5 tips on how to Secure a Postgraduate Admission In An Australian University

Australia has already emerged as the new route for the global pursuit of higher education. It is one of the most recognized centres in the world for excellence high class education, research and leadership and with thousands of scholarships available to make your studies possible and life easy. You will be guided by the world's best trained qualified professionals in your area of expertise, have opportunities to be trained with advance facilities and resources, expose to multiple opportunities for your career development and networking. Furthermore, the laws are very strong towards protecting the rights of international students and their security.

There are variety of highly recognized international fields whether you are interested in a research or a course work degree to choose from. This post is however concerned with research degree students being it Masters or PhD (HDR) Higher Degree by Research. So once you have made up your mind, and decide on what to study, below are 5 simple steps that will guide you in securing this position. You must keep in mind that getting admitted in an Australian University is very competitive.

Check out carefully the entry requirements and eligibility criteria.

All HDR programs being it Masters or PhD have a high a entry requirement and eligibility criteria. Its very competitive and depends on your skills/strong educational background and foundation. In most cases though not all it requires you to :

have a similar or related background to your previous studies.
Have published two to 3 journals will give you an upper advantage especially in securing scholarships.
have good language scores above the minimum target ,which is extremely important.

If you meet these entry requirements and eligibility criteria, you can now proceed to the next step below. However, don't worry much in case you do not meet the entry requirements for your course usual most universities have pathways to enable you go through this.

2. Develop a good captivating research proposal

In Order to apply for most research degrees in Australia, you must first of all develop a research proposal and later on find a suitable supervisor who is ready to take on the role. Most schools will provide search links and profiles of available supervisors and projects to contact. In some cases, supervisors will want you to develop a proposal based on their available projects. In other cases, you can submit your personal research proposal. Once a supervisor concord to supervise your work, this already is a turning point for you. Research Proposal is the major factor they use to assess your research skills ,professional development and capabilities. So you must take your time, think, brainstorm and develop a good research proposal. Go check our post now on How To Write A Captivating Research Proposal (Complete Guide) if you haven't yet for a complete information how to start a research proposal, the skills required (methodologies), structure(content) etc..

3. Contact a supervisor

In most of all Australian Universities if not all require you to get an approval from a potential supervisor before applying for the program. So first step after having prepared your research proposal and selected your course or research field, is to find potential supervisors whose research interests are aligned with yours, approach them via emails briefing about :

your research interest in related to his/her own research interests ,
brief him/her about your previous research background and academic qualifications,
work experience if you have some,
publications,
language scores.
you must give him/her an impression that you have seen his works and publications. This shows how serious you are to work with him/her.

Once a supervisor concords to supervise your work, this already is a turning point for you. You can then apply for the program using an Expression of interest. In most cases universities use an expression of interest form to apply for HDR degrees. Please refer to this useful guide on how to contact potential supervisors for a PhD, or any student position ie masters or undergraduate. The guide gives a detail information on how to approach that first email to your potential supervisor, the structure, content etc so as to be able to impress them to get a reply. Take note, first impressions really matters here

4. Apply for your selected degree course

Like i mentioned above ,in most cases universities use an expression of interest form to apply for HDR degrees. Some other Universities do not require this and have more simpler ways to apply after you have gotten an approval from a potential supervisor who is ready to work with you. From this point you will stay in contact with your institution, and they will be guiding you stage by stage. Do not hesitate to contact in case of any need.
Some universities have their scholarships attached to the application process, and you are automatically consider for a scholarship if you meet the entry requirements for the selected program while other universities require you to apply separately for this. Refer to A Glance At A Complete Guide To study In Australia to get a full detail on how to find a course to study in Australia, get approved supervisor, apply for the scholarships successfully and finally the visa.

5. Prepare your referees.

Most Australian Universities require that you get recommendations from at least two referees, in some cases even three. Your referees could be your previous academic supervisors, Lecturers, superiors from your job etc..

Now that you know about the tips to secure an admission abroad, the next step is to learn about how to apply for postgraduate degree programs (Masters/PhD research) to study in Australia, and equally how to email potential supervisors when asking for studentship positions(Cold Emails). Equally essential is to know about the Postgraduate research requirements to study in Australia. These are all essential information that you must know to make your whole application to study abroad easy and successful.