Scholarships

Scholarship Selection and Offer Procedures

Scholarship Selection and Offer Procedures
Scholarship Appeals Procedure
Scholarship Eligibility Criteria
Application forms
Policy on research scholarships
Scholarship Conditions
Scholarship Assessment Document (Internal Use Only)

Scholarship Selection and Offer Procedures

The following scholarship selection and offer procedures relate to the award of an APA, an EIPRS, a UNIPRS and a UNRSC (University funded) research scholarship. The selection and offer of a UNRSE (externally funded through research grants) is normally at the discretion of the Faculty providing the funding. The selection and offer of APAI is normally at the discretion of the Faculty providing the funding, within the APAI conditions of award.

Scholarships are awarded to eligible applicants on the basis of academic merit and through a highly competitive process. The award of research scholarships may also take into account areas of research strength or areas of research in line with the strategic directions of the University. The research scholarship criteria for all Faculties will have the common components of academic achievement and research attainments (relative to opportunity).

Applicants may elect to be considered in more than one discipline area. A separate application must be lodged for each discipline, and each will be considered separately within the relevant Faculty. An offer of admission to candidature and/or offer of scholarship in one discipline will not be transferable to another.

Where a successful applicant has already completed part of a research degree, they will only be entitled to a reduced period of scholarship support.

Domestic applicants with an incomplete award at the same level who have completed more than two full-time equivalent semesters towards a research Master’s or more than four full-time equivalent semesters towards a PhD at the commencement of the following academic year will not be considered for the award of a scholarship.

UNIPRS scholarships will only be awarded to scholars commencing their research higher degree in Semester 1, 2008 or Semester 2, 2008.

Applicants are not normally required to attend for interview. First round scholarship offers will be sent to the applicant’s correspondence address in early December. As offers will lapse if not accepted within 14 days it is important that applicants arrange to collect mail addressed to them. Subsequent offers will also be made by mail.

Successful scholarship candidates wishing to defer their commencement to Semster 2, 2008 will need the approval of their supervisor. Scholarships cannot be deffered to the following year.

Scholarship Appeals Procedure

Applicants for research scholarships whose applications have been unsuccessful may lodge an appeal against the outcome. Appeals will only be considered on process issues, and not against evaluations in the assessment of equivalent Honours status or the decisions of the Faculty or any committee in relation to the scoring process.

Scholarship Eligibility Criteria

Applicants must meet eligibility requirements. Applicants must have an offer of admission to a research higher degree.

Applicants for all schemes must have completed at least four years of undergraduate study and have attained Honours Class 1 or equivalent.

Applicants whose qualifications have been obtained in a non-English speaking country must submit evidence by the closing date of attaining the required level of English proficiency for Research Higher Degree studies. For details on current requirements, please refer to the English Language Proficiency Policy available at http://www.newcastle.edu.au/policylibrary/000104.html

Note that applicants are not eligible to apply for:

scholarship support for a research Master’s degree if they already hold an Australian research Master’s degree or equivalent.
scholarship support from any of the named schemes if they already hold a PhD, doctoral degree or equivalent.
an APA if they have previously held any Australian Government funded award for six months or more.
a UNRSC if they have previously held an equivalent scholarship for twelve months or more, for the same award.
an EIPRS if they have already commenced a research higher degree in Australia and were previously considered for an EIPRS.

Application forms for research scholarships are available from the Office of Graduate Studies or can be downloaded from the Web.

Policy on Research Scholarships

The University's full policy on the allocation and award of research scholarships is available in the University's Policy Library.

Scholarship Conditions

2008 scholarship conditions (below) may be viewed as a guide; however, they are subject to change annually. 2009 conditions will be uploaded in 2009.

All scholarship holders should retain a copy of their scholarship conditions and ensure they are aware of their entitlements and responsibilities.