PhD and MPhil candidates may commence their candidature on any day during the year. However, candidates who commence between 1 December and 31 May are enrolled for the whole of Semester 1; candidates who commence between 1 June and 30 November are enrolled for the whole of Semester 2. Domestic candidates who start outside these periods are not counted as student load when the University reports to the Federal government, which means the school does not receive Federal funding to support that semester of research.

Candidates are automatically enrolled in Semester 1 and Semester 2 every year unless they interrupt or withdraw from candidature. It is their responsibility to check each semester that their enrolment and personal details are correct on mySI-net and to pay any student fees or charges. Candidates who submit their thesis for assessment remain enrolled, but are not charged any fees while the assessment is in process.

mySI-net enrolment clarifications

As a research higher degree candidate, parts of your student enrolment process on mySI-net do not follow the instructions set out in the Enrolment Guide. The major points of divergence are are follows. 

1. You are enrolled by the Research Higher Degrees Unit, and cannot enrol in courses using mySI-net. When you log into mySI-net, you may already be enrolled in a course code beginning with RSCH. Please contact the Research Higher Degrees Unit if you are not enrolled in an RSCH course, or if the RSCH course is inaccurate.
2. You cannot alter your study load using mySI-net. If you wish to change your attendance from full-time to part-time or from part-time to full-time, please complete the Change of Candidature Status form, have it endorsed by your principal advisor and school postgraduate coordinator, and send the form to the Research Higher Degrees Unit.
3. You cannot enrol in additional courses using mySI-net. If you wish to enrol in an additional course, please complete the Enrolment in Additional Courses form, have it endorsed by your principal advisor, school postgraduate coordinator, and (if necessary) by the course coordinator and the postgraduate coordinator of the school offering the course, and send the form to the Research Higher Degrees Unit.

If you have queries about your enrolment, please review the information available elsewhere on our website, and contact the Research Higher Degrees Unit if you cannot find answers to your questions.