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  1. Research & Enterprise
Authority Source: Academic Board
Approval Date: 23/10/2024
Publication Date: 24/10/2024
Review Date: 24/10/2029
Effective Date: 30/04/2025
Custodian: Deputy Vice-Chancellor
Contact: GraduateResearch@canberra.edu.au
Accessibility: Public
Status: Published
In developing this policy the University had regard to the provisions of section 40B(1)(b) of the Human Rights Act 2004 (ACT).
Higher Degree by Research (HDR) Policy (effective 30 April 2025)
1. Purpose:
  1. This policy states the objectives and standards of the University of Canberra (the University) for:
    1. design and delivery of higher degree by research (HDR) courses, and
    2. admission to HDR courses accredited by the University
    3. HDR candidature from recruitment to graduation.
  2. The Related Documents section below explains the relationship between this policy and its supporting procedures, and certain other rules, policies and procedures of the University that state principles, and/or requirements that apply to HDR candidature
2. Scope:
  1. This policy applies to:
    1. HDR courses other than honorary doctorates which are within the designation of Council
    2. HDR candidates
    3. staff who manage HDR candidature or who support, supervise or examine HDR candidates
    4. academic managers responsible for overseeing HDR candidature, and
    5. members of academic committees responsible for governing and overseeing HDR candidature.
    6. people external to the University who are engaged to assist in assessment and examination of the HDR candidates research progress and final thesis
3. Principles:
  1. Design and delivery of HDR courses offered by the University will meet the following external standards and comply with the following regulatory requirements.
    1. They will be consistent with the levels of skills and knowledge, and qualification specifications stated by the Australian Qualifications Framework for the qualification to which the course leads.
    2. They will meet the standards of the Higher Education Standards Framework (Threshold Standards) 2021 relevant to research training courses.
    3. Decisions about admission, enrolment and candidature of HDR candidates who are studying on an Australian student visa will comply with the Education Services for Overseas Students National Code 2017.
  2. HDR courses will enable candidates to:
    1. acquire and demonstrate the knowledge and skills specified by the Australian Qualifications Framework for the level of award to which the course leads, and
    2. develop the skills needed for success in a career as a researcher, as described in the University of Canberra Research Development Skills Framework.
Admission principles and standards
  1. Admission to a HDR course is determined following an assessment by an Admissions Officer of an application against the admission requirements for research students set out in Rule 9(2) of the Admission Rules.
  2. The admission requirements consider academic merit, research potential and the research supervision and facilities available to support the applicants research. The Academic Board determines the specific admission requirements applicable to each HDR course that a student must meet to satisfy Rule 9(2)(c) and 9(2)(k) of the Admission Rules.
  3. For admission to a HDR course, international applicants must satisfy any additional requirements determined by the Australian Government, including in relation to immigration.
  4. When assessing a prospective candidate's application against the Admission Requirements in Rule 9(2) of the Admission Rules, the University may consider the following in determining whether a student satisfies the Admission Requirements:
    1. Academic merit and research experience
    2. English language proficiency
    3. Prior experience, both academic and professional
    4. Alignment of the prospective candidates intended research topic with areas of the universities research focus
    5. Any other factors the university considers relevant.
Admission Decisions and Outcomes
  1. Admission is at the discretion of the University. Following an assessment against the admission requirements, an admissions officer may make one of the following admission decisions:
    1. Unconditional offer
    2. Conditional offer
    3. Packaged offer
    4. An offer into an alternative course
    5. No offer (rejection)
  2. The Admissions Officer must make an offer in writing and provide all necessary information as set out in Rule 14(3) of the Admissions Rules.
  3. Applicants who have received an offer may request to defer their offer for up to 12 months. Not all offers can be deferred and not all deferrals will be approved.
  4. The university can rescind an offer of admission if:
    1. The offer was made in error;
    2. The course is no longer offered;
    3. The applicant does not meet legislative requirements, such as requirements of a student visa;
    4. The applicant behaves in a way that may be considered a breach of the University of Canberra (Student Conduct) Rules 2023
  5. The Dean, Graduate Research School in consultation with Faculties, has responsibility for determining equivalencies between research admission requirements and specific qualifications or tests.
  6. For applicants to HDR courses, Admissions Officers may approve an application for admission on the basis that the student has been granted a qualifying award or otherwise has sufficient academic or professional experience in an area of research suitable for the purposes of admission.
Resourcing
  1.  The University will endeavor to ensure that each candidate:
    1. has the physical facilities and financial support necessary for their research
    2. has support to maintain their wellbeing during their candidature, and
    3. is able to participate in the research culture at the University.
