QUEX Joint PhD

Request a Confirmation of Enrolment

Exeter-based students will need to be issued with a Confirmation of Enrolment (COE) by UQ’s Graduate School before they can apply for an Australian student visa. 

To request a COE, Exeter-based students must follow the following process:

1. Student arranges their Overseas Student Health Cover (OSHC) through an approved OSHC provider
   • Exeter-based students are responsible for costs associated with OSHC, however, may be eligible to claim costs via their Exeter-funded Travel allowance.
2. Student emails OSHC certificate to UQ Graduate School (graduateschool@uq.edu.au), together with the details of their stay at UQ, i.e., arrival/departure date
3. Graduate School issues student with their COE for their visa application

Any requests to extend the existing COE must submitted via an Extend Studies And New CoE request online via my.UQ.

Apply for your student visa

As you are enrolled at UQ, you can access free migration and visa advice through the registered migration agent in UQ Union's Student Advocacy and Support (SAS).  Please visit the Department of Home Affairs for more information on visas.

Notify UQ of your travel

Once you have received your student visa and booked your travel to Australia, complete the Joint PhD candidate – Notification of location Checkbox survey, ensuring that you upload evidence of your flight booking/details.

Before you arrive, please reach out to the Higher Degree Research (HDR) Liaison Officer for your UQ School/Institute to let them know when you will be arriving at UQ. We recommend that you start your first visit with us within one month of the start of the Research Quarter.  You should register to attend the next available Graduate School HDR orientation session after you arrive. Please also review our Getting Started information to ensure you have completed any important steps to help you settle in to your PhD at UQ. 

Please read UQ’s Getting prepared to come to Australia webpage as this includes important information on arriving in Australia and much more.

Please remember to apply for a physical student ID card before you leave the UK.  Waiting times do apply, so please submit your request so that your card is ready to collect when you arrive on campus. 

General information and useful updates for international (and interstate) candidates arriving in Brisbane can be found on UQ’s International and Interstate Students webpage.   

If you’re arriving via the Brisbane Domestic or International Airports, there are several ways to travel from the airport, including:  

• Taxi
• Rideshare (Uber, Didi, Ola and Sheba)
• Airtrain 
• Con-x-ion shuttle bus. 

Check out the Brisbane Air Transport Options website for more.  Other useful resources include the Brisbane Airport International Arrival Guide and the Translink website (for public transport).

Candidates based at the Gatton campus

We suggest that you arrive and stay in Brisbane until the first weekday when we can book you a seat on the free St Lucia inter-campus shuttle bus to Gatton. Alternatively, if you arrive early on a weekday morning and can be at the St Lucia Campus by 7am, you can travel to Gatton on the shuttle on your day of arrival.  Please let us know your preference at least two weeks prior to arrival, so that we can help organise your trip to Gatton from the St Lucia Campus.

Accommodation

You can find information on both on-campus and off-campus accommodation options at UQ through UQ’s accommodation webpage. To assess the travel distance from campus you can use the Brisbane Translink website.

Updating your contact details

Please update your SI-net contact details with your Australian residential address and telephone number. It is a requirement for your student visa that you keep your contact details current with the university during your candidature.  You will be required to change these details back to your UK address when returning to the University of Exeter.

Opening an Australian bank account

Visit a local bank branch if you need a local bank account. Please note many banks offer accounts for international students with no withdrawal account fees.

There are numerous banks operating in Australia, with the four largest Australian banks being the Australian New Zealand (ANZ), Commonwealth Bank (CommBank), Westpac and National Australia Bank (NAB).

Pay your Student Services and Amenities Fee (SSAF)

UQ charges students the SSAF. This is a compulsory fee that the Australian Government requires universities to collect from students, to help provide student services, support and amenities for students. For QUEX students undertaking a research period at UQ, payment of SSAF will be required to remain actively enrolled. Please log into your SI-net account to arrange payment of your SSAF by the due date.

Things to do - Getting around - Public transport

Brisbane is full of exciting events and activities all year round. To find your way around the city on public transport, use the Translink Journey Planner. We recommend buying a ‘go card’, an electronic ticket that allows you to travel on all Brisbane public transport services. Since COVID, many of the services are cashless, meaning the go card is required.

Once you have arrived and updated your semester address in si-net, you may be eligible to apply for a student discount (concession) on public transport fares.  Please see here for more information.

UQ has four campuses:

• St Lucia - UQ's main campus, located in inner west Brisbane
• Herston - home to Medicine and Public Health schools, the Oral Health Centre, UQ Centre for Clinical Research, Child Health Research Centre, and Herston Imaging Research Facility, located in inner north Brisbane
• Dutton Park - Across the river from St Lucia and is the primary teaching and research location for UQ’s School of Pharmacy and home to the Queensland Alliance for Environmental Health Sciences (QAEHS) and the Cornwall Street Medical Centre (UQ Health Care)
• Gatton – primarily focused on Agriculture, Food Sustainability, Environment, and Veterinary Science, located 87 kilometres west of Brisbane

Here are some other helpful links for your time at UQ.

• Understand parking options at UQ
• Discover UQ maps for all your directions
• Establish safe habits on campus
• Explore UQ Sport services
• UQ Association of Postgraduate Students (APS)
• UQ Clubs and societies
• Review the food services offered by UQU, including Morning Marmalade & Kampus Kitchen (serving free meals to students across campuses) and Food Co-Op (free and low-cost groceries)

Our guide on preparing to leave UQ contains helpful information on who to advise of your departure dates, checking the status of any fee requirements, returning equipment and cleaning workspaces, etc. Please review those pages and advise your HDR Liaison Officer of your plans to return so we can ensure you are supported through this process.

Please note that if you are departing Australia after the Research Quarter census date, Student Services and Amenities Fees for that Research Quarter will apply.

Please complete the Joint PhD candidate – Notification of location Checkbox survey to change your status back to remote when you have returned to Exeter.

Update your contact details

Please update your UQ mySI-net contact details with your UK address and telephone number.