Higher Degree by Research

Why choose a Higher Degree by Research?

The School is actively involved in research and scholarship of international significance. Our staff and students publish in leading national and international journals and with major scholarly presses. They are regularly successful in winning large external grants and fellowships.

As a Higher Degree by Research student in the School, you will attempt to further the frontiers of knowledge in your particular field of research. The degree also opens up exciting new career opportunities. The School maintains a strong research profile with a number of affiliated research centres, as well as close links with Faculty research activities. Students are regularly involved in the organisation of conferences, seminars and workshops.

View the School's current HDR projects

What programs are on offer?

How to apply

Becoming a Higher Degree by Research (HDR) student in the School of Historical and Philosophical Inquiry (HPI) requires you to meet UQ’s entry requirements for the MPhil or PhD program and also gain the School’s support.

The School supports applications from candidates who clearly demonstrate the ability to complete high-quality HDR theses, and whose proposed research aligns with the School’s expertise and capacity to supervise.

Gaining the support of the School of Historical and Philosophical Inquiry is a multi-step process, At various stages your application may be reviewed and considered by your nominated advisory team, the HPI Director of Research Training, the School’s scholarship ranking committee, the HASS Faculty Associate Dean (Research), the Faculty’s scholarship ranking committee, the Graduate Research School’s team of Admissions specialists, and the Dean of the Graduate Research School.

If you wish to be considered for UQ merit-based scholarships, we recommend that you start the application process early and apply online as close to the start of the round as possible. This will allow the School sufficient time to review your application. If your application is unable to be completed and processed by the deadlines, you will have to apply again in a future scholarship round or for a later commencing research quarter.

We encourage you to contact the Graduate Research School’s Admissions Team at graduateschool@uq.edu.au  for guidance with the application process or questions about HDR scholarships or enrolling. Other queries related to HDR study can be directed to the School’s Graduate Research Coordinator at hdr.hapi@enquire.uq.edu.au.

Step 1: Find a Potential Advisory Team

The first step is to identify a researcher or researchers within the School of Historical and Philosophical Inquiry with relevant expertise and obtain their preliminary agreement to support your project.

You can browse the profiles of researchers in each of the School’s disciplines:

History, Philosophy, Religious Studies, and Classics and Ancient History. You can also search for researchers and potential advisors by keyword related to your area of research interest on the UQ Experts database. Refine your search to academic staff that have strong overlapping interests and experience with your proposed field of research.

Please contact potential advisors directly to initiate a conversation about research topics and student-advisor match. Advisors may ask you to provide them with some of the materials and documents for the steps below to help them understand your background and your project. You will still be required to upload these documents to your online application as you progress through each step of the application process.

An HDR advisory team must consist of a Principal Advisor and at least one Associate Advisor. A project may have more than one Associate Advisor. If you identify a potential Principal Advisor, they may be able to guide you in putting a whole team together. If you find a Principal Advisor that suits your intended project outside of the School of Historical and Philosophical Inquiry, then you should consult the HDR application procedures of the School or Institute of that researcher and submit your nomination to that enrolling unit instead.

Step 2: Online Application with Expression of Interest (EOI)

The next step is to submit an online EOI via Studylink.

The online application will ask you to upload your academic CV, official transcripts of all previous degrees, award certificates of all previous degrees, evidence of English Language Proficiency (if required), and contact details of your referees.

Please ensure that you upload a detailed research proposal (minimum 1500 words + bibliography) to your application during this stage. Your proposal must cover the following points:

• Research question: What is the major problem or issue that your thesis will attempt to solve? What major question will it try to answer? What hypothesis will it test? In essence, what will your thesis be about?
• Significance/Innovation: Why will your thesis be significant? What makes it important, original, or innovative?
• Relevant scholarship: What does current scholarship say about your major question? How does your thesis relate to what has already been written on your topic? What will make it important or original? In essence, why will it matter?
• Method and evidence: What methods will you use to conduct your research? Will you use particular theories and/or schools of thought? What evidence or texts will you be using? In essence, how will you do your thesis?
• Preliminary bibliography: This needs to include relevant items and to demonstrate some familiarity with the major scholarly works in your proposed area of research.

The Studylink system will then direct your EOI to your nominated Principal Advisor for review. At this stage your advisor may support your EOI, send it back to you for further information, or choose to decline it. If supported, you will then be directed to finalise your full application via Studylink.

Step 3: Complete your application

If your application has been approved by your Principal Advisor you will be prompted to complete your application via Studylink. This will involve providing some final information, including details of your full advisory team and research project codes (ASCED and FOR). Please consult with your nominated Principal Advisor to confirm these details.

Application Review

Following the completion of your application via Studylink, it will be reviewed by your prospective supervisors and the School’s Director of Research Training. If you are applying for a UQ scholarship, your application will be considered at the same time. If the School supports your application, it will then move on to the Graduate Research School’s Admissions Team for assessment. Please note that it can take up to 12 weeks from the application closing date to receive the outcome of your final application. If you are applying in a scholarship round, please refer to the outcome dates listed.

Who to Contact?

More information about entry requirements for HDR admission and HDR scholarships can be found on the UQ research degrees page.

• For questions of an academic nature contact your discipline’s HDR Coordinator (Classics, History, Religion, and Philosophy).
• For questions about your application please contact the Graduate Research School’s Admissions Team at graduateschool@uq.edu.au.
• For all other questions related to HDR study please contact the School’s Graduate Research Coordinator at hdr.hapi@enquire.uq.edu.au.