Equivalent Attainment to Minimum Qualifying Degree Requirements
The University’s Degree Finder website sets admission requirements for each of the University’s HDR programs, including the minimum qualification requirement for entry into each program.
The Research Degree Scholarships website details available scholarships and the minimum qualification requirements for consideration.
The sections below detail the equivalent qualifications to a Bachelor Honours Degree (Australian Qualifications Framework (AQF) Level 8) that are accepted as meeting the qualification requirement for admission (or scholarship), as well as alternate pathways that are accepted.
Where the applicant holds qualifications at the same or higher level and in a similar discipline as the proposed research, additional information may be required to determine the benefit of undertaking the proposed HDR program.
An incomplete HDR degree, at the level to which the applicant is applying, will not be accepted as meeting the minimum qualifying degree requirement; additional evidence will be required to support a case for admission.
Equivalent Attainment to a Bachelor Honours Degree (AQF 8)
Significant Research Component
The term ‘significant research component’ referred to above is a research component:
- of normally 40 Credit Points (CP) or at least one full-time equivalent semester/trimester, and
- may include a research methodology course equivalent to 10CP.
The research component must have resulted in the completion of a major piece of supervised but essentially independent research and writing that has been formally examined. The examined output may be a thesis or a creative output with exegesis.
A research component of less than 40CP may be deemed to meet admission requirements where the output complies with the criteria above and is assessed as being of sufficient size, scope and quality to evidence the applicant’s preparedness for admission to the HDR program. Normally, applicants will be required to provide a copy of the thesis with their application so that an independent scope assessment can be completed to determine the equivalence to a 40CP research component.
Where the research component of the qualifying degree is ungraded, the reports of the thesis examiners will be assessed for equivalence to the required grades for admission. If examiners’ reports are not available, a copy of the thesis may be examined in accordance with the Bachelor Honours Degree thesis examination criteria appropriate to the discipline. Examiners’ reports from this process will be accepted for the purpose of determining admission.
Alternate Entry Pathway
Where an applicant’s qualifications do not meet the equivalent qualifying degree requirements for admission detailed above, the applicant must provide additional evidence from the last ten years to demonstrate their research capability and preparedness to successfully undertake the HDR program.
Evidence must be relevant to the proposed research topic and demonstrate knowledge and cognitive, technical and communication skills comparable to the AQF Level 8 learning outcomes for a Bachelor Honours Degree, at the requisite Honours grade level:
- review, analyse, consolidate and synthesise knowledge to identify and provide solutions to complex problems with intellectual independence;
- demonstrate a broad understanding of a body of knowledge and theoretical concepts with advanced understanding in some areas;
- exercise critical thinking and judgement in developing new understanding;
- design and use research in a project;
present a clear and coherent exposition of knowledge and ideas to a variety of audiences.
This additional evidence to demonstrate research preparedness may include but is not limited to:
- Peer reviewed publications and other research outputs, including:
- Journal articles; conference papers, book or book chapters, and creative works.
- Evidence of achievements in research such as research awards, grants and patents.
- Relevant research or industry work experience that demonstrates your research capability (to be included as evidence, work experience must have been sustained over a period of six months or more). Professions vary widely in the types of skills, activities and outputs that may be deemed relevant to demonstrating research capability. In general, evidence may include:
- Activities undertaken in research assistant, researcher position in a government department, and similar such research roles.
- Research or technical reports prepared for industry, government or business which adhere to the broad conventions of academic publishing (i.e. review of relevant literature, description of relevant research methods, evaluation of results etc.) and identify the applicant as a significant contributor.
- Experience in planning and executing a project, working with a high level of independence.
Refer to each Academic Group information below for additional example evidence types related to professional or research experience that may be used in your equivalency case to demonstrate your research capability.
Refer to the HDR Applicant Standard Academic Curriculum Vitae Model for guidance on providing the evidence. Applicants must clarify their individual contributions for any jointly-authored publications or other research outputs included by providing a written authorship statement.
Applicants are also asked to complete the Applicant Statement in Support of an Equivalency Case for HDR Admission (and Scholarship) for inclusion in the application if any of the following apply:
- The applicant’s prior qualification was completed more than 10 years ago
- The applicant’s prior qualification contains little or no research
- The applicant’s prior research or industry work experience is a significant component of the equivalency case evidence.