International Postgraduate Research Scholarships

For Students:
Applications for an IPRS need to be made directly to participating universities. The department does not provide an application form.

Contact details for participating universities and general information about courses offered in Australia may be obtained from the Study in Australia website. Frequently asked questions have been provided to assist with your enquiry.

The objectives of the IPRS scheme are to:

  • attract top quality international postgraduate students to areas of research strength in Australian higher education providers (HEP); and
  • support Australia's research effort.

IPRS enables international students to undertake a postgraduate research qualification in Australia and gain experience with leading Australian researchers.

Scholarships are open to international students of all countries (except New Zealand) and are available for a period of two years for a research masters degree or three years for a research doctorate degree. The scholarship covers tuition fees and health cover costs for scholarship holders, and health cover costs for their dependants. From 2011, commencing IPRS recipients will be able to apply for an Australian Postgraduate Award.

Guidelines, conditions and process for determining IPRS grant amounts

A total of 330 IPRS places are awarded to HEPs each year at a cost of around $20m per annum. Australian government funding is provided through annual block grants to eligible Australian HEPs in accordance with section 46-20 of the Higher Education Support Act 2003.

Chapter 3 of the Commonwealth Scholarships Guidelines (Research) 2012 provides the legislative basis for the provision of funding to this scheme and can be downloaded from the Australian Government Federal Register of Legislative Instruments.

The 2016 IPRS grant amounts to participating providers is based on a formula that is reflective of their overall research performance.

Conditions: 2016 IPRS Conditions of Grant are available

Evaluation: An evaluation of the IPRS scheme was conducted in 2009-2010.

Contact

For more information, email RBGrants@education.gov.au with "IPRS" as the subject line.

It is important to note that the IPRS is administered by individual universities on behalf of the Department of Education. Each university has its own application and selection process, please contact your chosen university directly to discuss how to apply for the IPRS scheme.