r/AusAcademia

i need to pick between compsci/chemical eng at a Go8(Monash) in the ideal city vs ece at a Go8(ANU) in a less than idea city vs mechanical/mechatronics/ece/eee at non Go8 (Deakin) decent uni, decent city

i personally want to do ece, hence why; im also fine with mechanical/mechatronics/eee but i'm not particularly motivated about compsci; i would even consider chemical but idk

note: international student

I don’t see this discussed often here, can anyone share their experiences pursuing a PhD with a background in OT/SW/SP/Physio?

What I’m interested to hear about:
- Your prior research experience, if any.
- Your stats and if you were successful in obtaining an RTP scholarship
- Did you apply for other scholarships e.g NHMRC?

My situation, I would appreciate any feedback:
- No clinical research experience through the workplace, nil opportunities to do so as I’m self employed in private practice.
- BSc Occupational Therapy with Upper 2nd honours from a low ranked uni, CWA of 79%
- Grad Cert Mental Health from a different low ranked uni with CWA of 84%
- Currently completing my first semester Master of Brain and Mind Science and averaging somewhere around 85-90% so far. If all goes well (maintain an average above 70%) will likely complete a substantial research project. Group of 8 uni.
- Domestic student

I have a specific interest in UniMelb or Monash due to their trans and women’s health research supervisors respectively. Any insight would be appreciated, thank you.

Hi all,

A slightly unusual situation: I recently gave a job talk and attended a panel interview with an Australian university, and I have now been invited for a campus visit.

The tricky part is that I am currently teaching at an overseas university, so travelling would require some coordination. I also wasn’t aware that campus visits are common in Australia, particularly where candidates are flown in so this has taken me a bit by surprise. Even though I finished my PhD in Australia!

I would be grateful to hear from anyone who has had a similar experience. What does a campus visit typically involve in the Australian context? My understanding is that in the US this usually includes a research presentation, meetings with faculty, and perhaps a dinner or informal interactions with staff but I am unsure how closely Australia follows this model.

Any insights would be much appreciated.

Hi everyone, looking forward to your comments on my GF profile for PhD in Australia as an international student.

ACADEMIC BACKGROUND: PLANT SCIENCE

Bachelor's GPA 7.41/10

Then 13 months of research experience as a research assistant in a good lab.

Masters with thesis 9.01/10.

3-4 scholarships awards

3 papers published as co authors

One first author article submitted only.

Very strong Letter of recommendations.

Thank you so much, looking forward for your comments.

Hello all,

I am currently a Macquarie University student studying a double degree in Electronics Engineering and Applied Physics. I am interested in applying for a master’s program at Imperial College London after I graduate, but I had a question regarding academic transcripts and previous study.

Before starting my current degree, I was enrolled in another degree program where my academic performance was not as strong. In my current degree, however, I am performing very well. I wanted to ask whether my previous degree would appear on my transcript or be considered when applying for postgraduate study. If so, would it negatively affect my application, even if my current academic performance is strong?

Additionally, if I were to transfer to another university and complete my degree there, would my previous academic record still appear on the transcript for my new degree, or would only the units completed at the new university be shown?

Thank you for your time and assistance.

Hello everyone, I need some honest advice 🙏

I am finishing my Doctor of Medicine (MD) degree (6-year program from Central Asia) soon. GPA is currently 75-78%. Around 3–4 years of professional research experience in Medical AI— atm 14-16 publications (8 in total as first-author), mix with mostly Q1-Q4 (5-Q1 with 2 of them as first-author), h-index of 5, >50 citations, International media outlets have recognised my contributions to medical AI research, and I’ve received multiple awards and recognition in the field.

PTE: 87 overall. No Honours or Masters.

Passport level risk: Level 2 (for anonymous purposes)

I’ve applied for a PhD at University of Canberra — 2 supervisors confirmed (1 main + 1 co), project is on deep learning for breast cancer diagnostics. Applied for all 3 scholarships available this intake: RTP, UC internal, and W J Weeden.

What are my realistic chances at admission and any one of the scholarships? And are there other mid-tier AUS unis worth applying to in parallel given no Masters/Honours?

I am concerned as I originally don’t hold a masters or honors, although my supervisors say that my experience is enough to meet eligibility, I am still doubtful as there have been no online documentation on a case like mine.

Any honest input appreciated with someone who knows about this. No trolls will also be appreciated. 🙏

Hii everyone, can anyone please let me know about the real chances for a fully funded PhD at Australian university as a international student?

My study background is agriculture (agronomy/soil science) STEM

Bachelor's GPA 7.19/10, then 9 months of research experience as research assistant in a university lab, then did my masters thesis based with 7.69/10 and after completion of masters working as a research fellow at good lab since 7 months.

Publication: two first author publication, one in frontiers in agronomy (Impact factor 4.1) considered Q1, another in frontiers in sustainable food systems (impact factor 3.1) considered Q2 in my field.

