University of New South Wales - Graduate Research School - Applying for a Postgraduate Research Program at UNSW

The application process at UNSW can be broken down into three easy steps:

STEP 1	STEP 2	STEP 3
The Application	Acknowledgement Letter	Result Notification and Acceptance of Offer
The Research Application Proposal	Online Application Tracking
Special Instructions for Faculties
Application Forms

Please read all the steps carefully prior to putting in your application.

STEP 1
The Application	All applicants are encouraged to Apply Online College of Fine Arts (CoFA) Application process UNSW@ADFA Application process and application form. Application deadlines: Semester 1: 20 December* Semester 2: 30 May* *Late applications may be accepted. Please contact the Graduate Research School for further information
Application Fees	International applicants are required to pay an application fee. For online applications there is a fee of AUD$50.00 to be paid by credit card only (VISA, Mastercard and Bankcard) when submitting the application. For all other applications there is a fee of AUD$100, which should be submitted along with the completed application and in the form of a bank draft, money order, bank cheque, personal cheque in Australian dollars and made out to "The University of New South Wales".
The Application Proposal	All applications must be sufficiently detailed to enable the University to determine whether it is possible to provide adequate supervision and resources to support your research. Each application proposal should be 100 words long and should include the following; a statement of the research problem and its significance an outline of the method to be used to analyse the problem the names of any academics you have contacted in the School details of previous publications and/or research undertaken in your nominated area of interest PLEASE NOTE: Special instructions are listed further down for the Faculty of the Built Environment, Law, Medicine, COFA & Business.
Special Instructions
UNSW@ADFA	Please read the UNSW@ADFA Application instructions.
Faculty of The Built Environment	Applicants for Masters by Research in the Faculty of the Built Environment must provide a typed preliminary research proposal of 1500 words. For a PhD application in the Faculty of the Built Environment, the proposal should be 3000 words and include : a preliminary literature review a statement of the research problem and its significance an outline of the method to be used to analyse the problem
Faculty of Engineering School of Computer Science and Engineering	Applicants to the School of Computer Science & Engineering should make contact with a prospective supervisor before lodging an application. You may send your research proposal to an academic directly and ask for consideration, particularly with regard to suitability. Note that the quality of the research proposal forms part of the selection criteria when you apply for admission. A sample research proposal can be found here. The research proposal should be at least 500 words long. Once you have the agreement of your prospective supervisor you must attach copies of correspondence to your application.
Faculty of Medicine	Applicants to the Faculty of Medicine MUST have made contact with a prospective supervisor before lodging an application. Once you have the agreement of your prospective supervisor you must attatch to your application copies of correspondence you have received from the School and/or the potential supervisor.
Australian School of Business	Applicants to the Australian School of Business MUST contact the School Research Officer at graduateresearch.business@unsw.edu.au or phone (+61 2) 9385 5144 prior to submitting your application. The School Research Officer will help you establish a prospective supervisor.
Faculty of Law Australian School of Taxation School of Law All applicants	Applicants to the Australian School of Taxation should discuss their research proposal with the Higher Degree Research Program Convenor prior to making a formal application. Please ring Atax Student Services for details on +61 2 9385 2227 or email atax@unsw.edu.au. Applicants to the School of Law are encouraged to contact the School prior to making a formal application. Those interested in applying should email the following documents to lawresearch@unsw.edu.au so that their eligibility for the program of their choice can be assessed: 1. copies of academic transcripts for all previous degrees 2. curriculum vitae including details of publications and previous research experience 3. in-depth outline of your research proposal (around 5-6 pages). Candidates for all Research degrees should submit a research proposal with their application: Master of Taxation by Research - submit approximately 2 to 3 pages outlining the area of research interest. PhD in Taxation - submit a detailed research proposal of approximately 5 to 6 pages. This proposal should include the following information: Proposed title of the research thesis; Aims of the research thesis; Background to the research, including a literature survey; Significance of the research; and, Research methodology. LLM by Research in Law, SJD and PhD in Law â€“ submit a detailed research proposal of approximately 5-6 pages. This proposal should include the following information: proposed title of the research thesis; aims of the research thesis; background to the research, including a literature survey; significance of the research; and, research methodology. Candidates for all Research degrees should also provide the following documentation: Certified copies of all academic transcripts Curriculum vitae List of publications and details of previous research experience Part-time candidates should attach a statement to indicate a plan for progress to ensure that the degree will be completed within the maximum time allowed.
Application Forms	All applicants are encouraged to Apply Online. Application forms can be downloaded here or are available from the Forms Page.

STEP 2

Acknowledgement Letter

An acknowledgment letter will be posted to you after your application is received by the Graduate Research School.
The acknowledgment letter will state your application number, student ID, as well as the program title and code for which you have applied. You should check these details carefully to ensure that your application has been recorded accurately.
If any outstanding documents are requested, you should forward these to Research Administration, Graduate Research School as soon as possible, otherwise the processing of your application may be delayed.
You should retain your acknowledgment letter as proof of your application and as a record of your application and student ID number, which should be quoted in any further correspondence with the University.
Please allow at least six weeks for your application to be considered.

Online Application Tracking

This service is for prospective students who have already submitted an application to study at UNSW either directly or through an Agent, such as IDP. If you have already submitted an application for study at UNSW and wish to view details of that application online, click here for an introduction to the service and for information about logging on.
PLEASE NOTE: This service is for the use of applicants to UNSW only. Agents or nominees of an applicant should NOT attempt to use this service on that persons behalf. Unauthorised use of this service will result in the suspension of access. Further information is available at the point of logging in.

STEP 3

Result Notification and Acceptance of Offer

Successful applicants will be sent an offer of admission. You can accept, defer or decline your offer online here https://my.unsw.edu.au or alternatively you can complete the reply form contained in your offer of admission and return to the Graduate Research School.
Please ensure that you read the offer letter, and all the attachments sent with the offer letter if applicable, before accepting the offer.
If you will not be available to complete this form when it arrives you should arrange for someone to accept this offer on your behalf, it is very important that you provide the University with written authorisation for this to be done.
International students must ensure that they read Acceptance Procedures for International Students.
Local students must ensure that they read information regarding the Research Training Scheme.

PLEASE NOTE : the University does not acknowledge the receipt of reply forms

Once you have received your Notification and Acceptance of Offer you are ready to enrol. For enrolment instructions at UNSW please refer to the Enrolment page on the Graduate Research School Website.