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Minor correction to PhD entry article
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fusion809 committed Feb 19, 2024
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Expand Up @@ -49,7 +49,7 @@ That being said, some Australian universities do not offer enough distinct subje
It can also provide students whose bachelor's degree is in a different field to the field they wish to conduct research in an opportunity to gain the foundation of knowledge they need to conduct their research. Students that wish to conduct research need a solid foundation of knowledge in their chosen field in order to conduct research in that field, so MDCs provide an alternative way to a bachelor's degree for students to obtain this knowledge.

### By research
An MDR, on the other hand, is free for domestic students under the Australian Government's Research Training Program (RTP). Additionally, the RTP also provides stipends for domestic students studying an MDR, although these are competitive, and students are not guaranteed a stipend even if they apply for one. Additionally, an MDR has a very similar structure to a PhD as they are both Higher Degrees by Research (HDR). Hence doing an MDR is probably the best preparation for a PhD out of these four pathways. Another benefit of an MDR is that many, like PhDs, are ungraded -- you either pass or fail them but you do not receive a WAM or grade point average (GPA) for them. This can be seen as a benefit if, like me, you stress about your grades and always strive to get the best grades. That being said, there are exceptions. Macquarie University's MRes programme is graded, for instance (Macquarie University, n.d.).
An MDR, on the other hand, is free for domestic students under the Australian Government's Research Training Program (RTP). Additionally, the RTP also provides stipends for domestic students studying an MDR, although these are competitive, and students are not guaranteed a stipend even if they apply for one. Additionally, an MDR has a very similar structure to a PhD as they are both Higher Degrees by Research (HDR). Hence doing an MDR is probably the best preparation for a PhD out of these four pathways. Another benefit of an MDR is that many, like PhDs, are ungraded -- you either pass or fail them but you do not receive a WAM or grade point average (GPA) for them. This can be seen as a benefit if, like me, you stress about your grades and always strive to get the best grades. That being said, there are exceptions -- Macquarie University's MRes programme is graded, for instance (Macquarie University, n.d.).

That being said, getting into an MDR programme requires that the student can write a thesis proposal, which will only be the case if the student knows exactly what they wish to research. I know this entry requirement because I completed an MRes at UniSQ in 2023. I found writing the thesis proposal very exhausting and tedious as it forced me to flesh out the finer details of what I was going to research, which I did not know at the time. This was also while I was still studying my BSc degree full-time, so it was also a bit annoying. That being said, being forced to flesh out these details so early did prove helpful in the long-term as it ensured I knew what I was going to do when I finally entered the programme.

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