Future Students

Interested in completing a PhD or Master of Research in one of the Faculty of Medicine, Dentistry and Health Sciences’ Schools or Medical Research Institutes? Review the application process for a graduate research degree and, what to do if you receive an offer of admission and scholarship.

Future Students

Check your eligibility

Things to consider before submitting an application:

Entry requirements

You must meet the minimum academic entry requirements for your intended course. Check the Study webpage to learn what these are (search for the course you intent to apply for).

Scholarship eligibility

You must meet the minimum course entry requirements to be eligible for scholarship selection.

Note: Selection for Graduate Research Scholarships is a competitive process and scholarships are awarded based on academic merit.

Find a supervisor

Before you can submit an application, you need to obtain the support of a potential supervisor.

To find a supervisor and project, search the “Find an Expert for Research Supervision” database.

  • Research Degree Opportunity: Search for projects on offer in your area of interest and submit an expression of interest.
  • Researchers: Search your research topics of interest to find and then contact prospective supervisors

You may also find information about projects and research themes through our School and Research Institute websites listed below

When contacting a potential supervisor, you should include:

  • Your research area of interest
  • Academic transcripts
  • Brief CV including publications or publication information.

Application and Scholarship Deadlines

Applications for Graduate Research may be lodged at any time throughout the calendar year.

You will need to submit a course application by the relevant closing dates to be considered for Graduate Research Scholarships and Faculty based scholarships available to you.

Only complete applications that are submitted by the due dates below will be assessed for candidature and scholarships in that round.

Please note that your application can only be considered for scholarships once your previous degree is complete and final results available.  If your final results are not provided at least two weeks before the outcome date listed, your application will be considered in a following round.

Ensure you submit a course application by the relevant due dates below to be considered for scholarships. Most scholarships will be awarded in the first 2 rounds.

Additional rounds may be advertised for specific scholarships (e.g. MDHS Graduate Research Trust Scholarships).

If you are successful in obtaining a scholarship, you must commence your scholarship by 31 October of the academic year you have been made an offer for, or your scholarship offer may be rescinded.

Important Note: Applicants interested in applying for NHMRC Postgraduate Scholarships should note the NHMRC eligibility criteria that states you cannot be in receipt of a government scholarship at the time of application and consider these timelines in relation to your application for a graduate research scholarship (which are RTP government scholarships for domestic students).

Round

Applications for 2026 that are complete and received by this date

Applicants should be notified of the outcome by this date

Round 1

31 October 2025

19 December 2025

Round 2

31 January 2026

27 March 2026

Round 3

15 May 2026

17 July 2026

The Faculty reserves the right to alter timelines and dates subject to requirements. Check this website for any changes prior to submission of your application.

Deferred or currently enrolled graduate researchers

If you have accepted a graduate research course offer and deferred commencement to the following academic year, or you are a currently enrolled graduate researcher wishing to re-apply for scholarships, you must re-apply for scholarships by the deadline of 31 October to be considered for  scholarships in the following year. Re-applications are only considered if submitted by the Round 1 deadline. The link to the online application form can be found here.

CONTACT INFORMATION

For further information please contact: mdhs-gr-admissions@unimelb.edu.au

Collate required documents

Ensure you have following documentation ready before you submit your application:

  • A current CV outlining education background, prior professional and research experience and publications relevant to your proposed research project.
  • Scanned copy (in colour), of the original document of all higher education transcripts, completion statement (official translation, if applicable) and grading schemes.
  • A copy of the email(s) showing your nominated supervisor has agreed to support your application
  • Research proposal up to 100 words
  • Contact details of two academic referees. If you have prior professional and/or research experience, please provide employer referee/s for each position held. Your referees will be required to provide information about your academic ability and judgement of your research potential.

Graduate Research Training Policy

Selection and Admission Policy

Submit an online application

To avoid delays in the assessment of your application, please ensure you follow the online application instructions carefully and upload all the required documents. Once you have submitted your application, you will receive an automated email confirming that your application has been received. You will receive a notification if your application is incomplete.

Assessment of your application will only commence once you have provided all required documents.

Submit your online application below

Graduate Research Applications

Please refer to the scholarship application round dates to understand when to expect to receive an application outcome. You will be notified of the outcome via email. If you are offered a place at the University of Melbourne, your letter of offer will explain the enrolment process.

Accepting your offer and enrolling

If your application is successful, you will receive both an offer letter for the course admission and, if you are receiving a Graduate Research Scholarship or other University of Melbourne funding, a separate offer letter for this.

To accept your course and scholarship offers, follow the instructions in each letter.

The course offer letter will contain instructions on enrolling into your course. If you receive a conditional offer for a course, you must satisfy the offer conditions before you can enrol.

You must complete your enrolment and a local induction before you can commence your research. All academic units (department, school, institute or centre) run local inductions and graduate researchers are required to attend a local induction. Please liaise with your supervisor about your proposed start date and induction.

All graduate researchers are expected to attend a University Orientation in their first year of enrolment. Please refer to the Graduate Research Hub for registration dates.

Contact Us

Deferring your offer

Deferring your offer:

The Associate Dean Graduate Research and the Faculty Graduate Research Committee have recently updated the Faculty policy around deferrals. The new policy is as outlined below:

  • Graduate research applicants may apply to defer their commencement in their course prior to enrolment for a period of up to 12 months.
  • Graduate research applicants with exceptional extenuating circumstances may be able to defer for a further 12 months (24 months in total).
  • Deferral is not automatically granted and is considered by the dean or nominee.
  • Graduate research applicants who have been offered a graduate research scholarship cannot apply to defer their scholarship to the following calendar year. If their course deferral has been approved to the following calendar year, they will be re-considered for a graduate research scholarship for that year.

If you wish to defer your course offer, please see the instructions in your offer letter.