Below is a glossary of common terms used in graduate research at Adelaide University.
AUGRS refers to the Adelaide University Graduate Research School.
AHEGS refers to the Australian Higher Education Graduation Statement. The AHEGS describes higher education qualifications in an easily understandable way, by including descriptions of the nature, level, context and status of the studies undertaken.
AQF refers to the Australian Qualifications Framework. The AQF establishes the quality of Australian qualifications. The AQF is the national policy for regulated qualifications in the Australian education and training system. It incorporates the quality assured qualifications from each education and training sector into a single comprehensive national qualifications framework aqf.edu.au.
Candidate refers to a person enrolled in a graduate research degree at Adelaide University. The terms ‘candidate’ and ‘graduate research student’ may be used interchangeably.
Co-supervisor refers to a member of the supervisory panel who is a University staff member or titleholder and who is not the Principal Supervisor.
Dean of Research refers to the research leadership role in each College who enacts the University’s research strategy and is responsible for the oversight of research degree programs in their College.
Dean of School refers to the person who has overall responsibility within the School, including the responsibility to appoint supervisory panels and certify theses for examination for graduate research students.
Development component refers to the University’s Graduate Research & Innovation Training (GRIT) program which extends from enrolment to thesis submission. GRIT is a compulsory component of all PhD and Master of Philosophy programs at Adelaide University.
DHA refers to the Australian Government’s Department of Home Affairs.
Domestic applicant/candidate refers to an applicant/candidate who is an Australian or New Zealand citizen, or who holds permanent residency status in Australia.
ESOS refers to the Commonwealth Education Services for Overseas Students Act 2000 and associated National Code of Practice 2018 which provide consumer protection to international students and require the University to support international students, monitor their enrolment, and report changes to enrolment status to the Department of Home Affairs (DHA).
External Supervisor refers to a research active person on the supervisor register who assists with the supervision of a graduate research student and who is not a staff member or titleholder of the University.
Graduate Research Coordinator (GRC) refers to the person who, under the direction of the Dean of School, provides graduate research focused leadership in the School, supporting graduate researchers and graduate research supervisors.
Graduate research degree refers to any Master or Doctoral degree that comprises a minimum of two-thirds of its assessable content by research.
Graduate Research School refers to the Adelaide University Graduate Research School (AUGRS), the area responsible for the management and administration of research education at the University.
Graduate research student (GRs) refers to any student enrolled in a graduate research degree program. It does not include students in coursework programs with a research component, such as Honours.
Half-time candidature refers to a half-time (0.5 full-time equivalent) study load.
International applicant/candidate refers to an applicant/candidate who is not a citizen of Australia or New Zealand and who does not hold permanent residency status in Australia.
Milestone refers to any task or formal progress review which candidates are required to complete during their candidature.
Major scholarships refers to the scholarships that provide a living allowance to support graduate research students and are offered primarily through the main scholarship rounds. Examples include the Research Training Program scholarships and Adelaide University Research Scholarships (AURS), or equivalent.
Master of Philosophy (MPhil) refers to a 100% research Master level degree completed over two years.
Master of Research (MRes) refers to a Master level degree that combines coursework focused on research skills development (0.5 years) with a one-year research project.
Panel refers to the candidate’s supervisory panel. A panel comprises the Principal Supervisor and one or more Co-supervisors or External Supervisors.
PhD refers to the 100% research degree of Doctor of Philosophy.
Principal Supervisor refers to a member of the supervisory panel who is a University staff member or titleholder and who has been appointed by the Dean of School to have the primary responsibility for the supervision of a candidate.
Progress review refers to any programmed review of progress undertaken by a candidate, including the Initial Review, Confirmation of Candidature Review, Mid-Candidature Review, Minor Review, Completion Review and such other reviews that may be instigated by the Dean of School or the University.
Provisional candidate refers to a person who is enrolled in an MPhil or PhD program and is within the first 12 months (or half-time equivalent) of the program and has not yet satisfactorily completed the Confirmation of Candidature Review.
Remote candidate refers to a graduate research student who, for academic reasons, is required to conduct research in an external mode of study, i.e. away from Adelaide University premises, interstate or overseas.
The Research Training Program (RTP) is the program under which the Department of Education and Training provides block grants, on a calendar-year basis, to support research training for students undertaking Doctoral (PhD) and Master of Philosophy (MPhil). Graduate research students can be offered RTP scholarships for one or more of the following:
- tuition fees offset
- stipend for general living costs
- allowances related to the ancillary cost of research degrees.
School refers to the academic organisation unit in which graduate research students are enrolled.
Thesis refers to the materials and activities which are presented by a candidate for examination.
Timely completion refers to a completion arising from a thesis submission that occurred within four years full-time equivalent (FTE) from the commencement of candidature in the case of a PhD, two years FTE in the case of a Master of Philosophy, and 1.5 years in the case of a Master of Research.