  2. Where a candidate has a disability or health condition, or who has primary caring responsibilities for a person with disability, they may apply to the University for adjustments or support in alignment with the Disability Standards for Education 2005. A candidate’s reasonable adjustment and/or necessary supports will be recorded in a Reasonable Adjustment Plan and/or HDR support letter.  
  3. Australian Government Research Training Program Scholarships will be allocated and managed in accordance with the Commonwealth Scholarships Guidelines (Research) 2017.
  4. The University is committed to supporting Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander students to undertake higher degrees by research and ensuring that the research is supervised with sensitivity to the candidate’s culture.
Supervision
  1. Candidates’ research projects will be well supervised throughout candidature by an appropriately qualified supervisory panel:
    1. who are active researchers in a discipline relevant to the research project, and
    2. have no significant conflict of interest in supervising the candidate.
  2. Each candidate will have a supervisory panel comprising:
    1. a primary supervisor who is a member of the University’s staff and holds a doctoral degree,
    2. at least one secondary supervisory who is a member of the University’s staff, and who holds a doctoral degree or a combination of qualifications and research experience equivalent to a doctoral degree, and
    3. External supervisors or advisors not members of the University’s staff, including emeritus professors, adjuncts, cultural or community advisors, and industry partners, as appropriate.
Responsible conduct of research
  1. Before a candidate begins their research, they will successfully complete training on responsible conduct of research (as described in the Australian Code for the Responsible Conduct of Research).
  2. Candidates are expected, in their research practice and research outputs, to adhere to the Australian Code for the Responsible Conduct of Research. A candidate’s breach of that code may constitute misconduct as defined by the University of Canberra (Student Conduct) Rules 2022 and may warrant penalties in accordance with those Rules.
Enrolment
  1. Candidates may not enroll into units unless an offer of a place in an appropriate HDR course has been made and accepted by the student.
  2. HDR courses may consist of coursework and thesis units.
  3. Candidates are responsible for ensuring they are correctly enrolled in units by the self-enrolment cut-off date advertised for the relevant teaching period.
  4. Candidates are responsible for ensuring that they are correctly enrolled in the units which will contribute to the completion of the course in which candidates are enrolled.
  5. The units a candidate enrols in must form part of the course in which the candidate is enrolled – unless a variation to course requirements has been approved.
  6. Candidates are expected to ‘self-enrol’ in the appropriate units electronically via their MyUC account.
  7. To retain their enrolment at the University all HDR candidates must be enrolled in at least one unit each semester, unless the candidate submitted their thesis, or has approved leave or an intermission.
  8. A candidate who is not enrolled in a unit by the census date of each semester will be discontinued.
  9. Candidates discontinued for non-enrolment cease to be students of the University and must reapply for admission if they wish to resume their studies.
Milestones and progress
  1. Candidates may be required to have completed specific coursework units prior to confirmation of their candidature.
    1. Details of the coursework units that are required for each course are published on the University website under ‘Course Requirements’ section of the university website.
    2. Where a candidate’s proposed research is assessed as unsatisfactory for candidature, their candidature may be terminated.
    3. Where a doctoral candidate’s proposed research is assessed as insufficient for doctoral candidature, but sufficient for master by research candidature, they may be offered transfer to a master by research course.
  2. Candidates’ progress in their coursework units and research project will be monitored regularly via:
    1. their grades in their coursework units, and
    2. a progress report completed at least bi-annually by the candidate and their supervisors, and
    3. completion of progress milestones.
  3. Where a candidate’s progress is unsatisfactory, the candidate:
    1. will be invited to take part in developing a Progress Support Agreement (PSA) , to identify what support is needed and what actions the candidate needs to take to resume satisfactory progress, or
    2. may be placed on academic probation by the process stated in the University of Canberra (Academic Progress) Rules 2022.
  4. Where a candidate is placed on academic probation and does not meet the conditions of their probation, their candidature may be discontinued.
  5. When a candidate submits their thesis for examination, it will be examined by at least two appropriately qualified examiners external to the University who have no significant perceived, potential, or actual conflict of interest in examining the work.
4. Responsibilities:
  1. The University Research Committee (URC) oversees the quality of HDR courses and the candidature experience of HDR candidates, to ensure that these are consistent with the principles of this policy.
  2. The Graduate Research Committee supports URC by overseeing HDR students’ candidature to ensure compliance with this policy and its supporting procedures.
  3. The faculties of the University will be responsible for nominating one or more staff members to be appointed as HDR Officers.
