You are here: Civil Engineering / Future students / Future Postgraduate Research & Coursework Students / Scholarships and Costs

Scholarships & Costs Information for Future Students

Course Costs for Coursework Masters Students

Scholarships for Future Research Students

A wide range of scholarship opportunities are available to meet the living expenses and tuition costs of potential research students.

Depending on funding source and research potential, postgraduate students commencing a PhD study in the School of Civil Engineering can expect to be offered a combined total scholarship of $25,000 or above per annum for a period of three years. These total scholarships typically consist of an APA, UPA, IPAI or IPRS combined with a supplementary scholarship from the School of Civil Engineering.

Vice-Chancellor’s Research Scholarships (VCRS), Australian Postgraduate Awards (APA), and University of Sydney Postgraduate Awards (UPA)

The Vice-Chancellor’s Research Scholarships (VCRS) are offered to attract students with an outstanding track record of academic achievement and research potential to pursue full-time PhD study at the University of Sydney. Up to 20 VCRS will be awarded every year.

Australian Postgraduate Awards (APA) scholarships are awarded to students of exceptional research potential to undertake a higher degree by research at an Australian university. The scholarships are provided to assist with general living costs. The University of Sydney is allocated over 150 of these scholarships each year by the Australian Government.

The University expects to award over 50 University of Sydney Postgraduate Awards (UPA) that are similar to APA in terms of tenure and benefits.

Applications for the these scholarships are usually open between August and October each year, for students starting the following year.

For full details, visit the Research Office web site

Scholarships for International Students (IPRS Endeavour)

The Endeavour IPRS is a scholarship funded by the Australian Department of Education, Science and Training (DEST). The main objective of this scheme is to attract top quality international postgraduate students to areas of research strength in higher education institutions and to support Australia's research effort.

The University of Sydney Endeavour IPRS will be awarded to outstanding students who will bring skills and expertise that will enhance the University's research activities or who will work within the University's recognised areas of research strength.

Applications are assessed on academic merit and research potential. In addition to the Endeavour IPRS, the University of Sydney awards International Postgraduate Awards (IPA) to Endeavour IPRS holders each year.

Closing date for the scholarship is usually the end of July (for semester 1 the next year) or the end of December (for semester 2 the next year) each year.

Full details here

Australian Postgraduate Award Industry (APAI)

These scholarships are funded by the Australian Research Council’s Linkage-Project grants and provide an opportunity for outstanding postgraduate students to undertake industry-based research. Scholarships are available in all areas except clinical medicine and dentistry. The benefits include a tax-exempt stipend valued at over $25,000 per annum. Academic staff apply for funding and may nominate a particular student as the scholarship recipient. The scholarship will be advertised if a student is not nominated on a successful funding application. Details on these specific scholarships will be advertised on the Civil Engineering and Research Office websites when they become available.

Project Specific Scholarships

Funds may also be available for different bodies to fund research students for a specific topic. The conditions of these scholarships vary, but could be similar to those of the APA-I mentioned above. Details on these specific scholarships will be advertised on the Civil Engineering and Research Office websites when they become available.

Top-Up Scholarships

In addition, the School offers some "top-up" scholarships of the order of $2000 - $5000 pa. The supplementary scholarships offered by the School may be funded by the Civil Engineering Foundation, bequests (Anne B Wilson and JW Roderick), or one of the School's research centres, including the Centre for Advanced Structural Engineering (CASE), the Centre for Geotechnical Research (CGR), and the Wind Engineering Services (WES).

Supplemental Income
There is also the opportunity for suitably qualified students to earn extra money through tutoring, marking and demonstrating as part of our undergraduate degree program. Tutor training courses are available. Students can also become involved with additional consulting activities within our laboratories.