Another first author review paper in springer, currently under second phase of revision, expecting to be published soon.

Thank you so much for your time.

I'm nearing the end of my PhD but at the moment and will be submitting shortly, however, the problem is that my viva won't be scheduled until 9 months post submission, so I've got quite a long wait ahead of me.

I would like to do a postdoc, but I am assuming I would have to have passed my viva before being eligible to take up a job. I wonder if Australian universities are flexible on this? In my college, due to the delays in vivas, you may apply for a funded postdoc on a research assistant salary/contract until you successfully pass the viva, then you are moved into a postdoc contract. How common is this in Australia?

I also thought of applying to a full time research assistant job to pay the bills, likely one of the fixed term contracts advertised, then apply for a postdoc after the viva. My question is, is this looked down upon or makes the transition more difficult?? At my college, if you've been in a non-academic role (assistants are technical staff) post PhD for a while, they no longer take you seriously for postdocs. They prefer you stay in your PhD lab working as a casual.

I've seen some research assistant contracts at Melbourne university for example, where the research assistant salary range in the ad covered both the research assistant band and the postdoc band. Does that mean the job may be transferred to a postdoc contract once eligible?

I'm very interested to hear from those who have experience making this 'same role transition' or know of anyone making this transition. How common is this? Are PIs open to me suggesting this in interviews?

Despite the song and dance Labor made about not vetoing ARC grants that had made it through the review process, today they announced that 13 grants across 4 schemes had been refused funding under super vague ‘National security’ guidelines.

Clare made comments recently on expecting the ARC to look at ‘social cohesion’ issues when deciding on funding also. The fact that we can’t know what these grants were rejected for (actual security risks or some subjective notion of social risk?) is just going to further undermine the already trashed national research landscape. Is there any point in applying for these things anymore? How can this level of secrecy be justified?

Planning to apply for a fully funded MPhil in pharmaceutical sciences at Monash or UQ for March 2027. I keep reading that the RTP scholarship covers full tuition plus AUD 36,400 stipend per year for international students.
But how competitive is it in practice? A few specific questions:
Is it mostly awarded to domestic students or do international students genuinely get it regularly?
Is AUD 36,400 per year actually enough to live on in Melbourne or Brisbane as a single person with a spouse on a secondary visa?
Is it harder to get RTP funding for an MPhil compared to a PhD? Do supervisors prefer taking PhD students over MPhil because of longer research output?
Anyone who has gone through this process please share your experience. Thanks.

I have a BSc in Biochemistry, and I did Honours in my final year (4 years total) which includes an independent research project, A written thesis and an oral defence. This was all done while taking 3 final year advanced courses per semester that are related to the project I am doing.

Other research training before I started honours I did a summer research internship, and I volunteered in the same lab I did my honours in for a year.

I have been told by supervisors that I am competitive for the scholarships and all. But I am worried that the schools may not accept my background and research training.

Lots of the schools I'm applying to mention on their website "A 4-year undergraduate degree in a relevant discipline, including a substantial research component equivalent to at least 25% of 1 year of full-time study."

I believe that my degree satisfies that 25% of 1 year full time study, as my honours thesis course is considered a course in each semester, on top of taking 3 other classes.

Anyone has any insights to this? Thank you!

I am a PharmD graduate from India planning to apply for an MPhil by research at Australian universities for March 2027. I have been emailing professors directly but wanted to understand the process better before I proceed.
Do you always need a supervisor to confirm before submitting a formal application or can you apply first and get matched later?
Also my IELTS is 7.0 overall but my Reading band is 6.0. Most programs say 6.5 minimum in each band. Has anyone been in this situation? Did the university ask for a retake or make an exception?
Any advice appreciated.

I've been sitting with this thought for a while and figured this community would have some real opinions on it.

We've seen AI systems now capable of solving olympiad-level problems, assisting in formal proofs, and even making conjectures. AlphaProof, FunSearch, the stuff coming out of DeepMind — it's moving fast.

But here's what I keep wondering: is this a tool, or is it eventually a replacement for mathematical intuition itself?

Like, a lot of us got into math because of the feel of it — that moment when an elegant proof clicks, when you see a pattern nobody told you to look for. Can AI replicate that? Does it even need to, or does it just need to outperform us on outcomes?

A few things I'd genuinely like to hear thoughts on:

Do you think AI will make pure math research more accessible, or will it concentrate power among those with compute resources?

Is there a risk that math education becomes hollow if students can just offload problem-solving to AI?

Are there areas of mathematics you think will remain fundamentally human for a long time?

Hi, I’m a Year 12 student graduating this year, and I’m interested in pursuing sociology/social sciences as a future career path. A lot of this interest comes from studying Society and Culture, which has easily become my favourite subject. I’m currently top of my grade and consistently receiving around 95–100% in exams and assignments since I took this subject at the beginning of my senior year, so naturally it’s made me want to explore this field further.

