BHP Billiton Postgraduate Research Scholarships in the UWA Business School * [F23609]

An asterisk (*) indicates that this scholarship is governed by conditions. This scholarship is governed by the General Conditions for Scholarships for Coursework Students except as set out in the conditions that follow.

BHP Billiton provides a sum of $500,000 annually for five years to provide scholarships in the UWA Business School. BHP Billiton Postgraduate Research Scholarships in the UWA Business School are available to eligible international and domestic applicants who enrol in a research higher degree to pursue research in economic, business or management issues relevant to the resources sector.¹ The scholarships are established and awarded in accordance with the following conditions. These conditions apply to commencing and continuing students and may be subject to change from time to time. Students will benefit from any changes to these conditions that are to their advantage.

¹ This can encompass, for example, research addressing the social, environmental and economic impact of mining and resources industries on regional national and international economies. It can explore both the direct operation of mining and resource management, and their indirect effects on the wider community.

For the purpose of these conditions—

the “Head of School” means a person appointed or acting in that capacity or the Postgraduate Research Co-ordinator of the school, Postgraduate Research Co-ordinators being designated academics who have been approved by the head of school and the Board of the Graduate Research School to act on behalf of the head of school on matters pertaining to research higher degrees;

a “domestic applicant” or “domestic student” is an Australian or New Zealand citizen or an Australian Permanent Resident;

an “international student” is a student who is a citizen of an overseas country, except New Zealand;

a “research higher degree” means Doctor of Philosophy (PhD) or master's by thesis;

BGRS is the Board of the Graduate Research School;

RTS is the Research Training Scheme;

SIRF is a Scholarship for International Research Fees;

IPRS is an International Postgraduate Research Scholarship;

CTS is the Commercialisation Training Scheme.

Part 1—Tuition Fees, Stipend and Allowances

1. Domestic Applicants—RTS

1.1 All domestic scholarship holders are allocated an RTS place for the duration of their research higher degree course.

1.2 A student may not hold more than one RTS place at any one time regardless of whether the student studies on a full-time or part-time basis.

2. International Applicants—SIRF and IPRS

2.1 International applicants may apply for either a SIRF or an IPRS which covers tuition fees and health insurance.

2.2 Recipients of a SIRF or IPRS must ensure that they read and understand SIRF and IPRS conditions at http://www.scholarships.uwa.edu.au/home.

3. Concurrent Scholarships

3.1 The scholarship may be held concurrently with another external or University award provided that the conditions of the concurrent award so permit.

3.2 The scholarship holder is not permitted to be in receipt of an award, scholarship or salary that provides benefits which are similar to, or greater than, this scholarship.

4. Stipend

4.1 Full-time Scholarships

4.1.1 A full-time BHP Billiton Postgraduate Research Scholarship carries a stipend of $42,322 per annum.

4.1.2 Payments are made in fortnightly instalments.

4.1.3 It is the responsibility of the scholarship recipients to check the implications for income tax liability of accepting a scholarship.²

² http://www.ato.gov.au/

4.2 Part-time Scholarships

4.2.1 A part-time BHP Billiton Postgraduate Research Scholarship carries a stipend of $21,161 per annum for part-time study.

4.2.2 Payments are made in fortnightly instalments.

4.2.3 A part-time scholarship is taxable.

4.2.4 A part-time scholarship may be offered to a student who is—

(a) able to demonstrate that special circumstances, such as a medical condition or major family commitments, preclude full-time study; or

(b) undertaking a CTS training concurrently with a research higher degree. 

4.2.5 The desire to undertake part-time employment is not accepted as a special circumstance.

4.2.6 A student holding a part-time scholarship must be enrolled at the University as a part-time student.

4.2.7 A holder of a part-time scholarship may convert to full-time study at any stage or may be required by the University to convert to full-time study if special circumstances no longer apply.

4.3 Research Travel Allowance

4.3.1 An additional sum of up to $5000 is available to enable the recipient to undertake during the candidature a period of overseas travel for the purposes of research or conference attendance.

4.4 Other Stipend Matters

4.4.1 The value of a scholarship is not affected by payments in relation to long service leave, assistance granted for travel associated with overseas research or field trips, concurrent assistance from a private employer in the form of part salary, or any other assistance for purposes other than those covered by the scholarship.

Part 2—Scholarship Conditions 

5. Purpose
5.1 The purpose of the scholarship is to enable an eligible research higher degree student to pursue research in economic, business or management issues relevant to the resources sector in the UWA Business School at the University.

6. Eligibility
6.1 To be eligible to apply for a scholarship an applicant must—

(a) be eligible to enrol as a full-time student or in exceptional circumstances and with the approval of the University, as a part-time student in a research higher degree through the UWA Business School at the University by the date of commencement of their scholarship;

(b) have a bachelor’s degree with first class honours (H1) or equivalent;

(c) have been accepted into the proposed research higher degree by the BGRS;

(d) be proposing to undertake research in the UWA Business School;

(e) not have completed a degree either at the same level as, or at a higher level than, the degree for which candidature is sought.

