The Research Training Program (RTP) Scholarship is Curtin University’s main funding round for PhD candidates, paid from Australian Government research grants and awarded by a central selection committee.
Recipients complete a PhD at Curtin in Perth, Western Australia, on an advertised project or one they propose with a Curtin supervisor. One round runs each year; the 2026 round (2027 starts) has closed, and the next opens in July 2027.
Benefits & funding
- Living stipend of A$38,440 a year (2026 base rate, tax-free) for up to three years and six months full-time equivalent.
- RTP fee offset covering HDR tuition; Curtin values stipend plus domestic tuition at about A$70,000 a year, and the round page does not say how international tuition is handled.
- Possible RTP allowances at Curtin’s discretion, such as Overseas Student Health Cover for international students.
- Publications from the research must acknowledge the Australian Government RTP.
Eligibility
- Domestic and international applicants, prospective or current, eligible for admission to a Curtin PhD; MPhil applicants are not eligible.
- Anyone who has already completed a PhD cannot apply.
- All PhD entry requirements, including English, must be met without concession.
- An endorsed Invitation to Apply from a registered Curtin supervisor is required.
- Current Curtin HDR students must hold no HDR base stipend, have principal-supervisor support and Good Standing, and have used no more than 18 months full-time-equivalent enrolment by 1 July.
- Students at Curtin’s international campuses cannot receive the stipend or fee offset.
Can you apply?
Here's who can apply
Decoded from the official rules. A free account checks them against your passport, degree and age in seconds.
Education required
Bachelor
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Application process
- 1Choose a listed project or propose your own, and send an Expression of Interest (EOI) to the project lead or a level 1 supervisor between 1 and 31 July.
- 2If endorsed, receive an Invitation to Apply for admission and scholarship by the end of August.
- 3Complete the scholarship application with referee details; a second referee report is strongly recommended.
- 4Lodge the admission application only after the scholarship outcome (November).
Program timeline
EOI window (closed)
1–31 Jul 2026
Invitations to Apply issued
End of Aug 2026
Scholarship outcomes
Nov 2026
Enrol and start the PhD
By 31 Mar 2027
Jul 2027
Next round opens (2028 intake)