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Doctor of Philosophy (DPHD) - PhD

CRICOS code (International applicants): 088073M

 On-campusExternal
Semester intake:Semester 1 (February)
Semester 2 (July)
Semester 1 (February)
Semester 2 (July)
Campus:Ipswich, Springfield, Toowoomba -
Fees:Domestic full fee paying place
International full fee paying place
Research training scheme (RTS)
Domestic full fee paying place
International full fee paying place
Research training scheme (RTS)
Standard duration:Can be studied full-time or part-time (full-time students normally complete in 3 to 4 years). 

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Contact us

Future Australian and New Zealand students  Future International students  Current students 

Freecall (within Australia): 1800 269 500
Phone (from outside Australia): +61 7 4631 5315
Email: study@usq.edu.au  

Phone: +61 7 4631 5543
Email: international@usq.edu.au 

Freecall (within Australia): 1800 007 252
Phone (from outside Australia): +61 7 4631 2285
Email usq.support@usq.edu.au 

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Program aims

The Doctor of Philosophy (PhD) degree is awarded for research which demonstrates that the student has the capacity to conduct research independently and make a significant contribution to new knowledge. .

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Admission requirements

To be eligible for admission to the Doctor of Philosophy (DPHD), applicants must have one of the following:

  • a Bachelor degree with First Class Honours or Second Class Honours (Division A) at an Australian 精东传媒app or equivalent, or

  • a Masters degree at an Australian 精东传媒app or equivalent (containing a significant research component), or

  • other qualifications and/or experiences assessed as equivalent to a minimum of Second Class Honours (Division A).


In addition, all students are required to meet .

The PhD is based on supervision by a Principal and one or more Associate Supervisors, therefore it is essential that applicants clarify their topic for research and seek an academic staff member able to provide supervision. Application forms, procedures for enrolment, and the can be found on the Research website. Applicants are advised to allow several months for discussion with potential supervisors and for consideration of the application prior to the commencement of the program.

All students are required to satisfy the applicable .

If you do not meet the English language requirements you may apply to study a 精东传媒app-approved . On successful completion of the English language program, you may be admitted to an award program.

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Program fees

Domestic full fee paying place

Domestic full fee paying places are funded entirely through the full fees paid by the student. Full fees vary depending on the courses that are taken. You are able to calculate the fees for a particular course via the
Domestic full fee paying students may be eligible to defer their fees through a Government loan called provided they meet the residency and citizenship requirements.
Australian citizens, Permanent Humanitarian Visa holders, Permanent Resident visa holders and New Zealand citizens who will be resident outside Australia for the duration of their program pay full tuition fees and are not eligible for .

International full fee paying place

International students pay full fees. Full fees vary depending on the courses that are taken and whether they are studied on-campus, via distance education/online. You are able to calculate the fees for a particular course via the .

Research training scheme (RTS)

Australian citizens, Australian permanent residents and New Zealand citizens commencing a higher degree research program may have their tuition fees paid for by the Australian Federal Government under the Research Training Scheme (RTS). A RTS place entitles a student an exemption on tuition fees for a maximum period of 4 years full-time or 8 years part-time for a Doctorate program and 2 years full-time or 4 years part-time for a Masters by Research program. As part of the enrolment process students are required to submit proof of citizenship and transcripts of all previous academic study. It is with this documentation that USQ can determine a student's eligibility for a RTS place. Students who are eligible for RTS are:

  • those who have not consumed a RTS allocation previously;

  • those who have already utilised the RTS to successfully completed a research program. Once a student completes a higher degree research program full entitlements of the RTS are restored.


If a student's RTS entitlement expires before they have completed their program they will be required to pay full tuition fees for the remainder of the program. As there may be limited RTS places available, some students may be required to pay fees for all or part of their program. The Office of Research Graduate Studies will advise students of their eligibility for an RTS place.

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Program structure

The Doctor of Philosophy comprises a minimum of 16 units, although students would normally complete 24 units, with the option to extend to 32 units if needed.

Students are required to enrol in appropriate course(s) in Semester 1 and Semester 2 from date of admission through to the date they submit their thesis for examination, or be on approved leave. Failure to enrol or be on approved leave may result in the student鈥檚 enrolment being cancelled.

Students studying full-time will need to enrol in 4 units each semester (Semester 1 and Semester 2).

Part-time students will need to enrol in 2 units each semester (Semester 1 and Semester 2).

