Postgraduate Programs with the School of Philosophy and Bioethics
The School of Philosophy and Bioethics at Monash has an excellent record for the successful completion of degrees by our research students. This year we have vacancies in our postgraduate program and are actively seeking enthusiastic and capable new students to fill them. In addition to the facilities common to all Monash research students, Philosophy and Bioethics research students enjoy:
- An induction seminar specific to our discipline to help get your thesis off to a good start
- A weekly work-in-progress seminar in which new and advanced students try out their latest work
- A departmental library
- A shared facility specifically for Philosophy and Bioethics research students with computers, internet connections, printer and a photocopier.(Additional rooms are available in both the Arts Research Graduate Centre and at the Monash Research Graduate Centre)
- Opportunities for working as a tutor, marker or research assistant
- A thriving postgraduate association specifically for Philosophy and Bioethics students
- A collegial and intellectually stimulating environment in the staff and postgrad. Common Room
- An invitation to participate in seminars in our Honours/MQual year in which staff are presenting their recent research.
If you are contemplating a research degree (that is, an MA or PhD) in philosophy or bioethics, you should:
- browse our staff pages, research pages and postgrad. brochure to see the kind of work we do here,
- next, you should read the Q and A session below - this provides practical information on admission policy, scholarships and so forth,
- then see a list of the postgraduate degrees we offer, and
- details of our current postgrad. students and recent graduates.
Queries?
If you have a query about postgraduate study in philosophy, please direct your initial enquiries to philosophy.postgraduate.enquiries@arts.monash.edu.au.
If you have a query about postgraduate studies in bioethics, please direct your initial enquiries to human.bioethics@arts.monash.edu.au.
Q and A for prospective research students
The following are some quick and not very detailed answers to commonly asked questions. To get the full story, please see the Postgraduate Course Guide. International students should also consult the Monash site for International students.
What counts as a "higher degree by research'?
A research degree will allow you to complete a research project of interest to you and will require you to report on your findings. A significant proportion of the assessment of a higher degree by research relies on your thesis of 20 - 40,000 words in a masters (depending on the course taken) and up to 100,000 words for a doctorate. Please see the full list of HDR options offered by Philosophy and Bioethics.
Research postgraduate degrees are contrasted with coursework degrees. In the latter, there is no thesis or research component. Please see the full list of our postgraduate coursework degrees.
The Bioethics coursework degrees are discussed in detail on the Bioethics degree programs page.
What is necessary in order to be admitted?
Generally, admission to research degrees requires at least an H2A result in an Honours degree (or its equivalent) in Philosophy or a closely allied discipline. To be considered for a scholarship, you need an H1 result in Honours or its equivalent.
I'm not familiar with Australian degrees. What's an Honours degree?
An Honours degree is a fourth year of study beyond the normal 3 year BA program. It will involve a substantial Honours thesis which helps train you to undertake longer independent research tasks. See our Honours page for a description of the program.
The question of Honours equivalence with various international degrees is a tricky matter. Please contact us at the relevant enquiries address (listed above) for advice.
In any case, the School offers two post-graduate courses that will prepare you for entry into the above listed courses if you do not meet the admission requirements already.
What does it cost to do a research degree?
Full details about fees and Commonwealth Supported Places, you should go to the Postgraduate Fees site. This page also provides information on fees for for international students.
What about scholarships?
Information on scholarships can be found on the Monash Scholarships and Grants site. Some scholarships cover only tuition. Others provide for living expenses as well. The most common scholarships for research students are the International Postgraduate Research Scholarships (IPRS), the Monash Postgraduate Research Scholarships (MIPRS) and the Monash Graduate Scholarship (MGS).
On the same site, there is also information on scholarships available to Australian and NZ students. The most common scholarships are the Australian Postgraduate Award (APA) and the Monash Graduate Scholarship (MGS ).
Who decides about scholarships? Who do I deal with? And when?
The allocation of scholarships happens at the level of the University, not the School. The unit within the university that has the final say in all matters pertaining to PhD students is the Monash Research Graduate School (MRGS). In spite of this, MRGS will ask you to request a scholarship application from the School.
Scholarship application forms should be available starting in mid-late July. The deadline for application is 31 October for study beginning in the following January.
What about admission? Who decides? And when can I be admitted?
The Monash Research Graduate School is ultimately responsible for the decision about both the minimal entry criteria for admission and about whether your qualification is equivalent to an H1 Honours degree so that you can be considered for a scholarship. Acceptance by MRGS is a necessary but not a sufficient condition for admission. The School may nonetheless decline to offer you a place if we think that we cannot adequately supervise your particular project.
It is possible to begin a research degree at any point in the year. However, most candidates will begin at the start of the year. This allows you to participate in our common induction seminar for new research students.
Suppose I'm not sure whether to apply for the PhD or the MA ?
It is fairly common for students to begin in the MA program and upgrade their candidature to the PhD. In some cases we may encourage this pathway if we want to be sure your proposed project has the 'legs' for a full PhD thesis.
Who do I contact with further questions?
Do not hesitate to contact us at philosophy.postgraduate.enquiries@arts.monash.edu.au (for philosophy enquiries), or human.bioethics@arts.monash.edu.au (for bioethics enquiries). John Bigelow, the postgraduate coordinator can also be contacted with queries.