  4. Faculty HDR Officers are responsible for making recommendations to the Dean, Graduate Research School regarding HDR candidates hosted by their faculty as outlined in the Higher Degree by Research Policy, Higher Degree by Research Procedure, and the Higher Degree by Research Scholarship Procedure (Including Australian Government Research Training Program funded scholarships).
  5. To ensure consistency and quality of major decisions in relation to HDR candidature:
    1. The Deputy Vice-Chancellor is the Admissions Review Officer for applicants for admission to HDR courses, for the purposes of the University of Canberra (Admissions) Rules 2022.
    2. On the recommendation of the Dean, Graduate Research School, the Deputy Vice-Chancellor, Research and Engagement will decide if a candidate should not be awarded the degree following the outcome of their thesis examination.
    3. The final grades awarded to HDR candidates in coursework units managed by the faculty will be decided by the faculty in which the candidate is admitted through its Board of Examiners, and report these grades to Graduate Research Committee
    4. The Dean, Graduate Research School will decide the final grades awarded to HDR candidates in coursework units managed by the Graduate Research School, on the recommendation of the Higher Degrees by Research Board of Examiners. The Board’s membership will comprise members of the Graduate Research Committee, and convenors of centrally managed HDR courses and centrally managed HDR units, as specified in the Higher Degree by Research Procedure.
    5. The Dean, Graduate Research School will decide, on the recommendation of the relevant faculty HDR Officer:
      1. whether to register a staff member or external person as eligible to supervise an HDR candidate
      2. whether to remove a registered supervisor from eligibility to be a primary supervisor, where there is evidence that the person is not performing satisfactorily as a primary supervisor
      3. on the appointment of supervisors for a candidate, and changes to a candidate’s panel of supervisors
      4. whether to confirm a candidate in their candidature
      5. an exception, for an individual candidate, to the minimum duration of candidature for an HDR course
      6. whether a candidate may transfer from a research master course to a doctoral course or vice versa, or from one doctoral course to another
      7. whether to grant a candidate’s request for leave from candidature of types that extend the duration of candidature
      8. whether to grant a candidate’s request for intermission
      9. whether a candidate may continue their candidature beyond the normal maximum duration of candidature
      10. the external examiners of a candidate’s thesis, and
      11. the outcome of examination of a candidate’s thesis where all examiners recommend awarding the degree (with or without corrections or revisions).
    6. The Dean, Graduate Research School will decide, on the advice of panels of members of Graduate Research Committee, with their membership as specified in the Higher Degree by Research Procedure:
      1. allocation of Research Training Program Scholarships and other HDR scholarships open to candidates from any faculty
      2. whether to place a candidate who has unsatisfactory progress on a Progress Support Agreement (PSA) or academic probation
      3. whether a candidate who has been placed on academic probation, and has not met a condition of the probation, can continue (and if so, on what conditions) or will have candidature be terminated, and
      4. where an examiner of an HDR candidate’s thesis has recommended that the candidate revise and resubmit their thesis for examination, what the outcome of examination will be (other than not to award the degree).
    7. For decisions in relation to admission to HDR courses, enrolment of candidates in these courses, and academic progress of candidates, the Dean, Graduate Research School is the:
      1. Admissions Officer, for the purposes of the University of Canberra (Admissions) Rules 2022,
      2. Enrolment Officer, for the purposes of the Enrolment Policy, and
      3. Academic Progress Officer, for the purposes of the University of Canberra (Academic Progress) Rules 2022.
  6. The Dean, Graduate Research School will decide, on the recommendation of Executive Deans:
    1. the admission of an applicant to an HDR course, where their faculty is willing to host the candidature
    2. the establishment of an HDR scholarship specific to their faculty, and
    3. the award to a candidate of an HDR scholarship specific to their faculty.
  7. The Dean, Graduate Research School will:
    1. oversee and manage HDR candidature, in collaboration with faculty HDR Officers, and
    2. maintain instructions, forms, and templates for processes in relation to HDR admission, candidature and establishing and awarding HDR scholarships.
  8. The Delegations of Authority Schedule under the Delegations of Authority Policy states the University Council’s delegations of its authority to make certain academic decisions in relation to HDR candidature.
  9. The Dean, Graduate Research School may approve an exception to a requirement of the Higher Degree by Research Procedure or Higher Degree by Research Scholarships (including Australian Government Research Training Program-funded scholarships) Procedure, provided that:
    1. the decision is consistent with any relevant Rule or Council delegation of authority, and
    2. the Dean, Graduate Research School reports the exception to the following meeting of Graduate Research Committee and University Research Committee.
  10. To enter a dual degree or joint award agreement with another higher education institution, the University may need to make an exception to the requirements of this policy or its supporting procedures, to accommodate the other institution’s requirements for HDR awards or HDR candidature. The Deputy Vice-Chancellor may approve such an exception where:
    1. they are satisfied that the dual degree or joint award and candidature for it will be of a similar standard to when the same award is offered entirely by the University of Canberra, and
    2. the exception is reported to Graduate Research Committee and University Research Committee.
5. Legislation:
  1. This Policy is governed by the following documents:
    1. Commonwealth Scholarships Guidelines (Research) 2017
    2. Education Services for Overseas Students Act 2000 (Commonwealth)
    3. Higher Education Standards Framework (Threshold Standards) 2021
    4. Disability Standards for Education 2005
    5. National Code of Practice for Providers of Education and Training to Overseas  Students 2018
    6. Australian Qualification Framework 2019
    7. University of Canberra Academic Progress Rules 2022
    8. University of Canberra Admission Rules 2022
    9. University of Canberra Courses and Awards (Courses of Study) Rules 2013
    10. University of Canberra (Honorary Degree) Rules 2019
    11. University of Canberra (Medical Leave) Rules 2022
    12. University of Canberra (Obligations) Rules 2022.
6. Supporting Information:
  1. This policy is supported by the:
    1. Higher Degrees by Research Procedure and
    2. Higher Degree by Research Scholarships Procedure (including Research Training Program Scholarships).
  2. Certain other policies and rules of the University state principles and/or processes that apply to HDR candidature.
    1. This policy states principles for admission of HDR students; the Higher Degree by Research Procedure states requirements to achieve those principles and attain those standards in admissions to HDR programs.
    2. The Delegations of Authority Policy and Schedule state the University Council’s delegations of authority to make major decisions in relation to HDR candidature.
    3. The Prizes, Scholarships, Medals and Awards Policy states principles for management and allocation of prizes, scholarships, medals and awards, including for HDR candidates. The Higher Degree by Research Scholarships Procedure (including Research Training Program Scholarships) states requirements to achieve those principles and attain those standards in awarding and managing Australian Government Research Training Program–funded scholarships and other scholarships for HDR candidates.
    4. This policy states principles for enrolment that apply to HDR students. The Higher Degree by Research Procedure states further requirements specific to the enrolment of HDR candidates.
    5. The Student Grievance Resolution Policy states processes for any student, including an HDR candidate, to raise a complaint or grievance and to appeal against a decision.
    6. The Variation of Course Requirements Policy and Procedure state requirements and the process for variations to be made to the course requirements for students (including HDR candidates) at the University.
    7. The University of Canberra (Honorary Degree) Rules 2019 state requirements in relation to honorary doctorate awards.
    8. The Researcher Development Skills Framework describes the generic skills that higher degree by research courses will enable candidates to develop.
7. Definitions:
  • Academic probation has the meaning stated in the University of Canberra (Academic Progress) Rules 2022.
  • Admission has the meaning stated in the Admission Policy.
  • Faculty HDR Officer means a staff member nominated to make recommendations on HDR matters for a faculty.
  • Candidate means a student enrolled in a course leading to an HDR award.
  • Candidature means the period of a candidate’s enrolment in their HDR course.
  • Course has the meaning stated in the University of Canberra Courses and Awards (Courses of Study) Rules 2017.
  • Coursework means, of a unit, that the unit requires the student to undertake specific learning activities and assessment tasks, rather than being the record of enrolment for a candidate’s research project.
  • Graduate Research (where this phrase is not part of the name of a committee or a position title) means the Graduate Research School.
  • Higher degree by research (HDR) means a master by research degree or doctoral degree (a Doctor of Philosophy, higher doctorate or professional doctorate).
  • Host means, of a faculty, in relation to an HDR candidate, the faculty in which the candidate is enrolled and which manages aspects of the candidature.
  • Intermission has the meaning stated in the Enrolment Policy.
  • Master by research means a master degree awarded for successful completion of a course in which at least 67 per cent of the volume of learning required to complete the course is a research project.
  • Supervisor means, in relation to HDR candidature, someone who guides and advises a candidate in undertaking their research project, and who monitors their progress in their candidature.
  • Terminate means, in relation to an HDR candidate, discontinue their enrolment in their course.
  • Thesis means the body of work that an HDR candidate submits for examination and to communicate the outcomes and findings of their research project. The Higher Degree by Research Procedure defines what work may be considered a thesis.
  • Unit has the meaning stated in the University of Canberra Courses and Awards (Courses of Study) Rules 2017.