Welcome to ANU History! This page has been developed as an online tool to provide useful information, links to resources and forms for new and continuing HDR students.

Your go-to guide for your HDR candidature at ANU is the HDR Handbook, which is available through the Graduate Research School SharePoint.

Contacts

The School's HDR Convenor and CASS Professional Services are your first point of contact for all local administrative issues or processes. They can assist you by liaising on your behalf with administrative functions external to the School and College if required. For issues relating to your candidature, including rules and processes relating to all graduate students, you should contact the Graduate Research School for assistance.

Supervisory panel

Your supervisory panel must consist of a Chair of Panel, a Primary Supervisor (who is often also the Chair) and one or more Associate Supervisors who can provide additional support. It is important to note that your panel must consist of at least 3 people for a PhD program and 2 for MPhil. You are required to have your panel finalised within 3 months of commencement by submitting a HDR Supervisory Panel Details Form. If a member of your panel is external, you will need to fill out a HDR supervisory panel request form, attached below under 'file attachments'.

Coursework

The following courses are a requirement for History PhD and MPhil candidates:

1. SOCS9101 The Craft of History: Approaches, Themes, Methods (foundation course run in semester 1)
2. HIST9102 The Professional Historian: Advanced Training (thesis proposal development seminars are usually run in second semester, while components of the professional communication module may be undertaken throughout the year)

New HDRs are also required to complete training in research ethics by taking the Research Integrity Training module within three months of commencing their research degree.

HIST9101 and HIST9102 must be enrolled for separately. It is not automatic. To do so, you will need to enrol via ANUHub (previously ISIS).

Milestones

All PhD and MPhil candidates are required to complete the milestones listed below.

• Research Integrity Training - within 3 months of commencement (online via CANVAS)
• First Year Plan (FYP) - within 3 months
• Confirmation of Candidature - 12 months
• Mid-term Review - Mid-candidature
• Annual Reports - Annually
• Submission Readiness Review (previously known as the Pre-Submission Seminar)- 6-3 months prior to from thesis submission
• Notification of Intention to Submit - prior to submission

All milestones need to be signed off by your chair of panel. ANUHub is where you can check the progress of your candidature milestones, as well as keep other important information up to date. You should proactively check when your milestones are due and plan to finish them on time. For more information, consult the HDR Handbook on the Graduate Research School SharePoint.

Oral Examination 

All students who commenced their candidature after 1 July 2024 are required to complete an oral examination (usually 8-10 weeks) after submitting their thesis. It is optional for students who commenced before this date. Information about the oral examination process and how to prepare can be accessed on the Graduate Research School SharePoint.

Program Management

All forms relating to program management - change in intensity or applications for program leave are available on the ANUHub.

Funding

PhD candidates are eligible to apply for a maximum of $6,000 fieldwork funding. The amount of available fieldwork funding for MPhil students is $4,000. These funds can be used to attend conferences, to conduct fieldwork, or to acquire necessary research material or software. An application for research support needs to be made to allow you to access these funds. To obtain the form, please contact the School's HDR Convenor. 

Travel

If you intend to travel for fieldwork during your candidature, discuss your plans early on with your Primary Supervisor and Chair of Panel. All university-related travel must have travel approval for insurance purposes. 

In order to obtain travel approval, funding and insurance, students need to complete the following paperwork:

1. The RSSS Application for Research Support for Higher Degree Research form.  This form must be completed and signed by the student and the primary supervisor, then by a CASS administrator and the head of school.  To obtain the form, students or supervisors can write the History HDR convenor or to research.students.cass@anu.edu.au (for now).
2. Seek travel approval via the ATPI Hub. This is now used by the ANU for organising travel approval and booking travel services.  Information about the hub, as well as access, can be found here: https://services.anu.edu.au/financial-management/university-travel
3. If students are undertaking dangerous, or potentially dangerous, fieldwork they need to complete a risk assessment.  Information about the process can be found here: ANU Travel Handbook_09APR26.pdf

Students who wish to travel for study-related purposes without using University funds should also ensure they have completed a travel-approval process to ensure they are covered by insurance and to avoid any potential problems with rules regarding candidature and absence. 

Allow at least two weeks between submitting your application and the travel commencement date to allow for processing and approval time.

Booking travel and accommodation

The university now mandates that all university travel and accommodation should be booked through the ATPI hub unless there are strong reasons for using alternative means.  If students make bookings outside of this hub, there is a risk they may run into difficulties obtaining reimbursement.

In addition to travel and accommodation costs, and research or conference fees, students can claim per diem reimbursements for food and local transport upon retention of receipts.

In situations where students need cash in order to operate (for example in certain remote communities in Australia), they may be able to obtain cash advances with approval.

The university is actively reviewing travel procedures and paperwork, so these procedures may be altered in future.  The centralisation of student administration may affect this process.  It is the responsibility of students and their supervisors to ensure they are following the latest protocols.

Stationery / Mail

Basic stationery can be found in the printer areas throughout the RSSS Building. Any special requests for non-standard stationery items can be submitted to the administration team. There are shared HDR pigeonholes for incoming mail in the resource room in the North-East corner of the building on level 5. If you're sending anything out, place it in the box for outgoing mail near administration on level 2. No stamps are required, just mark your name and the school somewhere on the envelope.

Student Card

Once your enrolment is complete (the day following your commencement date) you need to visit Student Central to collect your student card and activate your enrolment. Your student card will enable you 24/7 access to the RSSS building, allow you to access your printing account and use library facilities.

Website

You will need to complete a profile template for your profile on our website. The CASS Administration team is responsible for the school’s website and social media accounts.

Resources

CASS HDR Student Guide

CASS HDR policies, forms, resources, contacts, updates etc

CASS Student Office homepage

School of History Current HDRs_Manage My Degree and Coursework Guidelines

Research School of Social Sciences homepage

ANU Accessibility (Access and Inclusion)

ANU Dean Higher Degree Research

Online thesis submission instructional video

Student Administration ANUHub Requests