Scholarship Assessment Policy – Faculty Level

Assessment Method – School Research Committees
Assessment Method – Faculty Research Committee
Honours Equivalence Case
Example of Application Support

HDR Scholarship applications are distributed to faculties in the first week of November with completed assessments due at the Research Student Centre by mid-November.

Assessment Method – School Research Committees

• School Research Committees will rank all competitive scholarship applications for their own school (only relevant applications will be forwarded to each school).

• Applications should be assessed against the following criteria:
• The quality of the applicant’s previous transcripts and awards
• Ranking of the institution(s) from which the applicant graduated
• Melbourne Institute (for domestic)
• Times or Jai Tong indices (for international)
• Research track record of the applicant’s proposed supervisors
• The strategic importance and innovativeness of the applicant’s proposed topic
• The alignment of the applicant’s proposed topic with research strengths within the school

• Applicants who have Honours Class 1 (or equivalent research degree) from a well-ranked institution and have submitted a strong application should be recommended to the Faculty Research Committee for ‘fast-tracking’.
• All other applications should be ranked “A” (very competitive), “B” (reasonably competitive) or “NC” (not competitive).
• For all ranked applications a summary of support should be provided based on:
  • The strength of the candidate, including previous marks, research experience, professional experience and awards or previous scholarships.
  • The strategic fit of the applicant’s proposed topic within the relevant school’s research direction.
  • The research track record and supervisory experience of the supervisor(s).

Assessment Method – Faculty Research Committee

• The Faculty Research Committee (or authorised sub-committee of the FRC including the School Research Directors) plus an external assessor will provide a final ranking with consideration given to school recommendations.
• Faculty Research Committee assessment will be required to provide overall Faculty rankings for school-nominated ‘fast-track’ applications and other competitive applications.
• The Faculty Research Committee will provide the final recommendations to the University Research Committee on applications to be ‘fast-tracked’ and other competitive applications.

Honours equivalence case

• Where it is believed that the applicant has an Honours Class One equivalence, the School Research Committee should make a strong case based upon:
• The applicant’s academic standing and qualifications, including bachelor and masters degrees
• Research experience, including:
• Research subjects undertaken
• Bachelor (European) or Masters theses
• Number and quality of research publications (particularly journal articles and those that relate to the proposed research topic)
• Special research projects undertaken within a professional environment
• Professional experience
• Length of time
• Seniority
• How it relates to the chosen research area
• The strength of the two referee reports:
• Demonstrated knowledge of the applicant’s academic history
• Confidence in the applicant’s research capacity
• Strong arguments for Honours 1 equivalence
• Referees research track record and reputation
• The quality of the applicant’s previous higher education institution(s)
• Prizes and awards/scholarships, or special recognitions
• Strategic fit with a research strength within the School
• Suitability of the supervisors’ track record
• Suitability of the applicant for research training

Example of Application Support

Notes – John Smith

Candidate

• The applicant completed a Bachelor of Commerce degree at [insert name of educational institution]. Here he graduated as the best student of the year. This degree had a core thesis component which comprises the fourth year of the degree. See first referee’s report for details.

• He is currently enrolled in a Master of Strategic Management and Marketing at the University of Wollongong (commenced 2006).

• In COMM980 (Business Research Methods) he achieved 89% (HD).
• In MARK935 (Marketing Strategy) he achieved 86% (HD).
• In MGMT910 (Strategic Management) he achieved 80% (D).
• In MGMT911 (Organisational Behaviour) he achieved 86% (HD)

• The applicant is also a current recipient of a Wollongong International Course Scholarship (WICS) to the value of $9,200. This is a highly competitive scholarship based on previous academic merit.

Strategic Fit

• The proposed research topic has a strong strategic fit with two of the Faculty’s research centres – the Marketing Research Innovation Centre (MRIC) and the Centre for Leadership and Knowledge Management.

Supervisor(s)

• Both supervisors [insert name 1 and name 2] have strong research track records. They are also both dedicated and enthusiastic supervisors. [Insert name] is one of the Faculty’s most productive researchers in terms of both ARC awards and publications.

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