Your candidature
Understand the administrative requirements of your candidature and where to turn for help when you need it
Your candidature covers the period from when you enrol in your Higher Degree by Research (HDR) program to when you submit your thesis.
The research calendar is the academic calendar that applies to your candidature as an HDR student. It comprises four research periods per year, each with its own census date, as outlined on our current HDR students page.
Any changes you wish to make to your candidature must be approved and processed by the relevant census date to become effective in that research period. You must request any such change by the deadline before the census date.
The coursework calendar is the academic calendar that applies to any units of study you take. It comprises two semesters per year, each with its own census date. There are other sessions each year in which coursework is offered, including intensive sessions held during the summer and winter breaks between the two semesters.
Before enrolling in or withdrawing from any unit of study, check the Study dates for the relevant semester or session. They indicate the last date within each semester or session that you can enrol in a unit of study and the last date you can withdraw from one without academic penalty.
Your supervisory team must include at least one lead supervisor and one other supervisor. All supervisors must be registered appropriately with the University and must have completed the required research supervision training.
The role of a supervisor is to guide you through your candidature by providing professional advice in your field of study and research direction, feedback, encouragement and support to ensure you produce research of the highest quality.
You and your supervisors should plan to meet regularly to discuss your progress. Some students see their supervisors daily, and formal meetings are held at least monthly, but usually more often. Plan your communication schedule together, taking into account periods of leave and other commitments, such as fieldwork or off-site data collection.
Discuss with your supervisors whether you or they will be responsible for keeping records of your meetings. Generally, all formal supervision meetings should be recorded. We strongly recommend that you do this in RECS, under ‘My project’, then ‘Supervision meetings’. This will allow all your supervisors to access a log of supervision meetings, including decisions and goals that are set and helps to avoid misunderstandings amongst the team. You may also add any required actions as goals.
If difficulties arise in your supervisory relationship, there’s support available to help get them resolved and minimise disruption to your research. Typically, problems identified and addressed early can often be resolved, so it is important not to ignore difficulties when they arise.
If appropriate under the circumstances, in many cases the first step will be to organise a meeting with your supervisor to discuss the issue and how it might be resolved in a way that meets both your needs. Before the meeting, make notes of the points you want to raise. During the meeting, ask questions that encourage dialogue, such as ‘How do you see us working together most effectively?’ Inviting both perspectives in this way can encourage a productive discussion and assist in arriving at a mutually agreeable solution.
If this approach is not appropriate under the circumstances, or if it is unsuccessful, you can contact your faculty or school’s Associate Head, Research Education (or equivalent) to discuss the matter confidentially. You can also seek confidential advice and support from the Sydney University Postgraduate Representative Association (SUPRA), the Student Counselling Service, or any other relevant service listed on the Wellbeing and support page.
In some cases, you may need to make a change to your supervisory team.
Discuss this situation first with your faculty or school’s Associate Head, Research Education (or equivalent), as a change of lead supervisor can have implications for your progression, scholarship and/or student visa requirements.
In late November of each year, you will receive an email prompting you to re-enrol for the start of the next academic year before the enrolment deadline.
In Sydney Student, go to ‘My studies’ and then ‘Enrolment’ and follow the prompts. Double-check your address and personal information in 'My details' and update any details that have changed.
If you are currently enrolled and are continuing your studies without a break, when you complete your re-enrolment each year, you should select the option for ‘continuing students’.
If you are returning to your studies after a suspension when you complete your re-enrolment to recommence your studies, you should select the option for ‘recommencing students’.
There are several types of leave you might wish to request during your candidature.
All leave requests must be approved by your lead supervisor and by your faculty or school’s Associate Head, Research Education (or equivalent). Once your request has been assessed, you will be notified of the outcome.
If you receive a scholarship or other financial assistance from the University, your payments may be affected if you take certain types of leave. Check your scholarship offer letter for the applicable terms and conditions, and if you need further guidance, email the Higher Degree by Research Administration Centre (HDRAC).
Taking certain types of leave can also affect your eligibility for Centrelink payments and travel concessions, so you must inform Centrelink of any leave you take from your studies.
The conditions of your student visa may limit your eligibility to take leave or may require you to meet additional requirements, as outlined in ’visa implications for international students'.
Further, you can only request a suspension under certain circumstances.
