Our highly-ranked research program features world-renowned faculty, interdisciplinary research, and a spirit of collaboration. Both the Master of Philosophy and Doctor of Philosophy are advanced research-focused degrees that produce high-quality original research under the supervision of world-class researchers and intellectual leaders.

Programs

Applying

ANU is ranked among the world’s most prestigious universities and is recognised for setting the standard in education and research on matters that will have an impact on advancing society and the world in which we live. Our graduates become the innovators and leaders of the future. For these reasons, admission to one of our research programs is competitive and most successful applicants are in the top five to ten percent of their class in their previous degree.

Pre-Application

In applying for research study at the ANU School of Engineering you should identify a research area and a potential supervisor within the School of Engineering with whom you may like to work. Potential supervisors are listed within each research area. You may also like to explore availabilities in current research projects. Note that regardless of the quality of the application, you cannot be accepted into an ANU Engineering research program without having the support of an ANU Engineering researcher willing to supervise you.

When contacting potential supervisors it is important that you provide information relevant to your application, including a current CV and a brief research proposal. Our researchers are internationally recognised and receive many expressions of interest. If the potential supervisor is interested in speaking with you further, he or she will contact you by email. Please be patient as many of our researchers are extremely busy and have regular international travel, so there may be a delay in responding to your request. If a supervisor agrees to support your application, you may proceed to submit a formal application.

Formal Application

If you believe you meet eligibility requirements and you have secured the support of a research supervisor, you may then submit a formal application for the Master of Philosophy (MPhil) or Doctor of Philosophy (PhD) through the ANU application portal. Please see the ANU Postgraduate application advisory page for more information.

Documentation

A complete application includes:

  • An application submitted through the ANU application portal.
  • A current curriculum vitae (CV) or resumé.
  • A research proposal.
  • Colour copies of all transcripts and completion certificates of prior study, with official English translation if the original document is not in English.
  • Three complete referee reports (referees are nominated through the application portal).

If we receive an incomplete application, the ANU Research Study Administration Team will contact the applicant and give 30 days to provide the outstanding documentation. If required documentation is not provided, the application will be denied.

We recommend submitting your application at least two weeks prior to scholarship application deadlines to give your referees time to provide their references for you.

Scholarships

We are committed to supporting our students with scholarships. All applications for scholarship are carefully and rigorously assessed. Our scholarship rounds are highly competitive, and we are only able to provide scholarship funding for the top applicants.

To view the full list of scholarships offered by the ANU, please visit the ANU Scholarships page.

Individual ANU School of Engineering researchers may also have access to additional research funding for scholarships from external partners or from the School. Please ask your potential research supervisor about these external/internal scholarships.

Details about the 2022 scholarship rounds are available on the Research Scholarship Information Page .

Scholarship round Admission application closing date Scholarship commencement date
2022 Round 1 International Closing 31 August 2021 1 Jan 2022 - 31 March 2022
2022 Round 1 Domestic Closing 31 October 2021 1 Jan 2022 - 31 March 2022
2022 Round 2 International and Domestic Closing 15 April 2022 Up to 31 August 2022

Additional Support

Enrolled ANU School of Engineering Postgraduate Research students automatically receive generous financial support from the School for professional development activities (such as travel to conferences to present their work, and a PC/laptop for their work). There are also additional ANU funding sources for enrolled students, including:

Contact

A dedicated team of academic and professional staff are available within the College to provide support for all our Postgraduate Research students. The College Postgraduate Research Services team is the best first point of contact. If they can’t help you directly, they will forward your query to the appropriate staff member or team.

You are on Aboriginal land.

The Australian National University acknowledges, celebrates and pays our respects to the Ngunnawal and Ngambri people of the Canberra region and to all First Nations Australians on whose traditional lands we meet and work, and whose cultures are among the oldest continuing cultures in human history.

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