International Students

Congratulations on your offer to study at the University of Wollongong as a Higher Degree Research (HDR) candidate. We’re excited to have you study with us. To secure your place at UOW, you will need to accept your offer and follow the steps below to get started.

How to enrol

Your first step is to formally accept your offer to study at UOW to receive your Confirmation of Enrolment (CoE). Visit our instructions page for steps on how to accept your offer.

If you have been awarded a stipend scholarship offered by UOW, please accept your scholarship offer by following the steps outlined in your scholarship offer letter.

Once you have received your CoE, you will need to start your student visa application to ensure you can arrive in Australia to study on campus by the start of the session. Due to the COVID pandemic, student visa applications and/or processing times may be impacted. UOW recommends all visitors check the Department of Home Affairs (DoHA) website for advice before applying for a student visa: Department of Home Affairs: Immigration and citizenship.

Please visit Information about arriving in Australia to help you plan your travel to Australia.

You have the option to enrol online after you arrive in Australia or in-person in Wollongong campus.

Enrolling online

Once you have your student visa, you can start the enrolment process online by completing the Arrival Registration Form. To complete this form, you will need a copy of your:

  • Confirmation of Enrolment (CoE)
  • UOW Offer of Admission
  • Australian Visa Grant Notification
  • UOW student number

COMPLETE Arrival REGISTRATION FORM

Once completed, the Graduate Research School will contact you to confirm your location and travel plan in order to process your enrolment request accordingly.

Enrolling on campus

You can enrol in-person by visiting the Graduate Research School in Building 20, Level 1 in Wollongong campus for assistance. 

Once your enrolment request has been approved, your final step is to enrol in your course and subjects online. To complete your enrolment, please follow the steps below:

1. Access the enrolment portal

Log into SOLS portal using your UOW student number (included in your offer letter) to access the online enrolment portal. If you have conditions listed on your offer, these will need to be cleared before you can log in. If you have any questions about clearing conditions, please contact us.

2. Create user account

Once inside the online enrolment portal, you will need to create your UOW username and password. This is what you will use to log in to university systems like SOLS. When creating your user account, make sure you provide a mobile number or email address to recover your user details should you forget them.

3. Confirm personal details

Here you will need to confirm your personal details, add an emergency contact, and let us know where you will be living during your enrolment (session address).

4. Complete survey

The Australian Government requires all students to complete this survey. If you do not know the answer to a question, leave it blank and move to the next question.

5. Upload your photo

Upload a photo of yourself for your student card. Ensure it meets our requirements.

6. Select your offer

All valid offers made to you will be listed. Select the course you'll be studying.

7. Provide your Unique Student Identifier (USI)

A USI is a unique number issued to each student by the Australian Government. You can only apply for a USI once you have entered Australia. Visit our USI page for more information on applying for a USI, or to check if you already have one.

If you are not yet in Australia, you can choose to not provide a USI at this step and tick the box to acknowledge that you will provide it at a later date once you have arrived. 

8. Select your billing preference

Skip this step as international students are not eligible for HELP Loans.

9. Enrol in your first year subjects

Here you will enrol in your first-year subjects.

  • Degrees with coursework – Master of Philosophy, Master by Research, PhD (Integrated), Professional Doctorates. If you are unsure of the subjects you should be enrolled into please refer to your offer of admission for subject details. Students enrolling into coursework subjects are requested to confirm the subject codes with their supervisors prior to commencing the enrolment process.
  • Degrees without coursework – Doctor of Philosophy and Master of Philosophy (including a 24 credit point advanced standing). Doctorate or Master of Philosophy students enrolling into thesis/research component from the commencement of their degree must use the following subject codes, depending on the study load indicated in the offer of admission: Thesis (Full time) - THES924; Thesis (Part time) - THES912 for Doctor of Philosophy; or Thesis (Full time) - THES925; Thesis (Part time) - THES913 for Master of Philosophy with 24 credit point advanced standing.
  • If you need to change your subjects following enrolment, you will need to email the Graduate Research School to make this change for you. 
  • Please note you must start attending classes by the second week of session at the latest and any subject enrolment changes after this time must be approved by the Head of School.

10. Finalise your enrolment

Once you've enrolled in your subjects, click on the ‘Summary’ tab to complete your online enrolment. Here you can choose to have a confirmation sent to your nominated email address.

COMPLETE ENROLMENT

If you have been awarded a stipend scholarship offered by the University of Wollongong, please email the Graduate Research School with a completed Living Allowance Form and Conditions of Award that you received in conjunction with your scholarship offer.

Your scholarship offer may state that your scholarship commencement is subject to you signing Intellectual Property (IP) Deeds. Please ensure this documentation is complete and returned to Innovation Commercial Research (ICR) Unit at ip-deeds@uow.edu.au before you request your scholarship payments to commence.  

Scholarship payments will commence when you are onshore in Australia. Scholarships are usually paid fortnightly. Depending on when you submit your documentation, it can take up to four weeks for your scholarship payments to commence. Your stipend scholarship payments will be calculated from the date of your enrolment for the session you are offered the scholarship.

Please note the earliest commencement date for a scholarship in a given session is as follows:

  • Autumn Session – 1 January
  • Spring Session – 1 July

If you are a remotely enrolled student, you will be required to arrive in Australia to commence your scholarship and studies onshore before 24 August 2023. You may receive a back payment as part of your first scholarship payment or in a number of instalments. Scholarships will become unavailable to students that are unable to arrive in Australia by this deadline.

Start your research journey at UOW

Congratulations on completing your enrolment process. Please visit the HDR Candidate Orientation and Getting Started website for more information to help you commence your research journey at UOW.

Getting Started

Contact the Graduate Research School


General enquiries