Fees and Fee Support

Fee Support

What type of research student are you?

Generally, research students are either full fee paying or non-fee paying. The fees being referred to are tuition payments.

Non-Fee paying

If you have a scholarship to support your living expenses (a stipend) then typically you are allocated a research training scheme (RTS) place which pays for your tuition fee. Effectively your fees are paid for by the government. Additionally, some Research Higher Degree students may have tuition fees paid through a variety of other schemes such as: Faculty fee-wavier places and the CSU Academic Staff Higher Degree Training Scheme.

Contact your Faculty Sub-Dean about Faculty fee-waiver places

Fee paying

If you are enrolled in a fee paying course, your fees are payable twice a year (for each six months of study) and vary depending upon course undertaken and enrolment status (full-time or part-time). Students are sent formal notifications of fees payable. Details on the level of fees payable can be found at Fees and Costs. Full fee paying students are not entitled to some financial support schemes, such as the CSU Travel Grants and CSU Maintenance Grants.

Tuition Fee Support

Successful scholarship applicants have their tuition fees covered as follows:

• Domestic students: Are provided with an entitlement under the Research Training Scheme. Doctoral student are awarded a four year (full-time equivalent) entitlement and Masters by Research students are awarded a two year (full-time equivalent) entitlement
• International on-shore students: Awarded either an International Postgraduate Research Scholarship for three years (full-time equivalent) in the case of doctoral students and two years full-time in the case of Masters by Research students.

Faculty Fee Support

Faculties will consider applications from part-time domestic students to be awarded fee-waivers. Part-time fee-waiver support is 6 years (at part-time enrolments) for Doctoral students and 4 years at part-time enrolment for Masters by Research students.

International students are NOT eligible to be considered for fee-waiver places.

Operating Funds

The Research Office or an organisation that is funding a research project at CSU, may be able to provide funds to meet the costs directly associated with a student's research program. These funds, sometimes referred to as operating funds, maintenance allowance or resource allowance are provided as part of a scholarship.

The use of and the amount of funds available is determined by prevailing Research Office policy or the funding agreement with the external organisation.  The funds are placed in an administering school or research centre and the administrative staff in the school/research centre assist the student to access the funds. The student and the supervisory team are to consult on the use of these funds.

An important part of postgraduate training for a research student is to learn skills of project budgeting and management and students need to plan for the use of the funds made available to them.

Those students without a scholarship that provides funding for research expenses can seek funding through a school, faculty or research centre and should consult with their supervisor about the possibility of attaining such assistance.

In addition to the funds for a student's research project, those higher degree research students enrolled by distance education who have a Research Training Scheme (RTS) place can access two travel assistance grants each year to meet with their principal supervisor during the period of their RTS entitlement. The Travel Assistance Grants are available through the Research Office. Please contact the Research Office for more information. 

• Operating Fund Guidelines

Travel Grants

Some assistance with travel costs can be provided for eligible HDR candidates to meet with their supervisors and/or attend research professional development sessions. Travel assistance grants are only available to domestic (Australian or New Zealand citizens and some permanent residents), distance education, Commonwealth Funded HDR candidates. The grants are made available after the travel to attend a consultation with their supervisor and/or a training seminar has been undertaken. Full fee paying or fee waiver HDR candidates are not eligible to receive this funding. HDR candidates are encouraged to spend at least one day per session with their Supervisor and to attend up to three face-to-face research professional development events that might be offered by the Research Office or other CSU entities. Supervisor consultation should be linked with a research professional development event wherever possible. To assist eligible HDR candidates with some of the associated costs of travelling, the Research Office will provide one travel assistance grant per session. A Travel Grant Application needs to be completed.