Changing your candidature

You can request to change your thesis title at key points during your progression

1. To change your thesis title, please send an email to the Graduate School with the subject line "Change of Thesis Title" and your student number. In the email please confirm the new title. Please note when changing your title, it must remain in the same area as your enrolment; if you are making a change to your whole project, you will need to use a change of project form (found above).
2. At thesis submission – You will be asked to confirm your thesis title when uploading your thesis to RDM. You do not have to change the title separately prior to uploading your thesis.

A confirmed PhD candidate may transfer to confirmed MPhil at any stage of their candidature. A provisional PhD candidate may transfer to provisional MPhil prior to completion of the Confirmation of Candidature (Progress Review 1).

Current UQ MPhil students can apply to have their program changed to the PhD program. To do so, the following criteria must be met:

• You must have passed confirmation review
• You must be at least three months out from your second review
• Your advisory team must support a transfer
• You must be able to fund your studies (see below in the scholarships section if you are already on a scholarship)
• You must include an updated CV and any other relevant new information as part of your application.

If your program change is approved, you will be a provisional PhD candidate and have to complete the PhD Confirmation of Candidature (Progress Review 1). Time consumed in your MPhil will count towards your PhD program’s timelines. This means if you have completed 6 months of an MPhil, it will be transferred to the PhD, and you will have completed the first six months of the PhD.

Please take care when planning your transfer to PhD. Requests must be finalised before your MPhil second Progress Review due date.  We recommend applying at least three months prior to your due date.

Preparing to submit a change of program request

Before submitting your request:

• ensure you meet eligibility requirements – refer to section 3 of the Higher Degree by Research Admission Procedures,
• discuss the change of program with your Principal Advisor, and
• collate your supporting documentation.

Supporting documentation

You'll need to upload the following documentation when submitting your application:

• evidence that your research project is of sufficient scope to meet the requirements for the new program (complete the project scope and timeline template (DOCX, 19.1 KB) detailing your plan and any adjustments or resources needed)
• Chair's Report from MPhil Confirmation of Candidature (Progress Review 1).

Scholarships

• If you are already on an RTP or UQRTP Scholarships, you will be considered for an extension as part of the application process.
• If you're currently on a scholarship that is not an RTP or UQRTP stipend and/or top-up scholarship, confirmation that the scholarship can be extended to a 3.5-year duration with one possible six month extension, inclusive of time already consumed in the MPhil program. Once you have confirmation from your scholarship sponsor, a Graduate School HDR Liaison Officer can advise you of the next steps.
• If you wish to be considered for a Graduate School Scholarship, you must apply using the round timelines.

Application instructions

• When applying, use the same details as for your current candidature, ie Advisory team, Enrolling School, Scholarship, OSHC (International Students)
• Under “Research Higher Degree Details”
  • Select that you have prior incomplete research higher degree studies and wish to continue your previous research project.
  • Project title and project details can be updated if they have changed slightly.  You cannot make major changes, this is a continuation of your MPhil project not a new project.
• Under “Qualifications” ensure you list your current MPhil studies and tick incomplete
• Under “Referee Details” – Contact details for your MPhil Progress Panel Chair, and a member of your advisory team (ideally your Principal Advisor).
• Under “Scholarships and Collaborative Study”, select your current funding source. You are welcome to apply for a Graduate School Scholarship as part of your application, however, our Scholarship Round Deadlines will apply.
• We will not need copies of your academic awards and transcripts again as we have these on file.
• In the “Application Evidence” section, please upload your
  • Completed Project scope and Timeline template
  • Chair’s report from your MPhil Confirmation of Candidature (Progress Review 1)
• If you receive a notification that you must apply through an agent, please contact us at graduateschool@uq.edu.au to arrange an override code to be entered in the agent details box.

Sometimes you may request a change of advisory team. If you do not wish to continue with your current Principal Advisor and no other person is available or willing to act as your Principal Advisor, the Graduate School may withdraw you from candidature because the University cannot meet its responsibility to provide you with adequate advisory support.

Sometimes it may be necessary to change your enrolling unit. Before applying to change your enrolling school or institute, you should discuss the requirements of your research project with the Director of Higher Degree Research (DHDR) from the school/institute you wish to change to and a clear agreement should be reached on the resources and facilities which will be available.

You are able to change your attendance between full-time and part-time.

• Full-time candidates are expected to study for at least the equivalent of a standard five-day working week, for example 9am to 5pm Monday to Friday, for 48 weeks of the year. The actual pattern of research and study is to be negotiated by the candidate, their advisory team, and enrolling School.
• Part-time candidates are expected to engage in research and study for the equivalent of at least 50% of the full-time rate over the course of a year. If you wish to change to part-time and you are on a scholarship, you should ensure that your scholarship can be held on a part-time basis before submitting your request.

International candidates

International HDR candidates who hold a student visa are not eligible for part-time enrolment under the terms of their visa. Only international candidates who are remote or who hold an alternative visa can be enrolled part-time.

If you would like to enrol in a second degree program, you should discuss this with your advisory team and Director of Higher Degree Research (DHDR) first. Your advisory team needs to be satisfied that the additional work will not impact on your HDR progress.

You also need to ensure that your enrolment in both programs adequately reflects the time you have allocated to each. For example, should you change from full-time to part-time or vice versa? Once you have made these considerations and gained the support of your advisory team and DHDR, you need to apply for permission for concurrent enrolment to the Graduate School.

Your progress will also be discussed at each of your Progress Reviews. If it is determined that enrolment in the second degree program is negatively impacting on your HDR progress, then you may be liable for withdrawal without academic penalty.

You can undertake additional courses as part of your program. If these courses are related to your HDR program then they do not incur any tuition fees or HECS liability and all results are recorded on the academic transcript.

Enrolment in additional courses will only be approved when the courses are deemed relevant to your research project or are required by your enrolling School/Institute as part of the research training undertaken there. Please ensure you have discussed the course with your Principal Advisor prior to submitting this form. Before enrolling, please check for any enrolment restrictions in the course profile. Some courses are not open to all students. If the course has restricted enrolment (eg. only Honours candidates), please contact the Course Coordinator to obtain their permission, and attach a copy of their approval to your my.UQ request.

By submitting this request, you confirm that any required permissions for enrolment in restricted courses have been obtained by the course coordinator, as per the course profile available on my.UQ.

Enrolment in additional courses cannot exceed one third of the total workload of the degree (10 units for a MPhil candidate, 20 units for a PhD candidate).

Important dates apply when deciding to enrol/cancel additional courses:

• Final date to add courses. This is the last day you can add new courses or swap courses. Please attempt to enrol at least two weeks before the start of semester.
• Last date to withdraw from courses without academic penalty. This is the last day you can withdraw from your studies with a grade of 'W' – course cancelled without academic penalty. A 'W' won't affect your grade point average. If there are extraordinary or exceptional circumstances after this date, you may still be eligible to withdraw without academic penalty.

To see when these dates occur for each semester, check the Academic Calendar.