Doctor of Philosophy

You have to prove you are prepared for PhD study. You do this by showing you:

• have completed some research experience
• have completed an approved university degree and
• can meet the English language requirements.

An approved degree needs to be:

• in an area relevant to your proposed PhD project and
• completed no more than 10 years ago.

You need one of the following approved degrees to apply for a PhD:

• Master of Philosophy (or another research master's degree); or
• Bachelor's degree from an approved university with at least honours class IIA or equivalent; or
• Coursework master's degree with an overall grade point average of 5.65 on the 7-point UQ scale which includes relevant research experience, approved by the dean; or
• Postgraduate degree (at least one year full-time or equivalent) with an overall grade point average of 5 on the 7-point UQ scale, together with demonstrated research experience equivalent to honours class IIA will be considered on a case-by-case basis; or
• Bachelor's degree plus at least 2 years of relevant research experience, including research publications.

You'll meet the requirements for admission into a PhD in terms of 'research preparedness' if you can provide evidence that you've planned and executed project work and/or a body of research with some independence.

To demonstrate this, we'll ask you to provide one of the following:

• A bachelor's or master's degree:
  • with completed courses that aim to develop research skills (minimum value of #1 unit e.g. 50 per cent of a #2 unit course), and/or
  • the completion of a supervised research project that includes an individually graded written report with a combined minimum course volume equal to #4 units at UQ.
• Scholarly papers involving a substantial contribution as an author, appearing in recognised academic journals or in volumes published by recognised academic publishers.
• Research or technical reports prepared for industry, government or business, which adhere to the broad conventions of academic publishing (i.e. contain an up-to-date review of relevant literature, a description of relevant research methods and an evaluation of results, etc.) and which identify you as a significant contributor.
• A portfolio of published creative work together with published critical discussion of some or all of that work, or of a comparable body of work by others, and which demonstrates your development of a scholarly approach to creative work as research investigation.
• Demonstrable industry or work experience where you can demonstrate that you have planned and executed a project, working with a high level of independence.

International students who are accepted into full-time study in the Doctor of Philosophy are eligible to apply for an Australian Student visa (subclass 500).

This program has two CRICOS codes:

• 0100213 - Architecture, creative arts, education, health, information technology, management and commerce, mathematical sciences, social and cultural studies
• 0100214 - Agriculture and environmental studies, dentistry, engineering, human movement, medical studies, natural and physical sciences, pharmacy, psychology, veterinary science

Discuss your proposed project with us to determine which CRICOS code is most relevant for your visa application.

There are a number of requirements you must satisfy before a visa is granted, including the genuine temporary entrant (GTE) requirement.

Learn more about student visas

Many departments will have additional entry requirements and may request documents to support your application, such as a research proposal. You should discuss these additional requirements with your potential thesis supervisor.

Minimum English language proficiency requirements apply, please refer to the English proficiency policy.

There are a few ways you can meet our English language requirements. If you sit a test, the following scores are needed for PhD admission:

Read our English language requirements