Overview of eligibility requirements
Citizenship or residency requirements
Entry degree requirements
Full-time higher degree by research
Hold research degree of equal or higher level?
Part-time APA
Ongoing eligibility
Overview of eligibility requirements
To be eligible for an Australian Postgraduate Award (APA), you must meet all the following requirements:
- citizenship or residency requirements
- entry degree requirements
- enrolment in a higher degree by research as a full-time student
- not hold a research degree of equal or higher level.
Citizenship or residency requirements
To be eligible for an APA, you must be a domestic student. This means that you are:
- an Australian citizen
- a New Zealand citizen, or
- a holder of a permanent visa.
Top
Entry degree requirements
To be eligible for an APA, you must have completed:
- a Bachelor Degree with First Class Honours, or
- an equivalent level of academic attainment. Your higher education provider (provider) will determine if you have an equivalent level of attainment.
Your provider may decide that you have completed an equivalent level of academic attainment even if you do not hold a Bachelor degree with First Class Honours. Your provider will consider previous study, relevant work experience, research publications, referees’ reports and other research experience to make the decision.
Top
Full-time higher degree by research
To be eligible for an APA, you must be:
- undertaking a higher degree by research
- a full-time student.
Exception: Your provider has approved a part-time APA for you due to exceptional circumstances.
See also: part-time APA
Top
Research degree of equal or higher level
To be eligible for an APA, you must not already hold any qualification of a level equal to or higher than the degree to which the APA is applicable.
Example: If you are studying for a Research Masters you must not hold a:
- Research Doctorate
- Research Masters, or
- any equivalent degree.
Top
Part-time APA
You may receive a part-time APA in exceptional circumstances. The exceptional circumstances must relate to:
- significant caring commitments, such as:
- caring for a pre-school child
- caring for school-aged children if you are a sole parent with limited access to outside support
- caring for an invalid or disabled spouse, child or parent, or
- a medical condition which limits your capacity to study full-time. You will require a medical certificate to support your request.
Your provider must be satisfied that your personal or family circumstances prevent full-time study. You may revert to full-time study at any time with the permission of your provider.
Top
Ongoing eligibility
Your provider will monitor your ongoing eligibility to ensure that you continue to meet the eligibility requirements.
Return to the Top of the page