Research Services

Higher Degrees by Research - information for students

Financial Matters

Finance

When deciding to do postgraduate research you will most probably have planned how to finance your study and how you will maintain sufficient income. You may have a Scholarship but could find that it is not enough without other income or financial support. If you experience financial difficulties tell your supervisor because it may become an important influence on your work and progress, and your supervisor can help you to check that you have all the support available to you from the University. You may also benefit by contacting the Financial Aid Office.

Scholarships

An overview and brief description of scholarships is on this page. See the LTU Scholarships web page for details and application procedures.

There are two main categories of scholarships available at the University, the Australian Postgraduate Awards (APA) funded by the Australian Government, and the La Trobe University Postgraduate Research Scholarships (LTUPRS) funded by the University. Another scholarship is the International Postgraduate Research Scholarship (IPRS; the legislation for both APAs and IPRSs is in Commonwealth Scholarships Guidelines (Research) 2010)  funded by the government and open to applications from international students. LTU has around six HDR students with IPRSs each year.

The David Myers Scholarship is another provided by LTU to no more than one HDR student of each faculty per year. A small number of HDR students receive other scholarships such as those provided by employers, professional organisations (eg. NHMRC, Royal College of Nursing), research organisations, non-governmental organisations or foreign governments.

Australian Postgraduate Awards (APA) are open to Australians and LTUPRS are open to both Australian and international HDR students. You must have a first class honours or equivalent degree or equivalent research experience to apply for these scholarships. The application deadline is 31 October each year for the following year (30 September for international applicants).

The APA and LTUPRS are provided for a period of up to two years for Masters degrees and up to three years, with a possible extension of six months, for doctoral degrees only. After three and a half years of doctoral scholarship you can apply for an extension of candidature without a scholarship.

The above is only a very brief introduction to scholarship. To find out more go to the web site Scholarships page, ask at the Research Services office and talk to your supervisor. Your postgraduate coordinator may help too.

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Employment during candidature

If your candidature is full-time, you may undertake paid employment between the hours of 9 am and 5 pm Monday to Friday up to a maximum of 8 hours per week. For example, your School may employ you to tutor, assist with labs or in other ways.

It is important that you maintain the progress of your research to complete your thesis within the timeframe and don’t allow other demands, such as employment or tutoring, to disrupt your work.