These scholarships are funded by Faculties from research or industry money. They are established as University of Newcastle scholarships, under UNRSE scholarship conditions. There is provision to change the conditions in the areas of

Such changes are obtained from your advice on the Establishment Proposal form.

APA Industry (APAI) scholarships (ARC Linkage) are funded by the Government and industry under APAI government prescribed conditions which may not be changed.

Establishment

Complete a Research Scholarship - Establishment Proposal form, ensuring funding is confirmed by your Finance Officer, and forward to the Office of Graduate Studies. Your scholarship will be assigned a unique identifying code. The information included on the Establishment Proposal form is the basis for the conditions of scholarship associated with your scholarship (stipend, supplementation, tenure, research at other institutions, allowances, tuition fees, health cover).

Recruitment

Advise the Office of Graduate Studies of your nominated student on the establishment form if known at the time.

If you need to recruit a student for the project, The Office of Graduate Studies can assist by:

Advertising

Advertising on JASON is at no cost to the Faculty. The University maintains a subscription to this service. All available research scholarships are advertised on this resource. Through our subscription to JASON there is also opportunity for advertisement at no cost in New Scientist. You can nominate your scholarship to be advertised in this publication, however the publication determines whether or not to accept your request.

To advertise on JASON, send the text of the postgraduate research scholarship in an email to ResearchScholarships@newcastle.edu.au

You can go to http://www.jason.edu.au/info-providers.pl click on Download Submission Form, to check the information needed to advertise your scholarship. Most information is restricted, with fields selected from options provided. Click here to see the JASON Search structure.

APAI scholarships may be advertised in block from central funding shortly after outcomes are known. Research Grants Staff will contact you to obtain your agreement to participate in this advertising, with a view to securing high quality applicants whilst agreements with industry are being negotiated.

All other advertising is at the Faculty’s expense. Prepare a draft advertisement and provide to Ms Ingrid Bonner, Strategic Support Group (Telephone Extension 16655) and to the Manager, Office of Graduate Studies. Your advertisement must include the following details:

Amount of scholarship stipend (not less than the minimum base APA rate - $20,007 for 2008)
Tenure of scholarship (2 years for Masters; 3 years for PhD)
Eligibility criteria (for example, minimum academic level, relevant experience in a field)
Academic Contact for further research details (your website is recommended if available)
A closing date for applications and the following statement:

Application forms are available from Office of Graduate Studies, The Chancellery,
University of Newcastle, Callaghan NSW 2308
Telephone 02 49216537 Fax 02 49216908
Email: ResearchScholarships@newcastle.edu.au

The Manager of Graduate Studies will confirm that the advertisement contains the required information and may proceed. A final copy of the advertisement should be provided to the Office of Graduate Studies to ensure staff have full details to respond to enquirers.

Application

The application form covers both candidature and scholarship. To be eligible for a research scholarship, an applicant must first have an offer of admission to a research higher degree at the University. Application forms are available from the Office of Graduate Studies or from our website. The Office of Graduate Studies will process the application and forward direct to you.

You must make a recommendation on admission to candidature to your Head of School and Assistant Dean Research Training. You must make a recommendation in regard to the offer of your scholarship. You may receive a number of applications for your scholarship. You will need to ensure that full details of the successful applicant, a ranked list of reserves, and advice on unsuccessful applicants, is provided to the Office of Graduate Studies.

Offer/Acceptance/Commencement

The successful applicant will receive a letter of offer, Scholarship Conditions, an Acceptance Agreement, a Scholarship Appointment form and a Scholarship Personal Details form.

For APAI successful applicants, their acceptance will be incorporated into a formal agreement including an agreement on intellectual property.

The applicant submits a completed Scholarship Appointment form, approved by their Head of School, and their Personal Details form. The Head of School will indicate on this form the commencement date of research studies which will be the commencement date of the scholarship. If details of supplementation listed on the Scholarship Appointment Form, approved by the Head of School, differs from that provided on the Research Scholarship – Establishment Proposal, the Scholarship Appointment form must have the approval of the Financial Services Manager. Payment cannot commence until these completed forms have been received. Advice is given to Payroll on an ongoing basis, but advice received after a fortnightly deadline may not be processed until the following pay period. Students will be paid from the date confirmed by their Head of School. This may require a back-payment.

Scholarship Maintenance

Claims for scholarship allowances, such as thesis benefits, travel/relocation reimbursement are submitted by the student to the Office of Graduate Studies. Variations to scholarship, such as suspension, employment, sick/maternity leave, are submitted by the student to the Office of Graduate Studies. Variations to scholarship requiring Faculty approval, such as upgrade to PhD, leave of absence/suspension, will be submitted to the student’s supervisor in the first instance. The Faculty will forward these variations to the Office of Graduate Studies after approval has been obtained.

Advice should be provided to the Office of Graduate Studies at the earliest opportunity of any variations to a student’s scholarship, in particular, those variations which require the scholarship to be suspended or terminated. This is critical to avoid the overpayment of scholars, necessitating the need for the scholar to return the overpayment. Common oversights relate to the appointment of a scholar who is undertaking employment above the maximum permitted. Payroll staff will liaise with the Senior Graduate Studies Officer,  Office of Graduate Studies to identify such internal instances for resolution.

Documentation relating to research scholarships will be placed on the student file. Where appropriate, copies of documents will be sent to you for information.

Annual Review of Scholarship

In December each year Heads of School will be approached by the Office of Graduate Studies to confirm the scholarship details for all scholars in their School. This includes details on stipend, supplementation, account codes. This process is initiated when the new stipend rates for APA, APAI, NHMRC become available. Heads of School will liaise with academics funding scholarships to confirm these details.