International PhD candidates play a vital role in Australia’s research and development workforce and a new report by Universities Australia (UA) and the Australian Council of Graduate Research, Investing in PhD candidates in Australia, calls for urgent reforms to provide them with additional support.
International PhD candidates address industry and workforce needs, particularly where there are critical shortages in fields such as engineering and information technology.
However, the 10 per cent cap on international PhD candidates within the Research Training Program (RTP) limits the potential for more international student and universities are often required to find alternative funding sources, according to the report.
The report also reads the current political tea leaves well, going on to say that this limit is particularly impacting regional universities, which benefit from the “population and cultural diversity” of international students.
Recommendations
The report provides two recommendations to enhance the support for international PhD candidates.
The first recommendation is to raise the RTP funding cap for international students from 10 per cent to 20 per cent, especially for regions with critical workforce needs. The report clarifies that this is a ‘no cost to Government’ option, given the cap would occur within the existing grant envelope.
An increase in the RTP funding pool to support additional international candidates without compromising the number of domestic candidates, is the second recommendation; the report estimates this will cost up to $500 million over four years.
International PhD candidates by the numbers
Between 2003 and 2023, the number of international PhD completions in Australia grew from 877 to 4,870.
In 2023, Australia had 26,227 international PhD candidates, making up 40 per cent of all PhD enrolments.
Domestic students
Domestic students are the primary focus of the report, revealing an eight per cent decrease in domestic PhD enrolments from 2018-2023. UA Chief Executive Officer Luke Sheehy said skyrocketing living costs and a base stipend barely above the poverty line are major deterrents for potential PhD candidates.
“Without urgent reforms, we’ll continue to see PhD enrolment numbers decline, something Australia can ill afford at a time when we need to produce more skilled workers,” he said.
Background on the Research Training Program
Through the RTP, the Australian Government provides funding to eligible higher education providers (HEPs) to support domestic and overseas students undertaking research doctorate and research masters degrees. Students can be offered RTP scholarships for one or more of the following:
- tuition fees offset
- a stipend for general living costs
- allowances related to the ancillary cost of HDRs.
The Commonwealth Scholarships Guidelines (Research) 2017 state that “A HEP may only spend up to a maximum of 10 per cent of its RTP grant amount in a Grant Year, on the provision of RTP Scholarships to overseas students”.
Read the full report here.
