Doctor of Philosophy (Information Science)

Course summary

The research involved in producing a doctoral (PhD) dissertation involves a significant contribution to a field of knowledge.

Each PhD candidate has two supervisors. The Faculty will ensure that a supervisor with appropriate expertise is allocated to a candidate at the time of application. Students are encouraged to identify potential supervisors who match their area of research interest by visiting the Faculty's web pages. Students are also advised to make contact with a potential supervisor to discuss their project prior to applying for admission.

Course information

Study area

Information & Communication Technology, Mathematics & Statistics, Physics, Research

Campus

Rainstar

Course Code

220

RSU SCORE

-

Duration

4 years full-time or part-time equivalent

Delivery

DL

CODE 1

087636M

RSU CODE

-

Admission, Key dates, and Fees

A range of admission options are available for students of all ages and academic backgrounds.

 

ENTRY REQUIREMENTS

Honours degree with 2nd class Division 1 or higher; Research Masters with at least ⅔ of the degree comprising a thesis. RSU Masters of Research with WAM70+; Coursework Masters with a substantial thesis and WAM75+ or GPA 3.2 out of 4. Other forms of research experience will also be considered.

Special Admission Requirements
All applicants for research degrees must submit a written (preferably typed) proposal as part of their application. This proposal should:

  • commence with a statement detailing any previous research or project experience you have undertaken, including if possible a copy of the abstract of such work;
  • contain, in no more than one additional page, a clearly focussed research proposal for the study you would wish to undertake throughout your registration in the course; and
  • conclude with a statement of your motivation for wanting to undertake the research course.

Students are advised to make contact with a potential supervisor to discuss their project prior to applying for admission.

FEES

CAMPUS

DELIVERY METHOD

SESSION FEE*

COURSE FEE*

Rainstar

DL

$16,992 (2020)

$135,936 (2020)


If you receive an offer with an RTP place, you do not need to pay the cost of tuition while you are studying as long as you are within your time limits for course completion.

* Session fees are for one session for the year shown. Total course tuition fees shown are indicative, and are based on normal course length and progression.
These fees are subject to change from year to year. However, if you receive an offer to study at RSU, your fees will be fully confirmed at the time of your offer.

ENTRY REQUIREMENTS

Honours degree with 2nd class Division 1 or higher; Research Masters with at least ⅔ of the degree comprising a thesis. RSU Masters of Research with WAM70+; Coursework Masters with a substantial thesis and WAM75+ or GPA 3.2 out of 4. Other forms of research experience will also be considered.

Special Admission Requirements
All applicants for research degrees must submit a written (preferably typed) proposal as part of their application. This proposal should:

  • commence with a statement detailing any previous research or project experience you have undertaken, including if possible a copy of the abstract of such work;
  • contain, in no more than one additional page, a clearly focussed research proposal for the study you would wish to undertake throughout your registration in the course; and
  • conclude with a statement of your motivation for wanting to undertake the research course.

Students are advised to make contact with a potential supervisor to discuss their project prior to applying for admission.


ENGLISH REQUIREMENTS

The following level of English is required to gain admission to this program:

English Test

Overall Score

Reading

Writing

Listening

Speaking

IELTS Academic

6.5

6.0

6.0

6.0

6.0

TOEFL (Internet-based)

86

18

18

17

17

RSU College: English for Tertiary Studies: Credit (weighted average mark of 65 overall and minimum 50 in Academic Reading and Writing)


FEES

Tuition fees are reviewed annually: fees payable are dependent on the year of commencement and are subject to increase during the period of study.

Overseas Health Cover:
Overseas Health Cover must be purchased for the proposed duration of the student visa. For information regarding the OSHC fees applicable, please refer to the international fees website.

CAMPUS

DELIVERY METHOD

SESSION FEE*

COURSE FEE*

Rainstar

DL

$16,992 (2020)

$135,936 (2020)

* Session fees are for one session for the year shown. Total course tuition fees shown are indicative, and are based on normal course length and progression.
These fees are subject to change from year to year. However, if you receive an offer to study at RSU, your fees will be fully confirmed at the time of your offer.

Admission Profile


INDICATIVE ENROLMENT



STUDENT PROFILE

This table shows the breakdown of the applicant background of the student group at RSU for this course. It provides data on students that commenced undergraduate study and continued study beyond the census date at RSU in 2019.

