Overview

Who is an international student

International students are those students who chose to undertake their tertiary education in a country other than their own and move to that country for the purpose of studying.

In Australia you are considered to be an international student if:

  • You are not an Australian citizen,
  • You are not an Australian permanent resident,
  • You are not a New Zealand citizen, or
  • You are not a holder of an Australian permanent resident humanitarian visa.


If you have any of the above citizenship or permanent residency visa then you are a
domestic student.

Admission Information

Admission to students who are entering Australia to study on a student visa is governed by the requirements of the Australian Government and the Sydney College of Divinity Graduate Research School entry requirements for the HDR course. The SCD Graduate Research School entry requirements for the Higher Degree by Research courses are the same for domestic and International students.

Once the international student makes an application, the student’s academic qualifications are matched against the entry criteria to confirm their potential admission. Student’s previous academic qualifications are evaluated with the help of AEI Country Education Profile (CEP – NOOSR) online data as provided by the Australian Government. The student’s English language proficiency is determined by an IELTS test (or equivalent).

All our HDR courses are delivered in the English language. When enrolling in an HDR course:

  1. students are expected to be proficient in English;
  2. all assessment tasks shall be set and examined in English unless special permission to do otherwise is granted by the Academic Board;
  3. students who gained their qualifications for admission in a language other than English, must accompany their application for HDR admission with an IELTS (or equivalent) result of normally not less than 7.0 in all bands of the test;
  4. applicants already in Australia who are required to take an English test shall be advised.

International students can only enrol full time and cannot complete such courses by more than 33.3% distance or online learning. International students are required to meet the conditions of their student visa at all times.

From 1 January 2021 onshore international students will need a Unique Student Identifier (USI) to receive your degree, if you intend to complete your study at the end of 2022 and graduate in 2023. International students in Australia can use your passport with an Australian visa as a form of ID when creating your USI.

Fee-related information

International students are required to pay their tuition fees up-front in full unless special arrangements have been made in writing. Failure to pay will result in cancellation of your Confirmation of Enrolment (CoE). If your CoE is cancelled, SCD Graduate Research School will have to report the cancellation to the Department of Home Affairs (DHA). In this situation, you must contact DHA within 28 days of your CoE cancellation date. Failure to contact the Department of Home Affairs may result in the automatic cancellation of your student visa.

Tuition Protection Service (TPS)

Students studying on an Australia student visa are covered by the Tuition Protection Service (TPS), an initiative of the Australian Government to assist international students whose education providers are unable to fully deliver their course of study. The TPS ensures that international students are able to either:

  • complete their studies in another course or with another education provider or
  • receive a refund of their unspent tuition fees.


Sydney College of Divinity makes a compulsory payment to the Government to protect the interests of our international students.

Withdrawal and Refunds

In the event that a CoE is withdrawn by the Sydney College of Divinity Graduate Research School on the grounds that the original offer was made on the basis of incomplete or incorrect information supplied by the international student, the college reserves the right to withhold 10% of the tuition fee paid for the first semester and to refund the balance. Read the Refund and Withdrawal Policy.