Before applying for a Research Degree

What you need to consider
Selection requirements
Availability of supervision
The application form
Application deadlines and further information

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What you need to consider

Before applying for entry, as a prospective research student you should carefully consider whether the intended focus or area of your research project is something you know enough about to determine whether it is really a viable, ‘researchable’ topic.

Successful applications usually outline a well-defined research problem or area of focus linked to a body of literature that discusses some of the issues relevant to the proposed topic. If you are uncertain of your proposed topic, spend some time trying to define what you want to do or find out (See the pages listed under ‘Defining your topic’).
Whether there is a supervisor in the LLS School or elsewhere in the University of South Australia with an interest in your area to supervise or mentor the proposed project over the two or three years required to complete it. Principal Supervisors must be on the University’s register of research degree supervision (See our ‘Research Register’ under ‘Contacts’)

Selection requirements

All prospective research students are expected to hold a good undergraduate degree, preferably an honours degree (or a Masters for PhD applicants), or equivalent in a design or related discipline (for example, architecture, interior architecture, industrial design, furniture design, visual art, history of art, design or architecture). ‘Equivalence’ here can refer to a professional degree and some subsequent professional experience in a design or related discipline.
Selection is based on a case-by-case assessment process, which takes into account:

The availability of places for postgraduate study in the LLS School at the time of application (subject to an annual quota based university funding arrangements), and the relative merits of each application. As this implies, it is worth giving your application considerable thought.
The prior skills, knowledge and interest of the prospective postgraduate student in the area of the proposed research project (ie. that the student has the skills necessary to undertake the proposed research project successfully).
The availability of a supervisor who has agreed in principle to supervise their research.
Your apparent ability to undertake and complete the research project within the timeframe specified.

Availability of supervision

While proposed research topics need to be judged on their own merit, and on the basis of the availability of staff to supervise a proposed topic or area, the following list gives an indication of the main areas in which supervising staff might be able to supervise a research project leading to a Masters or PhD:

History and theory of design, material culture and design
History and theory of architecture (19th and 20th centuries)
Australian architectural, urban design and planning history
Conservation and management of heritage places
Cross cultural design and garden history
Post-structuralist philosophy and architecture
Aesthetics and meaning in industrial design
Sustainable architecture and design, practice and theory
Language-based writing about design
Spatial relations, bodies and movement
Contemporary Australian visual arts and curatorial practice

To make an enquiry, or to see if there is a supervisor available to supervise in the area you are interested in, have a look at our ‘Research Register’ page, or email the Research Degrees Coordinator, Dr Robert Crocker (email: robert.crocker@unisa.edu.au)

For additional information on staff research activities within the School, visit the Research webpage.

The application form

You will need to consider the above criteria carefully before you fill out the application form. In particular, you will need to carefully address the section of the form concerned with your proposed research, and make sure that you attach a brief description of the intended research project as required, referring to any relevant literature to support their proposal.

The staff member(s) you nominate to supervise the project on the form is also important, and should be discussed beforehand with both the Research Degrees Coordinator and also the proposed supervisor(s).
Referees’ statements you are intending to use for the application should specifically address your ability to undertake research in the area (and not refer only to your employment, etc), and refer to any other relevant experience.

Application deadlines and further information

Australian students should submit an application before the end of December for Semester 1 enrolment, and before the end of July for Semester 2. The application form, which is the same form used for applications for scholarships, can be obtained from the Research Degree website. But please note that all applications for scholarships close at the end of October the year prior to Semester 1 entry. (There are usually no scholarships granted to students entering in Semester 2.)

International students can submit an application at any time of the year via the international postgraduate application form. However, scholarships for International Students are only available for applications submitted before the end of August the year before commencement. Information about Australian and International scholarships can be found on the above site also.

For further information on developing your ideas for a research topic into a proposal suitable to submit with an application, see ‘Defining your topic'

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