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Higher degree by research enrolment guide

Domestic candidates and all candidates based outside Australia

You will need to follow the below instructions to accept your program offer.

To accept your RMIT program offer you must enrol online within 10 days of receiving your offer letter or your offer may lapse (unless you have conditions attached to your offer).

Please note: If any conditions apply to your offer as stated in your offer letter you must satisfy these conditions before you will be given access to the Enrolment Online system. You have until your program commencement date to satisfy these conditions.

International candidates studying at an Australian based campus

You will need to refer to the instructions received in your RMIT offer of admission letter received from RMIT International. Do not follow the instructions below to accept your program offer.

Scholarship offers

If you have received a scholarship offer, please refer to the ‘Scholarship offers’ section of this webpage for further instructions on accepting your scholarship offer.

  • Your RMIT offer (specifically your student number and program details).
  • Proof of citizenship.
  • A form of photo identification (example: passport or driver licence).
  • Your Unique Student Identifier (USI). It’s a government requirement that you have a USI to enrol in a higher education program. Create your USI.

Before you proceed any further, we strongly recommend that you visit password assistance and take control of your password by changing the temporary password you’ve been given to something unique and secure.

You can also set up your self service details in case you forget your password.

Enrolment Online is the system you use to enrol.

You can log in to Enrolment Online using your RMIT ID and password (see above section).

Full time students are required to enrol in 96 credit points each year (24 credit points each quarter). Part-time students are required to enrol in 48 credit points each year (12 credit points each quarter).

All research candidates are required to take a research methods or strategies course (worth 12 credit points) in the first 6 months of enrolment. You must also remain enrolled in a research course for the duration of your enrolment.

Before you log out, ensure your enrolment details are correct.

If your details are wrong or you have any queries, please contact RMIT Connect.

You will be required to re-enrol to your program each year.

Preferred name

At RMIT we recognise that some students may choose to use a name that affirms their gender. Although citizenship verification requires you to use the name stated on your legal documentation, we can support you to ensure that you’re addressed by the correct pronouns and name while studying at RMIT.  Please contact a Diversity and Inclusion Advisor at inclusion@rmit.edu.au for advice.

Please refer to your offer letter for your program commencement date.

If this date is not suitable, you can elect to alter your program start date. To change your program start date, you must obtain the support of your senior supervisor in writing and forward the confirmation email to School of Graduate Research admissions team as soon as possible with the subject line "Change of Commencement Date".

We encourage you to choose a start date that is suitable to both you and your senior supervisor.

Please refer to section 2 of the Program duration process for more information.

If you have received a scholarship offer from the School of Graduate Research (SGR), this will be noted on your offer letter. SGR Scholarships include the following:

  • Vice Chancellor’s PhD Scholarship (VCPS)
  • RTP Stipend Scholarship (RSS)
  • RMIT Research Stipend Scholarship (RRSS)
  • RTP International Fee Offset Scholarship (RIFOS)
  • RMIT International Tuition Fee Offset (RRITFS)

Note: If you have been offered an RTP fee place, this is not a scholarship offer.

If you have received a school-based scholarship offer,  you will need to contact your school to discuss individual scholarship allowances and entitlements.    

Step 1. Accept your scholarship offer

You are able to review and accept your scholarship offer through Enrolment Online via myRMIT. You must ensure you do so by the date indicated on your offer letter. Your scholarship offer will lapse if you do not respond by this deadline.

If you choose to decline the scholarship offer, please advise us as soon as possible so we can offer the scholarship to another applicant.

Step 2. Receive your scholarship payments

In order to set up your scholarship payments, you will need to provide us with your banking details. Please input this via Enrolment Online > My student record > View / manage bank accounts.

Scholarship payments will be made fortnightly into your nominated bank account, as per the RMIT pay calendar.    

Scholarship commencement date

If you are a new candidate, your scholarship start date will reflect your program commencement date. The scholarship start date for existing candidates will be set to a pre-approved date for all awardees (this is indicated on your offer letter).

Unless stated otherwise, scholarship duration for PhD is 3 years, with the possibility of a 6-month extension. SGR has provisionally extended all scholarships for the additional 6 month period on the basis that satisfactory progress is maintained. Failure to maintain satisfactory progress may result in the cancellation of the 6-month extension.

Scholarship duration for Masters by Research is 2 years, with no provision for extension.

Any period of study towards a higher degree by research completed prior to the start of this scholarship will be taken into account and the duration of the scholarship will be reduced accordingly.

Conditions of scholarship

Failure to maintain satisfactory academic progress, as outlined in the Supporting HDR progress process, may result in a suspension of scholarship payments.

Further details relating to the terms and conditions of your scholarship can be found within the HDR Scholarship Terms and Conditions.

Please read this document carefully before accepting your scholarship.

Before you move on to the next part of Getting started, there are a few things you need to know.

Communications from RMIT

RMIT will send you important messages as:

It is very important that you log in to myRMIT and your RMIT student email account at least twice a week to check for messages.

Your rights and responsibilities

As part of the enrolment process, you agree to the University’s Statement of student responsibilities. Familiarise yourself with this statement as it governs your conduct while a student at RMIT.

Learn more about your rights and responsibilities.

Starting candidature

Once you have successfully enrolled in your new program, you are advised to visit the New Student Guide webpage and contact the Graduate School of Research for induction and essential services available to you during your candidature.

Remember to:

Candidates based outside Australia only

If you are a HDR candidate based outside Australia, you are entitled to an RMIT student card. Please contact your school administrator directly to organise this. You will need to provide a passport photo (jpeg format) of yourself.

We’ve developed a dedicated area as an RMIT research candidate to provide you with information throughout your candidature. Beginning your candidature section is specifically designed to help you to get started and settle into your candidature and includes information on:

  • induction
  • working with your supervisor
  • ethics and research integrity
  • resources available to you during your candidature, etc.