General. I welcome inquiries from prospective international postgraduate (PG) research students wishing to enrol in a University of Queensland research degree in Mathematics under my supervision. (If you need information on our PG coursework programmes, look here.) I hope that the information on this page will help answer your questions.
If the information you require cannot be found below, please contact me, or either School PG Student Administration for general procedural inquiries, or the Mathematics PG Coordinator Dr Joseph Grotowski for general academic inquiries. Please read this page carefully before making an inquiry.
Can you provide financial support? I will deal with this first, as it is commonly the most significant issue, especially for International Students.
| Summary (See below for details and explanations). If you are an Australian or New Zealand citizen, you should apply for an APA. Otherwise, you should apply for an IPRS (competition for IPRS is fierce, and only awarded to applicants with Masters or First Class Honours, with publications in refereed journals and excellent references). If you are successful, or you are fully self funded from another source, then I or one of the Centre research staff will accommodate you, and in the normal course of events you will be accepted for the PhD. If you are unsuccessful, but strongly competitive, then you will be nominated for one of the limited number of full MASCOS Scholarships, but you must first apply for an APA or IPRS. |
The cost of undertaking PG studies at the University of Queensland is rather high. You must pay tuition fees and you must show that you can support yourself. The School of Physical Sciences can, at best, provide only partial support. It is regrettable that, while we can almost always accommodate every full-fee-paying student, we can usually accommodate only a limited number of students each year who require financial assistance.
What scholarships are available? If you have little or no financial support, then you should apply for an International Postgraduate Research Scholarships (IPRS), which will cover your tuition fees. Successful applicants will usually be awarded a University of Queensland International Research Tuition Award (UQIRTA) to cover their living expenses. Look here for details of IPRS and other scholarships for international students, including the Australia-Asia Awards and Australia-Europe Awards. Applications for IPRS usually close at the end of August. Competition for these scholarships is fierce, and are generally only awarded to applicants who have a first division or first class honours degree completed at a very high level, with publications in international refereed journals and excellent references; there are also English language requirements to be met.
If you applied, but were unsuccessful in obtaining an IRPS, and, you have a reliable source of funding to cover your tuition fees, then you should apply for a School Scholarship. The value of these scholarships varies from year to year, but is typically of the order of $18,000 per annum, and the number offered is subject to availability of funds. Applications for these usually close at the end of January. The School may nominate you for a UQ Research Scholarship for Continuing RHD Candidates (UQRS) to help cover your living expenses. Nominations are made after you complete one year of candidature, following successful completion of the requirements for confirmation of your candidature.
Does your Centre provide PG Scholarships? Yes. I am currently Cheif Investigator and Director (Qld) of the ARC Centre of Excellence for Mathematics and Statistics of Complex Systems (MASCOS). Details of MASCOS PhD scholarships tenable at the University of Queensland can be found here. Details of MASCOS activities at the University of Queensland can be found here.
Can I apply for a Graduate Teaching Assistantship? We do not have teaching assistantships of the kind that are common in (say) the USA. However, well-qualified PG students with very good communication skills can expect a limited amount of employment, on a casual basis, as a tutor or demonstrator. Such casual employment is not guaranteed. Typically, tutors are paid for 3 hours work (preparation, marking and contact) for each hour of contact; if there is no marking, then only 2 hours. The current rate is around $30.00 per hour. PG students within the School of Physical Sciences, who are making good progress with their research, are permitted to work for up to 270 hours per year (during normal business hours of 9am to 5pm).
Am I classified as an international student? An international student is a person who is neither an Australian citizen, nor a Australian permanent resident, nor a New Zealand citizen, but who is enrolled or proposes to enrol in a programme of study at a tertiary education institution in Australia. Temporary residents of Australia and permanent residents of New Zealand are classified as international students.
What degrees are available? The University of Queensland offers the following research degree programmes:
What should I do next? First let me say what you should not do: don't dump your CV/resume at my doorstep, and announce yourself as someone requiring financial assistance. Please appreciate that I receive hundreds of inquiries like this each year, and I simply do not have the time, the resources, nor indeed the inclination to respond. I want to know why you are interested in me, and why I should be interested in you.
Okay then, what should I do? First, you should be clear in your own mind about what you're interested in. Typically, you will have some research experience in an area cognate to my own research inerests, or you will have researched the literature relevant to a field of interest, and you will have identified me as potential supervisor. If you are suitably qualified, I would normally unreservedly support your application for admission, and, provided you satisfy the University's entry requirements, you would normally be admitted as a research higher degree student.
Where do I get more information? Details of my research and publications can be found here. A list of possible PhD projects can be found here. Information about the Discipline of Mathematics can be found here here.
How do I apply for admission? Contact the International Admissions Section (telephone +61 7 3365 7941 or e-mail study@uq.edu.au) for advice on application procedures, as well as up-to-the-minute information on available scholarships. Information for prospective students, including application materials, is also available from the International Students web page. You should complete the Application for Admission to apply for a research higher degree place at the University.
What happens to my application?
Your application will be processed by the UQ Graduate School. It will
then be sent to the Mathematics Postgraduate Coordinator, who
will make a recommendation based
on your academic record, your research proposal
and your English proficiency. This recommendation will then be
sent to the School of Physical Science Postgraduate Coordinator, who
will make the final decision.
If you have any comments on these pages,
feel free to e-mail
me: pkp@maths.uq.edu.au