La Trobe University > International students > Applying > How to apply > Postgraduate applications

Postgraduate applications

Learn how to apply for postgraduate study as an international student

Continue your study journey at La Trobe with a postgraduate degree. Our easy step-by-step guide will take you through every step, from picking your degree to submitting your application.

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Your steps to applying

  • Find a degree

    The best starting point for your education journey at La Trobe should be our course search tool. Explore our range of undergraduate, postgraduate and research courses to discover the right degree for you.

    Considerations at this stage:

    • What do you want to study? Our live and on-demand postgraduate webinars can help you choose your degree. If you’re considering Graduate Research, start here.
    • Where would you like to study and is your preferred course available there? La Trobe has seven campuses across the states of Victoria and New South Wales.
    • You may be eligible for a scholarship, which will be assessed upon submission of your application. Visit our Fees and Scholarships page to find out more.

  • Begin applying

    There are two ways you can apply to La Trobe as an international student, directly via our online form or through a La Trobe agent.

    If you are unsure which one applies to you, please submit an enquiry with the Future Student Centre. Face-to-face consultations are available at our consultation hub in the Agora at our Melbourne Bundoora campus.

    We've put together a list of common terms referenced during your application.

    Considerations at this stage:

    • If you are an Australian or New Zealand citizen, or hold an Australian permanent residency visa, you can’t apply using these pathways. Visit our domestic how to apply page to learn more.
    • Verify whether your region requires an authorised agent.
    • Use our agent finder tool to find your nearest authorised agent.

  • Check all entry requirements

    Academic entry requirements vary from course to course, as do application close dates. Please check the course page under ‘Entry requirements & pathways’ for requirements specific to that degree.

    There are minimum language requirements for postgraduate and graduate research study at La Trobe:

    • Postgraduate: Overall IELTS (Academic) score of 6.5 with no band less than 6.0 or equivalent score of other approved tests.

    Successful completion of a recent La Trobe University Bachelor’s degree may enable you to meet our minimum postgraduate English requirement without having to retake the IELTS.

    However, some courses may need a higher level of English language proficiency – a separate English test will be required in those cases due to the professional registration requirement. Each course page will have required scores listed under the ‘Entry requirements’ section. For more information, please refer to our language requirements page.

    Considerations at this stage:

    • Check when applications are open for your selected degree. You will need to submit your application before the closing date, so all next steps must be planned in that timeframe.
    • Check the ‘Entry requirements’ section of the course page to confirm that you meet all academic/subject and language requirements.
    • Start collecting supporting documents for prior study and English language tests.

  • Submit academic and identity documents

    When lodging your application with La Trobe, please provide your La Trobe student ID (8 digits) with your documentation. You will also need to provide the following records as image (JPEG, GIF, PNG, TIF) or document (DOC, DOCX, TXT, PDF unprotected) files of up to 20MB:

    • copy of passport
    • current visa (if applicable)
    • academic qualifications including completion certificate and academic transcripts
    • evidence of your English language proficiency
    • any other information specified in the entry requirements for your course (please see course page for list of supplementary forms as required per course)
    • course syllabus for completed subjects if you are applying for Advanced Standing (only required if the subjects are completed with providers other than La Trobe). These may include learning topics, assessment methods, textbooks, weekly teaching hours and credit points.

    Considerations at this stage:

    • Ensure scanned documents are clear, easy to read and in full colour.
    • Ensure each file is clearly labelled to reflect what it is. e.g. transcript, passport, etc.
    • Remember that all supporting documents where a copy is made must be certified. Our International Admissions team will require you to provide certified academic documents before the offer acceptance can be finalised. If you submit a translated document, you must also provide a certified copy of the original with a certified translation.

  • Submit your application

    Once you have met all admission criteria for your selected degree and collected all requirement documentation, you can proceed with submitting your application directly or via your authorised agent. There are no fees to submit an application to study.

    All international students must meet the Genuine Student (GS) requirements [PDF 109.7 KB] when applying to study in Australia. As part of your application to study at La Trobe, you may also need to complete a GS assessment form [PDF 310.7 KB].

    Considerations at this stage:

Ready to get started?

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FAQs

You are a domestic student if you are:

  • An Australian citizen
  • Or, an Australian permanent resident
  • Or, a New Zealand citizen
  • Or, an Australian humanitarian visa holder (permanent)

You will be considered as an international student if you do not fall under any of the categories listed above.

Detailed course syllabus/ course outlines will be required if you wish to apply for credits based on your previous study. Course syllabus/outlines must include course content, assessment mode, contact hours, prescribed texts, etc.

If you are a direct applicant, please tick “YES” for the “Advanced Standing” section of your online application and provide the course syllabus (preferably in the pdf form).

If you are applying through an agent, your agent will assist you with applying for credits.

The previous study must be completed within the last eight years, in order to meet the current requirements. For some courses, this period is shorter (for example, in professional areas where there are often changes to practice requirements).

You can do a credit search based on institution and previous study. Any credit assessment outside the articulation agreement will be assessed on an individual basis. This can only be determined once your application is assessed by the appropriate academic faculty.

If you are currently on a bridging visa, while waiting for the decision on the substantiative visa, you are still considered as an international student at this stage and the international student fees will apply.

Onshore international Year 12 and international students studying VCE offshore will have to apply through the Victorian Tertiary Admissions Centre (VTAC).

Semester 1 application is normally open via VTAC from early August every year. Please keep an eye on the VTAC website for the key dates (once published).

La Trobe University may require students from certain regions to apply through an authorised agent. If you are unsure whether this is required for you, please submit an enquiry. Please kindly specify your country of citizenship and country of residence when you enquire.

If you are unable to find any agents in the drop-down list of your home country, you may try contacting agents in neighbouring countries. Many of our agents offer virtual consultations and they can communicate with you via emails or videos calls if required.

For direct international student applicants, the preferred way to apply with La Trobe is through our online international application portal. In the online application form, please fill in as much detailed information as possible regarding your prior study and English proficiency. For single unit or cross-institutional applicants, please contact the Future Student team via email: StudyInternational@latrobe.edu.au.

There is no application fee when you apply directly through La Trobe. However, if you are from a region where application is required via an authorised agent, the agent may charge a service fee to assist you with the course and student visa applications.

* If you are a domestic student, you will need to make a direct application. Find out more about how to apply as a domestic student.

If you are experiencing any technical issues during the online application process, please first check if all incomplete mandatory fields have been filled out.

Please check every single field, especially the “yes/ no” questions and the drop-down fields in the English proficiency, educational background and qualification (secondary and tertiary qualifications), and passport and visa information sections. The error most likely lies within one of these sections.

If the issue persists, contact the Studylink IT Support team directly via email: support@studylink.com. Be sure to provide your full name and Application ID in the email subject and provide a screenshot of the error message.

All supporting documents where a copy is made must be certified.

A certified copy is a copy of a document that has been confirmed by an approved/authorised person as an authentic copy of the original.

Our International Admissions team will require you to provide certified academic documents before the offer acceptance can be finalised. If you submit a translated document, you must also provide a certified copy of the original with a certified translation.

Scanned documents must be clear, easy to read and in full colour.

View examples of acceptable and unacceptable documentation.

La Trobe University will accept copies certified by one of the following:

The University assesses applications on a rolling basis which means you can apply for the next upcoming intake or available future intakes.

Please refer to the application deadlines for international students. Please note the dates provided are the latest dates to submit your application. To allow yourself sufficient time to accept your offer and to apply for a student visa, we encourage you to submit your application as soon as you are ready to do so.

Postgraduate courses in Allied Health normally follow a different application selection process, with applications closing on 30th September for the following year intake.