Assessment

Student progress will be monitored by compulsory bi-annual Progress Reports. Students who are deemed to be making satisfactory progress (i.e. meeting required milestone dates and Confirmation of Candidature) will be awarded a Satisfactory Grade. Those students who fail to submit a report, or who have been deemed to be making little or no progress may be awarded a Fail grade. The Office of Research Graduate Studies will notify students by email when Progress Reports are due.

All students are required to successfully complete a Confirmation of Candidature process. The purpose of the Confirmation of Candidature process is to ensure, as far as possible, a student鈥檚 steady progress towards the successful and timely completion of the PhD program. Students are expected to complete the Confirmation of Candidature within 12 months full-time, or 24 months part-time enrolment. The Confirmation of Candidature process consists of two components:

  • a written document; and

  • an oral presentation to a review panel leading to a recommendation on Confirmation of Candidature.


The relevant Faculty Research Office will notify students by email when the Confirmation of Candidature is due.

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Program completion requirements

All PhD students are required to submit a thesis for examination which will be examined by suitably qualified examiners. A PhD degree will only be awarded on the basis of the student successfully completing the thesis examination process.
There is no prescribed minimum length for a doctoral thesis as this will vary with the research topic and the form of presentation, however, there is normally a maximum prescribed length of 80 000 words for doctoral theses. A PhD thesis may be presented in the form of a:

  • Standard PhD

  • PhD by Publication, or

  • PhD with Creative Works.


Examination Criteria of Standard PhD and PhD by Publication

The thesis will be examined according to the following criteria:

  1. The extent to which the student has demonstrated:

    1. Originality;

    2. Critical insight; and

    3. Capacity to carry out independent research; and


  2. The extent of the contribution to knowledge made by the thesis and, in particular, its contribution to the understanding of the subject with which it deals; and

  3. The suitability of the thesis for publication.


Examination Criteria for a PhD by Creative Works

The PhD with Creative Work Component examination criteria includes the student鈥檚 demonstrated capacity to produce original creative work. The student鈥檚 production of original creative work should be evidenced in the creative work itself together with an exegesis as detailed below.

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Required time limits

Students have a maximum of 4 years (Full-time) or 8 years (Part-time) to complete this program.

Recommended enrolment patterns

In this section:

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Recommended enrolment pattern - Full-time

Students are able to enrol in any offered mode of a course (on-campus, external or online), regardless of the program mode of study they enrolled in.

Full-time candidates undertaking research in in the following areas should enrol in - Full-Time for each semester of their candidature. This will normally be for a total of six semesters. (Students should contact the relevant Faculty.)

  • Business and Commerce

  • Creative Arts and Media

  • Education

  • Health and Community (non-lab) i.e. except Biomedical and Laboratory Medicine and, Psychology

  • Humanities and Communication

  • Information Technology

  • Law and Justice

  • Sciences (non-lab) i.e. sub-areas of Applied Data Science, and, Mathematics and Statistics.


Full-time candidates undertaking research in the following areas should enrol in - Full-Time for each semester of their candidature. This will normally be for a total of six semesters.

  • Engineering and Built Environment

  • Health and Community (lab) i.e. sub-areas of Biomedical and Laboratory Medicine, and, Psychology

  • Sciences (lab) all sub-areas except Applied Data Science, and, Mathematics and Statistics.


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Recommended enrolment pattern - Part-time

Students are able to enrol in any offered mode of a course (on-campus, external or online), regardless of the program mode of study they enrolled in.

Part-time candidates undertaking research in the following areas should enrol in - Part-Time for each semester of their candidature. This will normally be for a total of 12 semesters.

  • Business and Commerce

  • Creative Arts and Media

  • Education

  • Health and Community (non-lab) i.e. except Biomedical and Laboratory Medicine and, Psychology

  • Humanities and Communication

  • Information Technology

  • Law and Justice

  • Sciences (non-lab) i.e. sub-areas of Applied Data Science, and, Mathematics and Statistics.


Part-time candidates undertaking research in the following areas should enrol in - Part-time for each semester of their candidature. This will normally be for a total of 12 semesters.

  • Engineering and Built Environment

  • Health and Community (lab) i.e. sub-areas of Biomedical and Laboratory Medicine, and, Psychology

  • Sciences (lab) all sub-areas except Applied Data Science, and, Mathematics and Statistics.