Guidelines for research students
Enrolment
The enrolment process
In order to accept the Letter of Offer and enrol in the University, Australian students (that is, Australian citizens or permanent residents) must complete an enrolment form in accordance with Rule 10: Degree of Doctor by Research and Rule 11: Degree of Master by Research, Section 5(l). This can be obtained from your faculty's Graduate Studies Officer who will process your enrolment. You may enrol at any time of the year. If you have to pay fees, your fees liability will be calculated according to your enrolment date.
International applicants must satisfy the requirements for enrolment and pay the fees indicated in the Letter of Offer you will receive from the International Office. For international students who will be studying in Australia, once the necessary fees have been paid the University will send you a Confirmation of Enrolment. This document must then be presented to the consulate in your home country to obtain a visa for entry into Australia. You would then usually complete an enrolment form on arrival at Curtin.
International applicants not intending to study in Australia do not need to obtain a visa, and can be enrolled as soon as the fees have been received and an enrolment form submitted.
Following completion of your enrolment, you will be issued with an Enrolment Advice, which you must check carefully to ensure that all details are accurate. If you find any error, you should contact your faculty's Graduate Studies Officer as soon as possible. It is your responsibility to ensure that you are correctly enrolled.
During the course of your enrolment at the University, any change of name or address must be reported to your Graduate Studies Officer as soon as possible (see the section on notification of change of address).
If you wish to amend your enrolment (e.g. change between full-time and part-time study) you must complete an Enrolment Amendment form which is available from your faculty's Graduate Studies Officer and advise your Thesis Committee of the changes you have made.
Provisional and confirmed candidature
The process of becoming a candidate for a higher degree by research has two stages. Firstly, you, as the prospective student, need to enrol in a higher degree by research program. This requires fulfilling the administrative requirements of enrolment and demonstrating that you have the academic background to be capable of conducting research at an appropriate level. Once you have enrolled in a program you are deemed to have "provisional" candidature. This means that the candidacy of the program of study only has an interim level of approval, with the second stage of the process still to be completed.
The second stage of candidature involves you developing a research proposal to satisfy the Faculty Graduate Studies Committee that you are capable of conducting the proposed research, and that the research undertaken will make a worthwhile contribution to knowledge in your field. This involves completing an application for candidacy, as described in the Applying for candidacy section. Once your candidacy has been approved by your Faculty Graduate Studies Committee you are deemed to have "confirmed" candidature and you are able to proceed with your program of research.
Research Training Scheme (RTS)
Please review the RTS information contained in the admission section of these guidelines.
It is essential that if there are periods during which you are unable to actively engage in research you should apply for a leave of absence. This should follow from discussion of your circumstances with your supervisor and Thesis Committee. If you are a scholarship holder you will also need to contact the Manager, Scholarships to suspend your scholarship. Please note that international onshore students cannot take leave of absence except in exceptional circumstances (serious illness and bereavement) because student visas cannot be maintained if students are not studying.
See changing between full-time and part-time under the during candidacy section for more information.
