The Australian Postgraduate Awards (APA) 

Objectives of the APA program are to:

• Support postgraduate research training in the higher education sector
• Provide financial support to domestic postgraduate students of exceptional research promise who undertake their higher degree by research at an eligible Australian higher education provider.

Eligible higher education providers are granted Commonwealth funding for continuing and new awards each year under the APA program.

Awards are available for a period of two years for a Masters by research degree or three years, with a possible extension of six months, for a Doctorate by research degree. Award holders receive an annual stipend and may also be eligible for other allowances.

The allocation of funding to participating providers is based on a formula that is reflective of their overall research performance.

Payments are made to higher education providers who administer the schemes on behalf of the Department of Innovation, Industry, Science and Research. Applications by students for an APA should be made directly to a participating provider. Each provider has responsibility for determining the selection process by which awards are allocated to applicants.

The requirements for the Australian Postgraduate Awards (APA) are in Chapter 2 of the Commonwealth Scholarships Guidelines (Research), which can be downloaded from the Australian Government’s Federal Register of Legislative Instruments.

• APA stipend rates for 2010 are $22,500 for full-time students and $12,176 for part-time students.
• APA stipend rates for 2009 are $20,427 for full-time students and $10,957 for part-time students.
• APA stipend rates for 2008 are $20,007 for full-time students and $10,710 for part-time students.
• APA stipend rates for 2007 are $19,616 for full-time students and $10,480 for part-time students.

For more scholarships for postgraduate research students, please refer to the Going to uni website.

For more information, please email RBGrants@innovation.gov.au.