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Future research postgraduate students in Mathematics and Statistics

Application Procedures and Scholarships for research Masters and PhD

Postgraduate scholarships are available for PhD and research Masters degrees in mathematics and statistics, although there is keen competition for them. In addition, graduate students can usually obtain up to six hours of casual teaching each week. For overseas applicants fee-paying scholarships are available.

Although research candidates may commence at any time of the year, applications for both candidature and scholarship close on the last working day of October each year for Australian applicants and the last working day in September for overseas applicants. Applications for candidature only may be received after these deadlines. Overseas applicants must obtain a score on an English language test as approved by the Faculty of Science and Technology: presently, IELTS 6.5 or TOEFL 575 plus TWE 5.0.

Application forms for admission to PhD and Masters candidature and for postgraduate scholarships can be downloaded from the Research Services web site.

Fields of Research

Research is conducted in the following areas of Statistics:

• Theory of Statistical Inference
• Statistical modelling
• Dimension reduction
• Exact confidence intervals from count data
• The effect of model selection on subsequent inference
• Robust Statistics
• Time series analysis
• Foundations of statistical inference
• Biostatistics

and in the following areas of Mathematics:

• Dynamical Systems including chaotic and integrable systems
• Numerical methods
• Differential Geometry
• General Algebra
• Noncommutative dynamical systems
• Approximation theory
• Statistical Mechanics
• Graph theory
• Topological Dynamics

Details of the interests of staff members can be found at the staff research interests page. Before applying or admission or for a scholarship, you should contact the staff member whose interests are close to yours and who could therefore act as your supervisor.

Research in the department is supported by a number of large and small scale grants.

Support Facilities

Graduate students can expect to have their own computer during their candidature and access to mathematical software such as Maple and TeX. The department may provide more extensive computing facilities where it is warranted. The department provides shared office accommodation for reserarch postgraduate students.

Doctor of Philosophy Degree (PhD)

The degree of Doctor of Philosophy is the principal research degree in the University. It is usually completed in three to three and a half years full time or equivalent under the guidance of a supervisor. It is also possible, for Australian citizens and permanent residents only, to be admitted as part-time candidates.

The normal requirement for admission as a candidate is at least an upper second class honours degree or a Master's degree. Either degree course must have included a substantial research thesis or dissertation as part of the course requirements. Applicants can only be admitted provided that the department is able to provide effective supervision for the proposed research topic. Joint candidature involving another Department can be arranged, as well as associate supervision at another institution if necessary. External candidature is not possible.

To qualify for the degree a candidate must submit a satisfactory thesis which is a substantial original contribution to knowledge. (Coursework is not available as part of the formal assessment of the requirements for the degree). The length of PhD thesis in mathematics or statistics is normally around 50,000 words and must not exceed 100,000 words. The award of the degree is determined by an examination of the thesis.

Master of Science Degree (MSc)

The degree of Master of Science may be completed by thesis only in mathematics and statistics. A coursework masters is currently available in statistics but not in mathematics. Candidates usually complete the degree in two years full-time or equivalent.

The normal requirement for admission as a candidate is an honours degree, or its equivalent, in mathematics. Applicants who have not undertaken an honours year may undertake a Postgraduate Diploma. This involves one year's full-time study at a level equal to our honours year.

To qualify for the degree candidates must submit a satisfactory thesis which shows ability to conduct a research program and knowledge of the area of investigation. The length of a Masters thesis is normally around 30,000 wordsand must not exceed 60,000 words. The award of the degree is determined by an examination of the thesis.

Postgraduate Coordinator