7. Selection Criteria
7.1 The scholarship is awarded by the Scholarships Committee to eligible applicants on the basis of academic achievement as evidenced by the applicants’ academic records.

8. Application Procedure
8.1 Domestic applicants must complete and submit the online application for the Australian and University Postgraduate Awards in the main round of applications as advertised on the Graduate Research and Scholarships Office website at http://www.scholarships.uwa.edu.au/home by the advertised closing date.

9. Awarding Body
9.1 The scholarship is awarded by the Scholarships Committee on the recommendation of the UWA Business School.

10. Duration of Award
10.1 A full-time scholarship is tenable for—

(a) two years for the degree of master by research; or

(b) three years for a doctoral degree.

10.2 The tenure of a part-time scholarship is four years for a master’s degree and six years for a doctoral degree. 

10.3 Doctoral students may apply for an extension of up to six months’ duration subject to satisfactory progress, provided the grounds for extension are related to their research and are beyond the control of the student.

10.4 No extensions are possible for students undertaking the degree of master by research.

10.5 Periods of study already undertaken towards the degree prior to the commencement of the scholarship or undertaken during suspension of the scholarship are deducted from the maximum period of tenure.

11. Criteria for Continuation
11.1 Continuation of the scholarship from year to year is subject to the recipient—

(a) maintaining continuous enrolment at the University as a full-time student, unless otherwise recommended by the Scholarship Committee and approved by the BGRS; and

(b) submitting through their supervisor and the head of school, a satisfactory Annual Progress Report to the BGRS.

12. Administering Body 
12.1 The scholarship is administered by the Scholarships Office.

13. Commencement
13.1 An award holder must enrol by the date set by the University or the scholarship may be withdrawn and reallocated to another applicant.

14. Conversion between Master's and Doctoral Awards
14.1 If the BGRS approves a transfer of candidature in accordance with University General Rules 1.3.1.21 and 1.3.1.22 it may permit the scholarship to be converted from a scholarship for doctoral studies to a scholarship for master’s studies or vice versa.

14.2 If the BGRS approves the conversion of a scholarship in accordance with 14.1, the maximum duration of the scholarship becomes that of the new candidature as set out in 10.

15. Changes to Enrolment and Enrolment Status

15.1 Changes to Enrolment Status
15.1.1 Students must inform the Scholarships Office at least two weeks in advance if they intend to suspend or terminate their enrolment or to change their enrolment to part-time.

15.1.2 Failure to provide notice in accordance with 15.1 may result in overpayment that must be recovered from the student.

15.2 Suspension of a Scholarship
15.2.1 A student who wishes to suspend their candidature must apply in writing through their supervisor and head of school for a period of suspension.

15.2.2 Applications for suspension of candidature are considered by the BGRS.

15.2.3 A student who is applying for a period of suspension of candidature must apply to suspend their scholarship for the same period.

15.2.4 Subject to 15.2.9, a student may apply to suspend their scholarship even if they are not proposing to suspend their candidature.

15.2.5 Applications to suspend a scholarship are submitted to the Scholarships Committee for consideration.

15.2.6 Unless it decides otherwise in recognition of exceptional circumstances, the Scholarships Committee will not approve suspension of a scholarship that commences within the first six months of tenure of the scholarship or that will result in an accumulated period of suspension that is of more than twelve months’ duration.

15.2.7 The Scholarships Committee will under no circumstances approve suspension of a scholarship for a period or periods exceeding two years.

15.2.8  If a student whose scholarship has been suspended does not either resume study at the end of the period of suspension or apply by the due date to extend the period of suspension, their scholarship will be terminated.

15.2.9 Periods of study undertaken by a student while their scholarship is suspended are deducted from the maximum period of tenure of the scholarship.

15.2.10 International students must seek advice from the University’s International Centre about the implications of suspension.

15.3 Termination
15.3.1 The University terminates a scholarship—

(a) on submission of the thesis or the death, incapacity or withdrawal of the student or at the end of the duration of the scholarship, whichever is earliest;

(b) if in the opinion of the Scholarships Committee, the student has committed misconduct as defined in Statute 17 (http://calendar.publishing.uwa.edu.au/latest/partc/stat17) including, but not limited to, the provision of false or misleading information;

(c) if in the opinion of the Scholarships Committee, the course of study is not being carried out in accordance with the offer of the scholarship, and no suitable alternate arrangements can be made for continuation of the postgraduate degree course;

(d) when the student ceases to be a full-time student and when approval has not been obtained to hold the scholarship on a part-time basis; or

(e) the scholarship recipient does not resume study at the conclusion of a period of suspension.

