Documentation needed to apply for a research degree

If your current proof of identity documents differ from the names used in your academic documentation (such as your testamur or academic transcripts), please provide official evidence of your name change and the effective date.

Documents may include a:

• change of name certificate, or
• marriage certificate.

These documents need to be certified.

If you have confirmed funding through an external scholarship or Industry Doctorate Program you’ll need to provide evidence.

This might include:

• a letter from your sponsor
• confirmation of your external scholarship, or
• a signed Industry Doctorate Program agreement (this is the same document you will provide to prove pre-approval).

If you are an international candidate who is self-funding, you will need to provide your means of supporting yourself to the Australian Government during your visa application process. We do not need proof.

Find out ways to fund your research degree.

If you’re applying for the Jumbunna Postgraduate Research Scholarship or Sir Gerard Brennan Scholarship (Law) you need to provide a Confirmation of Identity document provided by an incorporated Aboriginal or Torres Strait Islander organisation containing their seal.

Find out more about confirmation of Aboriginal or Torres Strait Islander descent via the Australian Institute for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Studies website.

For questions, or alternative ways to confirm your identity, please contact the Jumbunna Institute for Indigenous Education and Research.

Academic referees support your application. They are people who knew you while you were studying, such as a lecturer, course coordinator, or previous supervisor. 

You need two academic referees to complete the online form (you need to send them each the exact URL: https://forms.uts.edu.au/index.cfm?FormId=981). You’ll receive an email notification when your referees complete the form.

Here’s what you might send them:

Hi [name]

I’m applying for a research degree at UTS and would love your support as an academic referee. The report you provide will form part of my application. 

The process should take about 10 minutes via an online form.

You’ll be asked you how long you’ve known me, about my skills and research potential. The information is submitted directly to the UTS Graduate Research School, so I won’t ever see the results.

You will need the following details about me:

• UTS student ID: [if applicable]
• Applicant first name: [your name]
• Applicant family name: [your name]
• Applicant email address: [your email]
• Research degree applying for: [course name]
• Faculty or Institute: [your faculty/institute]

Access the form at https://forms.uts.edu.au/index.cfm?FormId=981

Thank you!

[Your name]

We require employment statements from current and all previous employers to support the professional experience you have outlined in your CV.

The statement of employment is a letter that:

• features your previous employer’s letterhead
• states your position and responsibilities, and
• includes the dates you worked for them.

If you are applying as an international visiting or Collaborative Doctoral Research Degree candidate, you will be asked to tick a box on the online application form confirming that you have received permission to study at UTS. Upload your home university’s approval for you to pursue the collaborative degree with UTS.

Additional documents for collaborative degree students

If you’re taking part in the Collaborative Doctoral Research Degree program, you also need to provide:

• An enrolment letter from your home university indicating your doctoral program start date and expected completion date.
• Approval from your home university for you to pursue the Collaborative Doctoral Research Degree program with UTS.
• Evidence that you have established a supervision arrangement with a UTS academic 
• The name of your current supervisor, their faculty and contact email address.

Authorised officers include the employees of:

• The Universities Admissions Centre (UAC)
• The Student Enquiries Office or Admissions Office at any UAC participating university
• The Administration Office at any TAFE college
• Interstate tertiary admissions centres
• The official records department of the institution that originally issued the document

Alternatively, documents may be certified by someone who is currently employed as one of the following:

• accountant
• bank or credit union manager
• barrister, solicitor or patent attorney
• police officer or defence force officer
• post office manager
• principal of an Australian school
• commissioner for declarations
• a health professional registered with the Australian Health Practitioner Regulation Agency (e.g. doctor, pharmacist, optometrist, nurse)
• currently registered Justice of the Peace

We accept copies certified by employees of the following:

• Australian Overseas Diplomatic Mission and Australian Educational Centres
• UTS Authorised Representative or Agent
• Public Notary Office
• the administration of the institution that originally issued the document(s), or
• an Australian university.

The copy of your document must include the following from the authorised officer:

• an official stamp of their organisation (if available)
• their full name, profession, organisation name and professional registration number
• their business address and contact number (optional for a Justice of the Peace)
• signature
• date the document was certified, and
• the statement ‘This is true copy of the original document sighted by me’ on all copies.

In addition, a Justice of the Peace (JP) is required to provide:

• their registration number, and
• the state in which they are registered as a JP.

Your previous university or school can send your academic documents directly to us via:

• email to grs@uts.edu.au, or
• post.

Digital copies will only be accepted if the electronic copy is received directly from an authorised employee’s official email address with their electronic signature in the body of the email confirming their position at the institution.

Your previous university or school may have partnered with an online platform to offer digital qualifications. Platforms may include CHESICC or My eQuals.

To share your qualification with us issue your digital documents to grs@uts.edu.au through the platform.

You can upload certified scans of your documents during the online application process. Read more about how to submit an application.