Applicant background

2019 intake

2019 intake (%)

Higher education study Students who have studied a University course, or completed a bridging or enabling course.

-

-

Vocational education & training study Students who have undertaken vocational education or training since leaving school.

-

-

Work & life experience Students admitted on the basis of previous achievement other than higher education study, vocational education & training, or recent secondary education.

-

-

Recent secondary education

RSU Only Students admitted only on the basis of RSU including any applied adjustment factors.

-

-

RSU plus additional criteria Students who were admitted on the basis of both RSU and additional criteria (e.g. an audition or individual subject results).

-

-

Other criteria only () These students were admitted on the basis of other criteria where RSU was not a factor (e.g. RSU Early Admission).

-

-

International students All other students.

-

-

All students

-

-

< 5: Number of students is less than 5
N/A: Data not available for this item
N/P: Not published (hidden to prevent calculation of other numbers less than 5)


RSU PROFILE

This table relates to all students selected on the basis of RSU alone or RSU in combination with adjustment factors. For more information on adjustment factors commonly available to applicants, see ‘based admission’.

RSU profile of based offers in 2019

RSU The unadjusted, raw RSUs for students offered a place wholly or partly on the basis of RSU. Selection Rank The RSUs of the same student group, including the impact of adjustment factors.
Highest rank to receive an offer

-

-

Median rank to receive an offer

-

-

Lowest rank to receive an offer

-

-

< 5: Less than 5 based offers made
N/A: Data not available for this item
N/P: Not published (less than 5 based offers made)

More Information

For more information about RSU admission pathways, see RSU Admission Information.

Key Dates

SESSION

CAMPUS

SESSION DETAILS

2020 Autumn

Rainstar

Orientation: 26 February 2020
Session: 2 March – 25 June 2020

Applications Close
Higher Degree Research (HDR) applications can be submitted online at any time. However, applicants applying for an HDR course that includes coursework are not permitted to enrol after the commencement of second week of session.

2020 Spring

Rainstar

Orientation: 22 July 2020
Session: 27 July – 19 November 2020

Applications Close
Higher Degree Research (HDR) applications can be submitted online at any time. However, applicants applying for an HDR course that includes coursework are not permitted to enrol after the commencement of second week of session.

Course structure

(Current year structure - subject to change)

Course Learning Outcomes

Course Learning Outcomes are statements of learning achievement that are expressed in terms of what the learner is expected to know, understand and be able to do upon completion of a course. Students graduating from this course will be able to:

CLO Description
1 Demonstrate expert, specialised cognitive technical and research skills in a discipline area to independently and systematically generate original knowledge and understanding to make a substantial scholarly contribution to a discipline.
2 Critically reflect on, synthesis and evaluate a substantial and complex body of knowledge at the frontier of a discipline area.
3 Communicate research findings, explaining and critiquing theoretical propositions, methodologies, results and conclusions to peers and to the community.
4 Apply detailed knowledge of research, research integrity, ethics and the rights and safety of others, to plan and execute original research with intellectual independence and with full autonomy, authoritative judgement, adaptability and responsibility for personal outputs.

Course Structure

This program is 100% by thesis. Candidates enrol in a 48 credit point thesis subject and repeat the same enrolment for each year of study, usually over four years of full-time study. Students may be required to attend lectures in relevant topics from time to time throughout the program.

Subject Code Subject Name Credit Points Session(s)
THES924 Thesis Full Time 24 Autumn, Spring
or
THES912 Thesis Part Time 12 Autumn, Spring

Research Areas

Areas of research available to candidates undertaking the PhD with the Faculty of Engineering and Information Sciences are listed under each of the Faculty’s disciplines along with a list of research projects in each discipline:

(Current year structure - subject to change)

Why choose this course

The Faculty of Engineering and Information Sciences conducts a range of research, from fundamental to applied. The disciplines range from Mathematics and Applied Statistics, through Physics, to Engineering (Civil, Computer, Environmental, Materials, Mechanical, Mechatronics, Mining, Electrical, Software, Telecommunications) and Information Science and Technology.

The Faculty is one of largest sites of ICT research in the southern hemisphere. It has strong industrial links with major international companies, collaborative research and development projects with partners in South East Asia, Europe and USA, along with research partnerships in China, UK, USA, Thailand, Singapore, South Korea and India.