FAQs

If you cannot find the answer you are looking for below, please contact the Business School Research team. The Business School’s Research team will either answer your question or direct your enquiry to the relevant School.

Our research degrees will give you the opportunity to develop skills and qualifications necessary for a career in academia. UNSW Business School’s research is highly regarded globally and we offer arguably the best research degrees in Australia, with formal coursework, informal mentoring, and comparatively generous financial support. We are committed to supporting our research students as they develop their intellectual capabilities and qualifications. 

UNSW Business School offers two kinds of Higher Degree Research (HDR) programs. 

1)   The full UNSW Business Doctoral Program comprises a Master of Pre-Doctoral Business Studies (MPDBS, 1 year) and a Doctor of Philosophy degree (PhD, 3 years). This is the most common research degree pathway. Typical duration: 4 years, full time.

2)   Direct Entry to Standalone Business PhD which is suited for students with substantial prior research experience and other exceptional circumstances (e.g., external PhD funding). Typical duration: 3.5 years, full time.

In addition, in certain circumstances, domestic students may enrol in a self-funded Master of Philosophy (MPhil) in some Schools. Please note that this is not a pathway to a PhD program in the Business School. In the unlikely event that an MPhil is appropriate for you, it will be recommended by the School to which you are applying.

Once you submit an Expression of Interest (see below), we will inform you of the program(s) you are eligible for.

Prior to submitting an official application through the university-wide Apply Online, opens in a new window system, research applicants must receive an Invitation to Apply from the specific School to which you are applying. To receive an Invitation to Apply, you should 1) self-assess your eligibility and 2) submit an Expression of Interest to the relevant School. Details of what to include in your Expression of Interest can be found on the PhD page of the specific school to which you are applying.

There are different research degrees offered by UNSW Business School, each with different qualification standards. However, the minimum qualifications involve meeting requirements for Academic Entry and English Language (see below).

If, after reading the below, you are unsure whether you meet our minimum requirements for Academic Entry and/or English Language, you are encouraged to submit an Expression of Interest to the relevant School.

Academic Entry Requirement:

The minimum academic entry requirement for the PhD is:

• The equivalent of a three-year UNSW undergraduate degree plus a postgraduate degree with an overall average grade of at least 75 (Distinction),

or

• the equivalent of multiple undergraduate degrees (e.g. a dual degree) from UNSW or equivalent with at least one in a relevant discipline and an overall average grade of at least 75 (Distinction),

or

• the equivalent of a four-year UNSW Bachelor's Degree with first or upper second-class Honours in a relevant discipline.

English Language Requirement:

If you are not a citizen of an English-speaking country, then you will need to establish that you have sufficient English language fluency.

UNSW recognises several countries as English-speaking. A “List of Recognised English-Speaking Countries” can be found here.

There are four ways to establish sufficient English language fluency: English Tests, UNSW Global English Course, Prior Study, or an English Waiver.  For details on each of these, please visit the website.

No. Not all Higher Degree Research programs require arranging supervision in advance. Instead, please submit an Expression of Interest to the relevant School and we will provide guidance around whether and how to find supervision.

No separate application is required. Scholarships are automatically offered to the vast majority of students accepted into our Higher Degree Research (e.g., PhD) programs. The main exceptions occur when a student applies with external funding (e.g., an Industry PhD, donor, government sponsored fellowship, UNSW / Home Country Joint Scholarships, or Australian Research Council funding) or if the student is pursuing a self-funded part-time degree. If you have arranged external funding or are pursuing a self-funded part-time research degree, please indicate it on your EOI.

Almost all students admitted to one of our programs receive scholarship funding involving a tuition waiver and stipend of around A$38-48K per year.

The standard UNSW PhD scholarship details can be found here.

Applying for Admission and Scholarship funding are part of the same process and are done at the same time. Additional information about scholarships will be provided after you submit an Expression of Interest to the specific School.

Part-time study is not available for the first year of the Full UNSW Business Doctoral Program. Under special circumstances, students granted Direct Entry to our Standalone Business PhD can attend part-time. But a part-time PhD can take up to 7 years! Feel free to discuss this further with your School.

You need to be in Sydney to study this program.

While inclusion of a GMAT or GRE score in your application is always welcome, they are only required by certain programs. Specifically, a GMAT or GRE is necessary for applications to the Marketing and Economics streams. If you are applying to study in either of these streams, please provide the relevant GMAT or GRE documentation with your Expression of Interest.

You can express your interest all year round. However, there are different PhD pathways with different deadlines.

The Full UNSW Business Doctoral Program (MPDBS + PhD) admits a single cohort per year. The deadline for the Apply Online, opens in a new window applications for the 2026 cohort is 26^th of August 2025.  However, you first need an Invitation to Apply. In order to receive an Invitation to Apply, please refer to the disciplinary schools' website for further information and deadlines.

• PhD in Accounting
• PhD in Banking and Finance
• PhD in Economics
• PhD in Information Systems and Technology Management
• PhD in Management
• PhD in Marketing
• PhD in Risk and Actuarial Studies

An EOI is still required for the Direct Entry Standalone PhD degree. Please refer to the school's website above. 

As a general rule, submitting sooner is always better than later. 

The first step in the application process is to email an Expression of Interest to the relevant school. The school will acknowledge the receipt of your EOI and the time frame of processing your application.

The Full UNSW Business Doctoral Program (MPDBS + PhD) admits a single cohort per year, which commences in Term 1, opens in a new window (February).

It is also preferable if Direct Entry students start in Term 1. However, starting in other terms may be possible in consultation with the relevant School.

Please do not reapply unless specifically invited to do so. We handle a very large number of applications for each intake with only a limited number of places available each year.