Postgraduate applying: a step-by-step guide

Search our course collection to find a course that interests you.

Some courses fill up quickly or applications might close early. Apply for your course as soon as possible.

Check the course details online to see when courses start, and if they have early closing dates. Otherwise, applications are due:

• 31 January for a February start date
• 5 July for a July start date.

Check important key dates

You need to meet specific entry requirements to get into each of our courses. They're usually based on previous study and/or professional experience.

Some courses may have additional entry requirements, including:

• referee reports, interviews, questionnaires
• professional training, accreditation or registration
• access to related work or facilities.

If your previous studies were not completed in English, or were completed in a country where English is not the first language, you'll need to demonstrate that you meet our English proficiency requirements.

Check your course details online for more information on entry requirements.

Calculating your grade point average (GPA)

For some of our postgraduate courses you need to have achieved a particular grade point average (GPA) in your previous course to be eligible to apply.

If your previous course was made up of units with equal credit point values, your GPA is the sum of your grades for each unit divided by the number of units you attempted.

When you calculate your GPA you must:

• include all:
  • numerical grades, including failing grades
  • administrative failures, such as 'withdrawn' or 'did not sit'
  • attempts at repeated units
• exclude all:
  • units for which you received exemption, credit for prior learning or advanced standing
• calculate it to two decimal places. If the average you've calculated has more than two decimal places, you'll need to round it to nearest hundredth. For example, after rounding 3.9945 becomes 3.99, or 4.999 becomes 5.00.

If your course was made up of units with unequal credit point values, we apply a weighting to calculate your GPA.

We use a 7-point grading scale at QUT:

• 7.00 - High Distinction
• 6.00 - Distinction
• 5.00 - Credit
• 4.00 - Pass
• 3.00 - Fail
• 2.00 - Fail
• 1.00 - Low Fail
• 0.00 - Withdrawn with academic penalty/Did not sit.

If your studies have been graded using a different scale, we'll convert your results to the QUT scale. Using this scale, a failing GPA is any GPA below 4.00.

For our one-year honours degrees, excluding PY09 Bachelor of Behavioural Science (Honours Psychology), the following additional GPAs will be calculated based on the same rules as above should your course GPA below the entry requirement:

• QUT double degree students – the GPA for the relevant component single degree will be used (eg if completed a business/law double degree and applying for business honours your GPA for the business degree will be used)
• GPA based on all third-year units.

What if I'm suspended or excluded from tertiary study?

If you're currently suspended from a higher education institution for reasons other than failure, we may refuse admission.

Special rules apply if you’ve been excluded from a study program that’s in a ‘like’ discipline to the QUT course you want to apply for. If it’s been at least one year since your exclusion, we'll consider your application if you meet one of these criteria and you have provided supporting documentation with your application:

• you’ve since passed (i.e. GPA 4.00 or better) ‘like’ study (either a completed ‘like’ diploma or one year of full-time ‘like’ degree study)
• you have five years’ full-time (or equivalent) ‘like’ professional work experience.

The ‘like’ disciplines are:

• architecture and built environment
• business, commerce, management, and tourism
• creative and performing arts, and communication
• education
• engineering
• health and medical science
• information technology
• justice
• law
• psychology and behavioural science
• science and mathematics
• social work, human services, and counselling.

If you're concerned about your eligibility to get in because of the 'like' rule, suspension or exclusion, contact askqut@qut.edu.au

Domestic applicants with overseas qualifications

We will consider equivalent overseas qualifications for admissions purposes. If you have tertiary qualifications from countries where English is not the standard language of instruction, you must provide evidence of English language proficiency.

English language proficiency

We require students to demonstrate they can speak, write, read and comprehend academic English to a specified standard.

Our English proficiency requirements for most postgraduate courses are:

• IELTS (Academic): 6.5 or better overall with no sub-score below 6.0
• PTE: 58 or better overall with no sub-score below 50
• TOEFL (IBT): 79 or better overall with a writing sub-score of 21 or better, a speaking sub-score of 18 or better and no other sub-score lower than 16
• CAE: 176 or better overall with no sub-score below 169

The test must have been completed within 2 years prior to the proposed course start month.

Where a course has higher English proficiency requirements it will be shown in the requirements tab for the course.

You can get an idea of how much your course will cost by checking the course information online. Your actual fees will vary depending on which units you enrol in.

Some courses have extra costs for things like field trips, equipment or practical training.

You also have to pay the Student Services and Amenities Fee (SSAF) for student services like health and welfare, employment and career advice, study skills programs and orientation information and activities.

You may be eligible for a government loan to help you pay your course fees. You might also be eligible for Centrelink or a scholarship to help cover your living expenses

More about fees and costs

You may be able to have your past studies or work experience count as credit towards your QUT course. We call this 'advanced standing'.

That means you might not have to complete all of the units listed in your course structure and you may be able to graduate sooner.

For many masters courses, if you have relevant prior studies and/or work experience you will be automatically considered for one or two semesters of advanced standing. This is shown in the requirements tab for the course.

You need to apply separately for advanced standing once you’ve received your offer, so make sure you check the application requirements and closing dates.

Explore advanced standing

For most courses

You can apply online directly to QUT for most of our postgraduate courses.

Use the search bar below to find your course.

On the course page use the 'I'm ready to apply' button found on the right side of the page to access the application forms and complete your application.

Special cases: applying through QTAC

You need to apply through QTAC if you’re applying for:

• Master of Nursing - Entry to Practice
• Master of Social Work - Qualifying
• Master of Teaching (Early Childhood)
• Master of Teaching (Primary)
• Master of Teaching (Secondary)

QTAC dates and processes will apply.