Application

Chairperson of Thesis Committee

The Chairperson of Thesis Committee is a member of the academic staff of the University who is a Registered Level One Supervisor. Generally a Chairperson will be an experienced Supervisor. Staff who do not meet this criterion and who already hold the position of Chairperson are able to continue supervising those students, but must be Registered Level 1 Supervisors in order to be included as the Chairperson on the Thesis Committee for any new students.

The Thesis Committee (comprises at least three persons including a chairperson, a main supervisor, and at least one (1) co-supervisor or Associate Supervisor or a combination of both) formally appointed by the Faculty Graduate Studies Committee at the time of approval of Candidacy and associated with a specific Higher Degree by Research (HDR) candidate.

Supervisor

Three (3) major categories of Supervisor

Main Supervisor (Must be a Registered Level 1 Supervisor)
Co-Supervisor (Either a Register Level 1 or Level 2 Supervisor)
Associate Supervisor (If applicable)

How to Apply?

1. To be eligible for entry onto the Register of Supervisors, a staff member shall satisfy the following conditions:

  1. Be an academic staff member of the University.
  2. Be actively engaged in research, within the University, as demonstrated by at least one relevant publication in the last two years (including research reports/creative works/patents)
  3. Have successfully completed the online University Research Integrity professional development course
  4. Agree to supervise HDR students in accordance with Curtin’s Rule 10 made pursuant to Statute No. 12 – Enrolment: Degree of Doctor by Research and Rule 11 made pursuant to Statute No. 12 – Enrolment: Degree of Master by Research and with the University Policies relating to Research
  5. Have a recognised tertiary qualification equal to or above that of the course of study being supervised or have equivalent professional experience.
  6. Have taken steps within the last three years to develop and maintain good supervisory skills and knowledge of Curtin’s policies, guidelines and rules as they pertain to higher degrees by research. This may include attendance at relevant workshops/seminars offered by the Graduate Research School (GRS), Faculties, Enrolling Areas or other areas of the University, or attendance at appropriate supervisory skills development conferences/workshops external to the University, or participation in established online programs. This may also include a staff member’s designated role as a School (or equivalent) Director of Graduate Research. Active membership of the University Graduate Studies Committee or a Faculty Graduate Studies Committee also fulfils this criterion.

2. Criteria

2.1. Level 2

To qualify for Level 2 Registration, a staff member must satisfy all of the criteria in item 1.

2.2. Level 1

To qualify for Level 1 Registration, a staff member must satisfy all of the criteria in item 1; and

Have successfully supervised a research masters or doctoral student to completion.

3. Upgrade from Level 2 to Level 1

Staff who are Level 2 registrants and who subsequently meet requirements for Level 1 registration through successful completion of a higher degree by research student, shall contact a Graduate Studies Officer to arrange for approval by the Associate Deputy Vice-Chancellor, Research Training or nominee to upgrade their registration to Level 1. The University Graduate Studies Committee shall note these approvals accordingly.

Where the staff member has not supervised a student to completion, the requirement for 3.3.1 may be waived for Doctoral Level 1 Registration, provided that the staff member has:

Engaged in co-supervision of a research masters or doctoral student for a minimum of two years; and

Completed a minimum of two HDR professional development activities in the last three years, as outlined in 3.2.1 (f), where one of these activities relates to the Thesis Examination Process.

4. Application

To apply as a new Registered Supervisor (Level 2 and 1 only), renewing or updating application, please click this link.

To apply as an Associate Supervisor, please submit ‘Registration of a University Associate for the Purposes of Supervision of Higher Degree by Research Students‘ form to the Graduate School.

Internal Assessor

The Thesis Committee needs to appoint an Internal Assessor (the independent academic staff member) by submitting the Nomination of Internal Assessor for HDR Mid-term Report form to the Graduate School.

Thesis Examiner

Approximately three months before the anticipated date of completion, Thesis Examining Panel Members (at least two examiners) will be nominated by the supervisory team in consultation with the Head of Enrolling Area. The  Nomination of Examiners form, the Case for the Nomination of Examiners  for HDR Student form and CVs for all examiners need to be submitted to the Graduate School for approval.