The Faculty of Science has a well-developed research culture, and is proud of its history in teaching and researching innovative science. The research courses focus on applied and practical research to bring about benefits to industry and the community. The Faculty has strong links with industry, which support our research objectives. The courses are highly respected for their relevance, skills and research training, and for their professional focus.

Research profile
Research degrees

Research profile

The Faculty's new Advanced Research Institutes are:

• Institute for Biotechnology of Infectious Diseases
• Institute for Nanoscale Technology
• Institute for Water and Environmental Resource Management.

The Faculty's Key University Research Centres are:

• Health Technologies
• Quantitative Finance.

Recognised University Research Groups within the Faculty are:

• Centre for Forensic Science
• Centre for Photonic Crystal Technologies.

Other Faculty research strengths are in the areas of:

• Applied Chemistry
• Applied Physics including image processing and analysis
• Computational Number Theory
• Ecotoxicology
• Experimental Design and Data Analysis
• Gene Therapy
• Horticulture
• Immunology
• Marine Studies
• Mathematics and Statistics
• Medical and Biomedical science
• Microbiology
• Neurotoxins
• Numerical Integration
• Psycho-oncology
• Scheduling Theory
• Traditional Chinese Medicine.

For further information regarding Research Units and Centres in the Faculty, see the Faculty Information section.

For further information about research degrees, supervisors and science research activity, contact the Office of the Associate Dean (Research and Development) on telephone (02) 9514 2490.

Research degrees

Application procedures

All applications for research degrees are initially processed by the University Graduate School (UGS). Application forms can be obtained from UGS, the Student Info & Admin Centre or the Faculty Research and Development Office.

All applicants are required to provide satisfactory evidence of their ability to undertake the program in which they are interested, and may be required to take a prescribed course in research methodology or any other course deemed necessary by their principal supervisor or the Faculty Research Committee. Courses may be intense training type courses (e.g. for a particular instrument or software package) or complete academic subjects from a Honours or a postgraduate coursework program of this or another University. All postgraduate research students are expected to be proficient in English comprehension and expression. Applicants whose education was in a language other than English, may be required to take a special test approved by the Academic Board.

Eligibility for admission is not a guarantee that an application will be accepted. Support for the project, availability of supervision, availability of places, and the applicant's overall abilities and experience are all taken into account. Some departments may be unable to accommodate new students until existing ones complete.

Scholarships

As of Autumn 2001, all applicants for research degrees are expected to also apply for a scholarship unless they are expecting to pay full fees. Applications are ranked according to merit by the Faculty's Research Committee, and available scholarships awarded accordingly.

Broadly, there are two types of scholarship:

Scholarships with stipend

A scholarship with stipend provides periodical payments to the student while they are studying, and a waiver of fees, apart from student service fees.

Scholarships offered in this category are:

• Australian Postgraduate Award (APA)
• Australian Postgraduate Award – Industry (APA(I))
• UTS Doctoral Scholarships
• R L Werner Research Scholarships
• Faculty of Science Helix Doctoral Scholarships.

Students applying for any of the above scholarships are usually expected to have a First Class Honours degree or a Research Master's (by thesis) degree.

Scholarships without stipend

A scholarship without stipend provides no payments to the student and is based on a waiver of course fees. These scholarships are:

• UTS Research Training Scheme Places (RTS places)
• UTS Fee Exemption Scholarships.

Students obtaining an RTS place receive a full waiver of their course fees. The UTS Fee Exemption Scholarships offer successful applicants a 40–100 per cent waiver of their course fees. Students receiving both these types of scholarships are required to pay student service fees. As there is no stipend, students do not receive any payment to help with their study or living expenses.

Scholarships for international students

International students interested in completing a research degree should contact the UTS International Office to find out about eligibility for International Postgraduate Research Scholarships and AusAID Scholarships.

Assessment

All research degree students must complete three components of assessment during their candidature. These are:

• semester progress reports
• an assessment seminar given after completion of two semesters of candidature in the case of full-time students, or three semesters in the case of part-time Master's degree candidates and four semesters in the case of part-time doctoral candidates
• the examination of a Master's or Doctoral thesis.