University of Ballarat Postgraduate Research Scholarships
Eligibility for UBPRS
University of Ballarat Postgraduate Research Scholarships are open to graduates who have completed a four year undergraduate degree at first class honours (or have other qualifications such as a Masters degree or experience in research that lead the Research and Higher Degrees Committee to evaluate the applicant as being equivalent to first class honours standard). Awards are restricted to Australian citizens, persons with permanent resident status and applicants eligible to be awarded an International Postgraduate Research Scholarship in December each year by the University of Ballarat (refer to RHDSC meeting schedule for further information). International students should click here for further information.
A person who is not currently a higher degree candidate at the University of Ballarat must lodge an application for candidature in conjunction with a University of Ballarat Postgraduate Research Scholarship application in order to be considered for award of a scholarship. All persons (including current University of Ballarat candidates) must lodge the expression of interest form in order to be considered for award of a scholarship.
Award entitlements
A University of Ballarat Postgraduate Research Scholarship may be held for two years (Master's candidature) or three years (PhD candidature) subject to satisfactory progress, and in the case of PhD candidature there is the possibility of extension for a further six months if the thesis will be submitted by the end of this period.
In the case of persons who previously held any other postgraduate research or coursework scholarship, the maximum duration of the University of Ballarat Postgraduate Research Scholarship or Part Postgraduate Research Scholarship will be reduced by the prior period of scholarship support. The maximum duration of a scholarship may also be reduced if the person has already spent a period of time as a higher degree candidate. A University of Ballarat Postgraduate Research Scholarship cannot be held in conjunction with any other award, scholarship, or stipend except with approval of the Research and Higher Degrees Committee. Since the University of Ballarat Postgraduate Research Scholarships is awarded for full-time higher degree candidature, recipients are permitted to engage in paid employment for a total of 8 hours per week, during the hours of 9.00am – 5.00pm. Recreation leave is four weeks per year, and must be taken during tenure of the award.
The stipend for a University of Ballarat Postgraduate Research Scholarship is $20,007 p.a. paid fortnightly in arrears. The award does not provide travel or other benefits.
Applicants will need to indicate at the time of application if they are willing to accept a part scholarship. Schools will be required to indicate prior to the process of allocating scholarships whether they are prepared to provide additional financial support or a teaching assistantship and at what level of support (based on the applicants background).
Application Conditions
To apply, expressions of interest on the appropiate form must be lodged at the Research & Graduate Studies Office by 31 October each year. A scholarship applicant who is not already a higher degree candidate at the University of Ballarat will be required to lodge an application for candidature before the scholarship application will be considered. Such an application must be submitted by third week in November each year (refer to RHDSC meeting schedule for further information). The onus will be on the applicant to provide all documentation required for consideration of candidature and scholarships. As applications are received at the Office of Research they will be recorded and passed to the relevant Research Higher Degrees and Ethics Coordinator for consideration of eligibility for teaching assistantships, stipend supplementation or, in the case of overseas applicants, eligibility for a Special Overseas Student Scholarship.
An application for a scholarship will be considered by the Research and Higher Degrees Sub-Committee at the scholarship meeting in December each year only if:
- The person is eligible for award of a scholarship (see above section on eligibility),
- The scholarship application is complete, and the person is eligible for admission to higher degree candidature at the University of Ballarat,
- At least two referee reports are available in relation to the scholarship application (Note: The applicant will nominate referees, and be responsible for calling for reports from referees).
- If the person is completing honours, Masters, or another award in the year of application written notification of results (e.g., a fax from Head of School) must be available no later than the third week of November (refer to RHDSC meeting schedule for further information).(Note: It will be the responsibility of the School Research Higher Degrees and Ethics Coordinator to ensure this information is available).
It is in the interests of applicants to include with their application a copy of their research thesis and/or publications. This material will be returned to the applicant by the Research & Graduate Studies Office as soon as possible.
The Research and Higher Degrees Sub-Committee Executive will meet during the first week of December each year and rank the applications received from Schools. The sequence of steps at that meeting will be:
- Identify cases where an applicant is ineligible or the application is incomplete.
- Identify from the applicants those holding a four-year undergraduate degree at first class honours level or equivalent (see above); the committee shall then award the Australian Postgraduate Award with stipends to the most highly meritorious applicants in this category.
- Identify from the remaining applicants of those holding a four year undergraduate degree at first class honours level or equivalent and award the remaining University of Ballarat Postgraduate Research Scholarships and Part Postgraduate Research Scholarships on the basis of assessed merit.
- If some scholarships remain unallocated following the procedures outlined above, consideration will be given to applicants who do not hold a four-year undergraduate degree at first class honours level or equivalent.
All scholarships will be allocated at the December meeting - none will be held pending results or obtaining further information regarding an applicant. An application must be fully completed (as specified above) in order to be considered in the third week of November each year. School Research Higher Degrees and Ethics Coordinators should ensure that each application within their own School is completed in full and has been ranked.
For general scholarship and candidature information contact:
Lou Buttler
Research and Graduate Studies Office,
Telephone: (03) 5327 9508,
Facsimile: (03) 5327 9602,
Email: l.buttler@ballarat.edu.au
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