I’ve been looking into either majoring in sociology through a Bachelor of Arts or studying social sciences as a standalone degree, and both seem genuinely fascinating to me. My main issue is that I have no clear idea of what kinds of careers these degrees actually lead into. From the research I’ve done, the pathways seem extremely broad, which gives some scope as I have no idea what I want to do in the future, but also super overwhelming since I have also seen many comments about how a sociology major is majorly regretted. 

I used to want to be a psychologist when I was younger (honestly, didn’t everyone at some point lol), but over time I realised I’m not sure I’d want the emotional weight and responsibility of carrying people’s wellbeing and major life decisions on my shoulders every day, etc. I also considered criminology, but I’m not fully convinced I’d actually enjoy many of the careers it seems to lead into.

Psychological sciences have also peaked my interest, but again, where can this take me? I think a pattern I've also picked up is that I am incredibly interested in learning why people make decisions, do certain things, etc, I genuinely enjoy analysing human behaviour and social dynamics, but I just don’t know what kind of career that actually could get me into. Early entry for universities and uni preferences are getting quite demanding and I would be lying if I said I haven't been stressed about this. 

So I guess in summary, I've been so stuck on what I want to do as a career, and I finally feel like I’ve found the only field that genuinely motivates and interests me, but I’m worried about making the “wrong” choice and ending up with limited job prospects. I know passion shouldn’t be ignored, but at the same time I want to be realistic about employability and financial stability in the future.

I’m just looking for honest advice from people who studied sociology/social sciences after high school regarding careers or more, honestly any advice would honestly help a lot, thanks.

Hi All, we as a family hold an Australian PR without any restrictions but currently not living there. My son is looking to get admission in an Australian University for graduation and is interested to pursue Biotechnology. I need help and suggestions for the following:

1. Which are the best universities for pursuing Biotechnology course?

2. What kind of career opportunities are currently and in next 4-5 years available in Australia. Is this field a growing field and has good future? What kind of jobs can be done after doing graduation and post graduation in Biotechnology in the country?

3. If not Biotechnology which are the other areas in which there is and there will be demand in future. He has Physics, Biology and Chemistry as main subjects in high school and Environmental Sciences as an elective subject. Does not want to pursue medical degree.

Any insights, help and suggestions on above will be helpful. Thank you.

hi everyone,

I’m currently a master’s student in Europe, and I’m seriously considering Australia for a future PhD in geography/urban studies. I’m a non-Australian citizen and was hoping to learn more about how funding typically works for international PhD students there.

I know about the Australian Government RTP scholarship, but I was wondering:

• Is RTP basically the main pathway for fully funded PhDs (tuition + stipend) for international students?
• Or are there other major funding schemes, university scholarships, or supervisor-funded positions that international students commonly receive?

I know PhDs can be very demanding, so I would only pursue one if it were fully funded.

I would really appreciate hearing from current PhD students, international students, or anyone familiar with the Australian HDR system!!!!

thanks a lot!!!!!!

Hi all,

A little background about me: I graduated from a Canadian university with honours in biochemistry. My research background includes a summer research internship, a whole year of volunteering in a research lab, as well as an honours year (volunteer and honours in the same lab). I couldn't find a research job in canada after graduating so I ended up working in healthcare just to pay the bills, but it also made me realise I really love research (and also extremely miss being in the lab), thus I am applying for PhD. I have applied to 3 schools last year (non aus schools) and was rejected by all of them...

I converted WAM from my grades is an 82 which I understand is low which reduces my chance for the RTP. I have upcoming 3rd author conference poster as well as publication in the works from my honours which probably would not help that much as well based of my research online.

I am currently in talks with several professors (all go8 unis which unfortunately means that it is super competitive. I am mainly applying because of fit for research, also because they are the only supervisors that replied to my emails). Two of the potential supervisors knew my honours supervisors work and are acquainted with them. All potential supervisors are also hoping to bring my previous expertise into their lab. They have also told me that my profile is competitive but I am still having doubts.

I understand securing RTP would be an extremely competitive process, I wouldn't want to self fund a PhD as research is extremely time consuming and stressful. However, I would really love to pursue a PhD in either one of the potential lab as the work they do are similar with my background. Still looking for non go8 uni supervisors that may be a good fit for me to increase my chances, but, any input/advice would be greatly appreciated!

Many thanks!

Greetings everyone,

I’m currently trying to decide between two PhD offers in Australia — the University of New England and the University of Canberra — and I’d really appreciate some honest insights from people who have studied at either (or both) universities.

A few things I’m hoping to learn more about:

1. Which university offers a better overall PhD/student experience based on personal experience rather than online reviews?

2. Which one has stronger leadership, student support, and opportunities for research students?

3. Between Armidale and Canberra, which environment do you think is more suitable for focused PhD research and day-to-day living?

4. Any other advice, experiences, or things you think I should consider before making the decision would be greatly appreciated.

Thank you in advance.