INFO FOR PROSPECTIVE STUDENTS

ON THIS PAGE

Before you apply
How to apply
Scholarships, costs, and fees
Commencement dates
Contact info

BEFORE YOU APPLY

It is important that you first make sure that you have the support of a prospective supervisor and a back-up supervisor before you lodge your application. You can start by viewing the research profiles of all ANU academic staff (including those from CAP). You can type in key words in the ‘search box’ to find staff with experience in your area of study.

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You will need to make contact yourself with individual ANU academic staff members to find a proposed supervisor and back-up supervisor. Two confirmed supervisors are required. School Administrators do not do this for you.

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You should email an expression of interest to the supervisors you have identified with a 7-8 page description of your proposed area of research and a summary of your academic qualifications. Your proposal should outline, for example, the relevance of your research, your research question, brief review of literature and possible method of research.

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At this early stage, prospective supervisors want to get a good overview of your interests, abilities, and experience, and so you should email them with an expression of interest with a 7-8 page description of your proposed area of research and a summary of your academic qualifications. Your proposal should outline, for example, the relevance of your research, your research question(s), a brief review of the literature, and possible method(s) of research. You should also send through at least the following:

• A CV, including academic and employment history, and referees

• A list of publications

• Examples of previous academic work (e.g., research essays, Honours thesis)

• Examples of previous professional work (e.g., briefing papers, reports)

• Anything that can give the potential supervisor a sense of the your capabilities

If a prospective supervisor decides that they want to supervise you, then you will receive an email from them saying so. From here, you should go through the ANU application procedures described below. Once Crawford has received your application, we will confirm with your nominated supervisors that they are still happy to supervise you; however, they may, at this stage, decide against taking you on.

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If a prospective supervisor decides that they don’t want to supervise you, they generally (but not always) write back to you, outlining their reasons. Often supervisors can’t take you on because your topic is not of interest or not in their area, or because they already have too many students on their books. If, however, the prospective supervisor thinks you still might be a good candidate for the doctorate, then they might suggest some other people (if they know anyone) or programs in other schools at the ANU for you to contact. If a supervisor thinks you would struggle in some way (for example, intellectually, or in handling the workload, or in meeting the English language requirements) then they might also gently mention this.

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If you are unsure about the academic program that your application should be made to, you can approach one of Crawford’s HDR (Higher Degree Research) Convenors to get an initial assessment of your academic suitability to undertake the PhD in the area and to determine whether or not you meet the minimum scholarly requirements for admission to the ANU.

HOW TO APPLY

Once you have received support by a supervisor in the School, and a back-up supervisor has been identified, you will need to make a formal application online for admission to the PhD program. You should also check out general application information, including info about ANU’s English language requirements and ANU scholarships. Documents required along with your application are:

• Academic credentials. Academic transcripts (along with grading scale), graduation certificates/testamur (if available), letter of completion (if available), and translated copies of these documents (if applicable).

• Referees’ reports. Three (3) referee reports (at least two must be academic references). Referee reports must be submitted directly from the referees themselves.

• Research proposal. Crawford School applicants’ research proposal must be 7-8 pages in length (if less your application will not proceed any further). Applicants may also seek guidance from the potential supervisor about expectations on length and content.
  Writing your proposal for the National Security College (NSC)
  Writing your proposal for policy and governance (POGO)
  Writing your proposal for resources, environment, and development (RE&D)

• Supervisor confirmation from two supervisors. Email correspondence from your proposed supervisor and a back-up supervisor, confirming that they will supervise you for the duration of your program. See above: you will need to make contact with ANU to find a proposed supervisor yourself. School Administrators will not do this for you.

• Curriculum Vitae. Full CV including study, publication, and work history. Do not include your gender, age, or marital status, as those things are irrelevant.

In line with global practices of top public policy schools, Crawford applications are assessed by the Crawford HDR Admissions Committee at meetings during the year. If applications are not received complete in time, the application will then be assessed at the next HDR Admissions committee meeting. Please see the Crawford PhD Programs page for application due dates.

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Please send all required documents to hdr.admissions@anu.edu.au.

SCHOLARSHIPS, COSTS, AND FEES

If you have applied for a scholarship, please be aware that scholarships are very highly competitive and the number of applications outweigh the number of scholarships available. Very few are offered from the College of Asia and the Pacific and/or the Crawford School each year; indeed, only one scholarship has been awarded in previous years, which covered tuition fees. There are no ANU Crawford scholarships currently available. Other scholarship opportunities, however, might be available, so view more about scholarships on the ANU website.

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Certain costs and fees are associated with the program administration.