15.3.2 If an award is terminated, it cannot be reactivated unless the termination occurred in error.

16. Publications
16.1 Any thesis, dissertation or other publication resulting from research undertaken by the recipient while in receipt of the BHP Billiton Scholarship must acknowledge the support of the scholarship and carry the University by-line.

17. Intellectual Property
17.1 Intellectual property is governed by the University’s Intellectual Property policy available on the University’s web site at http://www.universitypolicies.uwa.edu.au/page/117132.

Part 3—Leave Entitlements and Paid Employment

18. Recreation Leave 
18.1 Students undertaking a research higher degree are entitled to 20 days paid recreation leave a year calculated on a pro-rata basis.

18.2 Recreation leave may be accumulated subject to 18.3.

18.3 No more than 30 days recreation leave may be accumulated and leave must be taken during the tenure of the scholarship.

18.4 Unused leave remaining when a scholarship is terminated or completed is forfeited.

18.5 Approval to undertake periods of recreation leave must be obtained from the supervisor and head of school before leave is taken.

19. Sick Leave
19.1 Scholarship holders are provided with up to ten days paid sick leave each year of their award which may be accrued but cannot be taken after the scholarship has expired.

19.2 For medically substantiated periods of illness lasting longer than two weeks, domestic  students may receive up to a total of twelve weeks paid sick leave which is additional to the normal duration of the scholarship.

19.3 Periods of sick leave longer than three months must be accessed through the suspension provisions set out in 15.2.

19.4 International students are not entitled to additional extended paid sick leave, beyond the allowance of ten days paid sick leave per year.

19.5 For periods of illness lasting longer than two weeks (ten University working days), international students may access unpaid sick leave through the suspension provisions.

20. Domestic Students—Maternity Leave
20.1 On completion of twelve months of a scholarship domestic students undertaking a research higher degree may access up to twelve weeks' paid maternity leave within the tenure of the scholarship.

20.2 A student is not permitted to take paid maternity leave in the first year of the scholarship, however unpaid maternity leave may be accessed through the suspension provisions.

20.3 Paid maternity leave is in addition to the normal duration of the scholarship.

21. International Students—Maternity Leave
21.1 International students are not entitled to paid maternity leave.

21.2 International students may take unpaid maternity leave if they give birth to a child within the tenure of the scholarship.

21.3 Unpaid maternity leave must be accessed through the suspension provisions set out in 15.2.

22. Domestic Students—Parenting Leave
22.1 Domestic scholarship holders who are partners of women giving birth and who have completed twelve months of their scholarship may be entitled to a period of five days paid parenting leave.

22.2 Paid parenting leave cannot be taken in the first year of a scholarship, however unpaid parenting leave may be accessed through the suspension provisions set out in 15.2.

22.3 Paid parenting leave is in addition to the normal duration of the scholarship.

23. International Students—Parenting Leave 
23.1 International students are not entitled to paid parenting leave, however they may take unpaid parenting leave of five days.

24. Paid Overseas Leave
24.1 The BGRS may grant approval for a student to undertake fieldwork and conduct research outside Australia in relation to their course.

24.2 Approval to undertake fieldwork or conduct research outside Australia is only granted where it can be demonstrated that it is essential for completion of the course.

24.3 Except in exceptional circumstances the BGRS does not approve paid overseas leave to attend conferences, undertake fieldwork or conduct research within the first six months of the commencement of the award or prior to submission of a research proposal.

24.4  The BGRS approves paid overseas leave to undertake fieldwork or conduct research only where the student has confirmed in writing that the proposed destination has not been listed as an area to which the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade have advised against all travel and there is adequate supervision at the overseas institution.

24.5 The scholarship holder must maintain contact with their supervisor and remain enrolled at the University.

24.6 Students should note that in the event of war or civil disturbance breaking out in a country to which a student has travelled for the purpose of research, the University's travel insurance policies may cease to apply.

24.7 Failure to obtain approval for paid overseas leave may result in the award being suspended or terminated.

25. Research at Other Organisations (within Australia)
25.1 The University may approve a scholarship holder conducting fieldwork or undertaking a substantial amount of research in Australia at organisations external to the higher education sector provided adequate support, supervision, training and research freedom for the student is available at the other organisation.

25.2 Applications to conduct such fieldwork or research referred to in 25.1 require the approval of the Scholarships Committee and are only approved on the understanding that the student remains an enrolled student of the University.

26. Employment
26.1 A full-time student may undertake only a strictly limited amount of paid employment during normal working hours of 9 a.m. to 5 p.m., Monday to Friday.

26.2 No more than a total of eight hours employment a week is permitted and no more than 240 hours of employment per year.

26.3 Working hours must be noted on the scholarship holder’s Graduate Research School Annual Progress Report.