Admission to a research higher degree is granted on the basis of an appropriate academic degree or appropriate relevant personal experience. It is very important that applicants have already received some research training before commencing a research higher degree, as this prior research training provides the basis of admission. The University expects that applicants will have completed at least one year of full-time equivalent postgraduate study that included a significant research component before applying for admission to a research higher degree.

General Award Rule 4.4.3 and 4.4.4 sets out the University's formal entry requirements for the MPhil and PhD programs respectively.

For the PhD, the standard appropriate basis of admission is a University of Queensland bachelor's degree with honours class IIA or better. The University accepts the following as equivalent to the standard basis of admission, subject to the Dean, UQ Graduate School's approval of the qualification as equivalent to a UQ bachelor's degree with honours class IIA or better:

• a bachelor's degree with honours class IIA or better from elsewhere
• a research master's degree
• a coursework master's degree with a grade equivalent to 5.0 on the 7-point UQ scale in a research component of at least 25% and an overall GPA (grade point average) equivalent to 5.0 on the 7-point UQ scale
• a bachelor's degree plus at least one year of full-time equivalent postgraduate study in a complete or incomplete degree that includes a significant research component
• a bachelor's degree plus at least two years of documented relevant research experience, including research publications

For the MPhil, the standard appropriate basis of admission is a University of Queensland bachelor's degree with honours class IIB or better. The University accepts the following as equivalent to the standard basis of admission, subject to the Dean, UQ Graduate School's approval of the qualification as equivalent to a UQ bachelor's degree with honours class IIB or better:

• a bachelor's degree with honours class IIB or better from elsewhere
• a bachelor's degree plus at least one year of full-time equivalent postgraduate study in a complete or incomplete degree that includes a significant research component
• a bachelor's degree plus at least two years of documented relevant experience

The standard required for the basis of admission in a particular school or discipline within a school may vary from these standards - see Specific Requirements for Admission by School for more information.