Discuss your situation with your lead supervisor, and for further guidance, contact the Higher Degree by Research Administration Centre (HDRAC).
If you are a recipient of certain scholarships, you may be entitled to a certain amount of paid sick leave and/or a certain amount of paid parental leave. If you are not entitled to such leave, consider requesting a suspension or a leave of absence.
To determine whether you are eligible for paid leave, check the terms and conditions of your stipend scholarship and contact the Higher Degree by Research Administration Centre (HDRAC) for confirmation.
Taking sick or parental leave does not extend the length of your candidature or change your required thesis submission date, and your enrolment continues uninterrupted during your period of leave.
If you subsequently request an extension of your candidature to offset an approved period of sick or parental leave taken, that will be assessed as a separate request against the usual criteria, and approval is not guaranteed.
Where possible, submit your request for sick or parental leave at least four weeks before you wish to start the period of leave.
If you are an international student, the conditions of your student visa may limit your eligibility to take sick or parental leave or may require you to meet additional requirements.
In RECS, go to ‘My project’, then ‘Candidature maintenance’, then ‘Start new request’, select the appropriate leave type and complete the required form.
You must also provide relevant documentation that demonstrates the need for the type of leave you are requesting. For guidance on what documentation to provide, contact the Higher Degree by Research Administration Centre (HDRAC).
If you need to take leave for less than one full research period, whether for health or personal reasons, you should request a leave of absence. If you need to take leave for one full research period or longer, you must request a suspension of your enrolment.
Taking a leave of absence does not affect the length of your candidature or your required thesis submission date, and your enrolment continues during your leave period.
If you are receiving a scholarship or other financial assistance from the University, your payments will be paused for the approved period of the leave. Taking leave retroactively may create an overpayment that you will need to repay.
If you are an international student, the conditions of your student visa may limit your eligibility to take leave of absence, or may require you to meet additional requirements.
In RECS, go to ‘My project’, then ‘Candidature maintenance’, then ‘Start new request’, select ‘Leave of absence’ and complete the required form.
If your research requires you to undertake any domestic or international travel, you must first discuss your plans with your supervisor to ensure you have adequately addressed each of the concerns below.
In particular, ensure you also submit a request for 'counting time away' so that your enrolment, supervision and access to appropriate facilities will continue during your time away from campus.
All travel arrangements must then be made through the University’s travel management system to ensure that you will be covered by the University’s travel insurance. For further guidance, see the University’s Travel Policy.
Please note that if you are travelling for fieldwork, there may be discipline-specific safety protocols that you need complete to ensure your safety while away. Contact your faculty/school to check if this applies to you.
Before making any overseas travel arrangements, check the Australian Government’s Smartraveller website for current travel advice about your proposed destination and the services available to you in the event of difficulties. Also, see the Smartraveller website’s guidance on travelling overseas for academic study and work.
To ensure that your enrolment, supervision arrangements and access to appropriate facilities continue uninterrupted during your period of travel, you must submit a request to ‘count time away’.
Regardless of whether your research requires ethics approval in Australia, it may have ethical or even legal implications in your destination country. Before travelling, contact the University’s Research Integrity team and/or Office of General Counsel for guidance.
If you are travelling as a student for University-related purposes you will be covered by the University’s travel insurance. You must submit a travel request through the University’s travel management system, Concur.
In some faculties/schools, you must upload your Concur approval as part of your ‘counting time away’ request. Your faculty or school’s Associate Head, Research Education (or equivalent) can confirm whether this applies to you.
If your travel is funded, discuss your travel request with your supervisor first. You may need to nominate their account code when submitting your Concur request.
The University offers HDR students several types of support with the costs of research-related travel. For information, visit our funding opportunities page.
If as part of your HDR studies you need to spend time conducting research away from campus – such as carrying out fieldwork, attending conferences or undertaking an internship, whether within Australia or overseas – you should submit a request for ‘counting time away’ to ensure that your enrolment, supervision and access to appropriate facilities will continue during your time away from campus.
Note that any associated travel arrangements must be made through the University, for insurance and other purposes.
Counting time away does not affect the length of your candidature or your required thesis submission date, as your enrolment continues uninterrupted during your time away from campus.
