The Cooperative Research Centre for Forestry (CRC)
is an Australia-wide forestry research consortium. It links leading
Australian forest research organisations, companies, government
agencies and universities working on agreed research priorities in
forest science and management. Research students are central to the
CRC’s work.
The CRC welcomes both Australian and international
students to join its research programme. Students apply and enrol
through one of CRC’s partner universities: The Australian National
University, Murdoch University, Southern Cross University, the University of Melbourne
and the University of Tasmania.
The CRC provides both full and top-up scholarships,
and operating funds, for specified projects. Available projects are
outlined and advertised on the scholarships
list. In exceptional circumstances, CRC scholarships may be
available to international students, but generally they are
restricted by Australian Government policy to students from
Australia and New Zealand. In contrast, operating funds are
generally available to all students working on CRC projects.
Most international students seeking to work with
the CRC therefore need to secure scholarship funding from other
sources. It is necessary to do this before you come to Australia,
both to obtain a visa and because Australian universities generally
don't employ graduate assistants in the same way American
universities do. Therefore, securing scholarship funding prior to
beginning your studies is necessary to cover both fees (typically
AUD$25,000 per annum) and living costs (typically at least
AUD$20,000 per annum). There are a number of possible sources of
scholarships for international students.
But before you pursue scholarship funding, you need
to communicate with prospective supervisor(s) about projects of
interest, to ensure that they and their universities would be
willing to accept you as a student (Australian students need to do
this too). Typically, to be accepted as a research student at an
Australian university, you will need to have achieved good grades
in your previous degrees, have demonstrated a capacity for academic
research, and meet English language requirements. Most universities
will make a conditional offer, based upon a supervisor’s
recommendation, if you meet their entry criteria - but you will
still need to secure scholarship funding.
Supervisors’ contacts are listed on the
CRC
scholarships list, and each university has web pages (links to
these pages are listed here) outlining
the requirements and process for graduate applications. If
you’re not sure about the best contact for your interests,
contact the relevant CRC research programme manager, (contact
details for programme managers are also listed on the CRC scholarships
page) or the Education Manager for the CRC, Dr Neil Davidson (03)
6226 7606.
It can be a lengthy and sometimes frustrating
process to secure scholarship funding, but we encourage you to
persist. Here are some suggestions to maximise your prospects:
- Take advice from academics and researchers with whom you've
worked already, about likely funding sources.
- Visit the website and contact the local office of the
international agent for Australian universities, IDP Education
Australia. There is a wealth of useful information at their
website.
- Visit the websites of the university partners in the CRC (click
here for
links to these pages) – each have information relevant to
graduate studies and funding.
- Visit the AusAID website; AusAID manages the majority of
Australian Government scholarships, for which eligible students
from nominated countries can apply.
- Visit the websites of other potential funding sources; the best
listing is that provided by IDP Australia.
- You should also ensure you check your eligibility for
fellowship and multilateral agency funding, most of which will be
administered through agencies and foundations operating in your
country. These may include, but are not limited to:
