Masters in Australia — Pursue Masters courses in Australian Universities

Krishn Veer Singh
Study Abroad
Published in
9 min readDec 19, 2019

Masters in Australia — Pursuing your master’s in Australia could be a good investment in your future. Ranked 3 rd for accommodating international students, Australia is the most sought after destination for higher studies, especially for Indians who are the second most enrolled in Australian universities after Chinese (as per the Australian Bureau of Statistics). The universities in Australia are most well known for their postgraduate programs including MBA, research studies and other master’s they offer. Australia offers excellent benefits for the international students to live and study here. With an 11.4% increase in Australia’s international enrolment year by year, there is a multi cultural environment in the campuses that offers various learning experiences and creates a safe abode for the students living here.

It is needless to say that this southern land is a beautiful place and has many beautiful sights to offer in the form of beaches, mountains, and forests. This is indeed one place where you would like to stay and study. The most important factor, however, remains that Australian universities perform impressively in the world’s top universities list, with at least 8 featuring in the top 150 as per the rankings of Times Higher Education, QS and the Academic Ranking of World Universities. This world class education includes hands-on practical training where the courses are regularly updated as per the market and industry trends. You will find cutting-edge facilities in these universities which are collaborated with the major research centres all over the world. The degrees are well recognized in all countries which will help you in finding innumerable opportunities internationally.

Read the article below to have a complete overview of the academic format and kinds of MS degrees offered by Australian universities, most highly ranked universities and popular MS courses, scholarships provided for postgraduates and the admission, visa and health care requirements for international students.

  1. Various settling options after your studies are completed.
  2. You are allowed to work part time for 20 hours/week, whether the university is on or off session.
  3. Spouse visa is allowed. This permits the spouse to work part time also.
  4. The success rate of visa clearance is high as compared to the other study abroad destinations.
  5. Vast corpus of scholarships
  6. The international students are covered by the ESOS (Education Services for Overseas Students) Act. This act ensures and protects the rights of international students.

Check full details on Course admissions in Australia 2019–20

Please note: Beginning in February each year, the academic year in the universities of Australia runs in two semesters, that is, February to June and July to November.

In Australia, there are three formats for doing your master’s:

Coursework-based Master’s or Taught Master’s Degree: These kinds of MS degrees include a series of taught modules that are delivered through lectures, practical and work seminars. The students are assessed on the basis of their coursework, exams, group projects and dissertations. Post completion, the students will be granted an MA, MBA, or an MSc qualification, depending on the subject of study. You need to complete a bachelor’s degree or a graduate degree/diploma prior to this.

Research-based Master’s: Since most of the funding bodies award grants to PhD students, provided they have completed their research program, research-based master’s degrees become important important for PhD aspirants. This degree includes collecting and analysing data with the aim of getting the student’s work published in a leading research journal. The students are assessed on the basis of their research work and verbal exam related to the research topic. Post completion, the students will be granted a Master of Research (MRes), Master of Philosophy (MPhil), Master of Science (MSc by Research), or Master of Arts (MA by Research), depending on the subject of study.

The most popular master’s courses offered in Australian universities are:

One of the most sought after MS degree in Australia is MBA. While the course fees are on the higher side as compared to the other courses, below are listed three colleges which offer MBA degrees at low fees:

  1. Australian Institute of Business: The fees is about AUD$ 29,700 for the whole course. It is one of the lowest for an Australian MBA degree.
  2. University of Canberra: The fees is approximately AUD$ 30,000.
  3. Chifley Business School: Another cheap and affordable MBA option in Australia with fees of around AUD$ 31,500 for the complete course.

Not only these, there are several other options for a master’s degree from Australia. Few more examples of popular Master’s degrees are:

  1. Master’s in Finance
  2. Master’s in Accounting
  3. Master’s in Computer Science
  4. Master’s in Environmental Sciences
  5. Master’s in Nursing

As per the three most globally recognised rankings on a world wide scale, the best 5 universities in Australia for doing your master’s are:

*THE — Times Higher Education World University Rankings; ARWU — Academic Ranking of World Universities; QS — QS World University Rankings

  1. UNIVERSITY OF MELBOURNE: This university is also called the CEO factory of Australia. Their MBA school is ranked 27th in the world and of course, number 1 in Australia. They have the oldest academic libraries of the continent which boasts of having around 3.6 million holdings in its collection.
  2. AUSTRALIAN NATIONAL UNIVERSITY: This University has the best student retention rate and an outstanding alumni. They offer Advance PG courses in which students can do research in the last 6 months.
  3. UNIVERSITY OF SYDNEY: University of Sydney is a member of a group of eight major research universities in Australia. It has educated 7 Australian Prime Ministers , 2 governor-generals of Australia, 9 state governors and territory administrators, and 24 justices of the High Court of Australia , including four chief justices .
  4. UNIVERSITY OF QUEENSLAND: This University is also a part of Group 8 universities and ranks among the top 100 universities of the world. Highly awarded teachers are an additional perk.
  5. UNSW SYDNEY: The University of New South Wales is a public research university and ranks high for attracting the highest number of top 500 students from the state.

Masters in Australia — Average Tuition Fee

While the course-wise average tuition fee has been mentioned above, let’s look at the annual tuition fees yearly for MBA, STEM and Arts related courses in various Australian universities.

Master’s Degree Annual Tuition Fees per year in various universities of Australia at a glance

Masters in Australia — Scholarships

The International students can avail various funding schemes by the government of Australia. For the master’s students, the two important scholarship schemes are:

  1. Australia Awards Scholarships — These are for international students from selected developing countries. The ones who receive it are supposed to return to their home country and work for at least two years after the completion of their degree.
  2. Endeavour Scholarships — These kind of scholarships fund the educational exchanges from selected partner countries.

Both these scholarships cover full tuition fees, travel expenses, maintenance stipend, OSHC (Overseas Student Health Cover) and an initial establishment grant. For more information on scholarships for Indian students, Buddy4Study offers counselling and assistance.

Masters in Australia — Visa Requirements For MS Students

  1. An undergraduate degree
  2. The required IELTS/TOEFL/PTE scores
  3. For the professional development master programs, which are courses to sharpen your professional skills, appropriate work experience or professional qualifications are required.
  4. For some areas like business management, you might be asked for a score of GRE or GMAT.
  5. You would need references from your previous tutors or employers.
  6. For research based degrees, there might be an interview (through Skype)
  7. A personal statement/letter

Please note: The required standard of qualifications will differ with universities. Do remember that though some universities will take a minimum IELTS band score of 6, there are hardly any chances of an Australian university accepting less than a 6 IELTS band score.

  1. You have to be a full-time student.
  2. You need to apply for a student visa (subclass 500).
  3. A confirmation of enrolment (CoE) from the university which has accepted your admission. You will get this once you have paid your tuition fees.
  4. Proof that you meet the financial requirements
  5. Passport, CV, certificates
  6. Evidence of OSHC (Overseas Student Health Cover)
  7. In case of a failure to provide evidence of this financial capacity along with the student visa application, the Australian student visa could be refused altogether. The candidates must show their financial eligibility in one of the following ways:
  • Evidence of funds to cover travelling expenses to Australia, one year’s living cost for themselves and their accompanying family members, course, schooling cost (in the case of school-aged dependants).
  • Evidence that they can cover their annual income requirement.

For applying to an Australian university for your master’s, the first step is to narrow down your searches by the benefits which fits you the best. Buddy4Study will support you in your University and Course search as well as in applying for you in these universities. You might like to take preparation courses to give extra educational boost before you start studying for the actual degree, for example, pre-MBA, pre-Law or pre-Medicine.

Please note: Australia does not allow a gap year of more than a year after the candidate has completed his/her under-graduation. Even in the case of a year’s gap, the candidates are supposed to provide an explanation as to why the gap was taken. If the aspirant has worked during his/her gap year/s, he/she must provide valid documents and experience letter to get a visa as well as admission in a suitable university.

All international students in Australia are required to have an Overseas Student Health Cover (OSHC) for the entire duration of their studies in Australia. The most basic OSHC covers — visits to the doctor, limited hospital treatment, ambulance cover and some medicines. There are several kinds/products of OSHC, ranging from a basic one that covers just the compulsory minimum services to OSHC comprehensive products which additionally cover extended medical services. While the cost of OSHC covers vary on the basis of the duration of your course/stay in Australia, insurance provider and the kind of insurance, the lowest cost of minimum cover is AUD $430 yearly for singles cover, AUD$2,680 yearly for couples cover and AUD$4,000 yearly for family cover.

Masters in Australia — FAQs

Q. How much does it cost to do MS in Australia?

A. While the average tuition fee is approximately AUD$ 20,000–37,000 for a master’s course in Australia, the doctoral degree fee cost can be anywhere from AUD$14,000 to $37,000. The exact tuition fees vary depending on the course and the university you choose.

Q. What is the eligibility for MS in Australia?

A. While the eligibility requirements vary from one university in Australia to the other, an undergraduate degree from a recognised university is a must. You will also be required to give any of the language proficiency tests including IELTS, TOEFL or PTE. Appropriate work experience or professional qualification will be required if the candidate aspires to pursue a professional development master program. An MS in business management will be asked for a score of GRE or GMAT.

Q. How many years does an MS in Australia take?

a. An MS in Australia takes anywhere between 1 to 2 years.

Q. Is MS in Australia a good option?

A. An MS in Australia can prove to be an excellent decision for you because of the endless options to settle in the most promising countries of the world, thanks to the high ranking of Australian universities. The students are allowed to work part time for 20 hours per week, irrespective of their university being on or off session. Other benefits include spouse visa, easy visa clearance, several scholarships options and more.

Q. Is the GRE required for MS in Australia?

Most of the universities in Australia do not demand a GRE score. However, some of the high ranking universities might ask for GRE scores for MS in Business Management.

Originally published at https://admission.buddy4study.com on December 19, 2019.

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