Doctor pf Philosophy - Research (PhD)

Overview

To enrol in the James Cook University PhD program you must have qualified at this or another university for the award of a Bachelor's degree in an appropriate discipline with First or Second Class Division A Honours, or a Masters degree with at least 50% research component. The Head of School has discretion in determining the status of Honours qualifications from other universities. Students from universities which award a four year Honours degree with a research component are usually eligible. Note that the emphasis is on prior research experience. For this reason it is essential for the Head of School to have access to your academic transcripts, letters of recommendation from 2 academic referees and evidence of prior research experience at the time of your application.

NOTE: Students may also upgrade to the PhD program from the MSc (Research) candidature after a minimum of one year full-time work, provided the Head of School certifies that the candidate's work is of an appropriate standard.

The rules state that admission to the PhD degree is provisional. Each full-time student has 12 months to have their enrolment confirmed.

The pre-requisites to confirmation of enrolment are:

• Submit a substantive piece of writing related to your project (usually a literature review)

• Submit a 2000-word project proposal

• Present the project proposal in a 30-40 minute seminar attended by your supervisor, Head of Discipline, Head of School and Research Student Monitor

• Confirmation of your PhD enrolment is based on the satisfactory assessment of both your written submissions and seminar presentation by the University's Board of Postgraduate Studies.

The PhD thesis should show:

• Originality in the research findings and their analysis or evaluation

• A capacity for coherent argument and presentation

• A capacity to set your results in a proper context

• Competence in the analysis of data and/or the important concepts.

• At present most theses are between 140-170 pages in length and are submitted within 3-4 years. Examination is by three independent reviewers who are specialists in the field of study. Usually one or two of those will be overseas scientists. The results of the thesis should be written up for publication in externally reviewed journals as soon as possible.

English Proficiency

All applicants for admission as Doctoral or Research Masters candidates are expected to have reached an appropriate level of proficiency in English. Unless English is the first language, students must demonstrate English proficiency either through a TOEFL test with a computer-based score of at least 230 and an essay rating of 4.5, or an IELTS score of at least 6.5 with no component lower than 6.

Fees

Australian and New Zealand PhD and Masters by Research students will usually be Commonwealth supported under the Department of Education and Science Training (DEST) Research Training Scheme (RTS), and as such are exempt from paying tuition fees. These places are fee exempt for a defined period (four years full time equivalent for a PhD; two years full time equivalent for a Masters).

For further info, contact the Graduate Research School ResearchHigherDegrees@jcu.edu.au

International students pay international tuition fees and should visit JCU’s International Student Centre for fee information.

Disciplines

Aquaculture

Entomology

Conservation Biology

Marine Biology

Tropical Agricultural Science

Tropical Ecology

Tropical Marine Ecology and Fisheries Biology

Tropical Plant Sciences

Wildlife Biology

Zoology

Related Courses

Graduate Certificate of Science (GCertSci)

Graduate Diploma of Science (GDipSci)

Masters of Applied Science (MAppSc)

Graduate Certificate of Research Methods (GCertResMeth)

Graduate Diploma of Research Methods (GDipResMeth)

Masters of Science (MSc)

Doctor of Philosophy (PhD)

Application

Applicants should contact potential supervisors before lodging a formal application. The School's Web Page or the University list of research topics (provide by the Graduate Research School) may be a useful source of information. The application for candidature, an outline of the proposed field of study and the location of the research must be acceptable to the Head of School. It is also essential that qualified members of the academic staff be willing to act as Supervisors.

Prospective candidates for a research higher degree must lodge an application for admission on the appropriate form through the Graduate Research School on the Townsville Campus (telephone 07 47 815861)

A description of the thesis topic and a research proposal need to be submitted with the application. This proposal should be approximately 2 pages in length and should be sufficiently specific to enable a judgement to be made by the Head of School and prospective Supervisor(s) about:

1. 1.

   the suitability of the applicant’s background; and

2. 2.

   the appropriateness of the proposed topic to the research expertise and resources available within the School.

Completed certified academic transcripts and official certification of degrees and diplomas awarded must be attached with the application, unless qualifications are from James Cook University. Two academic referees should be asked to submit comment on the applicant’s suitability to undertake the research studies. Their reports should be sent directly to the Graduate Research School.

Domestic student application and referee report forms

International student information and application forms.

Contact Information

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