The The University of Sydney (Higher Degree by Research) Rule (pdf, 568KB) specifies minimum periods of time you must spend studying on campus in order to meet the requirements of your degree. Before submitting a request for counting time away, check to ensure you will still meet these requirements.
Any request to count time away must also be supported by your supervisor and your faculty or school’s Associate Head, Research Education (or equivalent).
If you are receiving a scholarship or other financial assistance from the University, your payments may be affected if you spend time away.
Check your scholarship offer letter for the applicable terms and conditions, and if you need further guidance email the Higher Degree by Research Administration Centre (HDRAC).
Spending time away may also affect your eligibility for Centrelink payments and travel concessions. You must also inform Centrelink of your plans.
Counting time away does not affect your Confirmation of Enrolment (eCoE), as your enrolment continues uninterrupted during your time away from campus.
Note that if you have not yet been granted a student visa to study on-campus at the University of Sydney, you should not enrol in your chosen course and request counting time away in the hope that this will cover the period until you are granted a student visa.
This approach puts you at risk of losing your tuition fees and any scholarships granted in the event that your visa application is delayed or rejected, as you will be unable to meet certain requirements of your course from offshore so may be forced to withdraw.
There are also insurance implications to enrolling from offshore without a valid student visa. If you have received an offer of admission but do not yet have a valid student visa, you must email the Admissions team to request that your start date be deferred until your visa is granted.
If you have already enrolled, you must request a suspension until your visa is granted.
In Sydney Student, go to ‘My studies’, then ‘Course details’, then ‘Request a period of counting time away’ and follow the prompts.
Remember to also make any associated travel arrangements through the University for insurance and other purposes.
Some changes to your candidature will have visa implications, as noted in our accompanying guide to making changes. In these cases, you must complete a Visa Entitlement Verification Online (VEVO) check on the same date that you submit your candidature change request to the University, and upload your completed VEVO check with your candidature change request.
In addition, if your VEVO check indicates that any of the following conditions applies, you must meet the requirements indicated below for that condition.
Your request to the University cannot be processed until you have submitted documentary evidence demonstrating that you have met the relevant requirements.
For further guidance, discuss your situation with your lead supervisor, contact the Higher Degree by Research Administration Centre (HDRAC), email a Compliance Officer, or visit the Department of Home Affairs website.
This condition requires you to remain enrolled in and maintain satisfactory attendance and progress in a CRICOS-registered course that is at the same Australian Qualifications Framework (AQF) level or higher than the course for which your student visa was granted unless you are changing from an AQF level 10 to an AQF level 9 course. Further, any gap between courses must not be more than two months, except under certain circumstances.
If your studies are sponsored by the Department of Foreign Affairs or the Department of Defence, you must also maintain full-time enrolment in your course.
For more information about this condition, see the Department of Home Affairs’ list of visa conditions.
Condition 8203 requires you to obtain the approval of the Minister for Home Affairs if you wish to change courses or change your research or thesis topic. Such approval may be granted only after an Australian national security assessment.
To request this approval from the Minister, you must complete and submit Form 1221, Additional personal particulars information and a Visa Condition 8203/8204 Change of study assessment request and await the result. Your request to the University cannot be processed until you have provided a copy of the relevant approval letter.
For more information about this condition, see the Department of Home Affairs’ list of visa conditions.
This condition requires you to obtain the approval of the Minister for Home Affairs if you wish to change courses or change your research or thesis topic. Such approval may be granted only after an Australian national security assessment.
To request this approval from the Minister, you must complete and submit Form 1221, Additional personal particulars information, and a Visa Condition 8203/8204 Change of study assessment request and await the result.
Your request to the University cannot be processed until you have provided a copy of the relevant approval letter.
For more information about this condition, see the Department of Home Affairs’ list of visa conditions.
This condition requires you to obtain the approval of the Minister for Home Affairs if you wish to change courses or change your research or thesis topic to one relating to critical technology. Such approval may be granted only after an assessment of the risk of unwanted transfer of the critical technology.
To request this approval from the Minister, you must complete and submit a Condition 8208 Change of course approval request form along with any evidence requested and await the result.
Your request to the University cannot be processed until you have provided a copy of the relevant approval letter. Failure to meet this condition may also result in your visa being cancelled.
For more information about this condition, see the Department of Home Affairs’ list of visa conditions and its list of Critical technology—enhanced visa screening measures.