Hi,

I had been applying for PHD in Australia past few months. I have BSc (2008) with H2A from Malaysia with A for undergraduate project. And I also had MSc (2015) from UK with H2A. However, 2 universities (UniMel and Monash Uni) had rejected my PHD application. For your information, I had been working as researcher in research institute in Malaysia since 2008. The reason for rejection is that I am not first class student. Does it really acquire 1st class for MSc to be accapted for PHD. Thank you. I really need advice right now.

What does H2A mean? PhDs are very competitive in some fields, you need to keep applying. Some will filter out students by saying you need a 1st, but not all do this.

I had a look on Wiki for this. The H2A appears to be an Australian degree classification which on the surface of it is our equivalent of a 2:1.
The grade boundaries look odd though with qualifying percentages in the 80's but some countries are like this.

A first class certainly isn't necessary for a PhD but both of the universities named above are ranked in the top 50 or 60 in the world (whatever the hell that actually means) so I imagine every man, woman, dog and small furry gerbil will be trying to get in there. A 2:1 equivalent, I would imagine, might be a problem due to competition in this case.

My advice to the original poster would be to expand your vision beyond the "top" universities in the world and you may find better fortune.

Thanks pm133. Maybe I should check somewhere else.

Thank you for some of the feedback. My bad, I forgot that not everyone know what H2A is. Basically, I achieved second class upper on my degree, merit on my MSc. But compared to H2A Australia, the grading scale is different. In Australia, 80% and above is first class, 75-79% is H2A, 70-74% is H2B, 65-69% is third class and 60-64% considered as pass.

In UK, 70% is first class, while merit is 60-69%. When I clearly specify that there is different in grading scale, the school cannot take it. They say I am not up for it. But when I contact my lecturer in UK, many UK universities will gladly accept student with merit for PHD. But I don't know about this for sure. Has anyone encounter this before? What is your solution for this? I really need to further my PHD in Australia this time.

can you tell me how you mailed the professors? did you just mail briefly or wrote a cover letter? i would like to know more on how to apply for the phd because im in the process of applying

Hi Chicas,

I'm currently doing a PhD in Australia at a decent, but definitely not top, university. You may be able to get a place however you will definitely need to lower the bar on the universities you are applying to. As a local student, I had a H1 honours with a score of 87 and I didn't even bother applying to Monash or Melbourne Uni because my score was not good enough. Places in Australia are very competitive, with limited research funding. I know that my institution has rejected people with scores under 80, regardless of whether you are looking for a scholarship or willing to self-fund your PhD. This does seem to vary by department though. You need to start contacting potential supervisors at lower ranked universities and hopefully you will have more success with your application.