Research at UWS

The University of Western Sydney nurtures a distinctive, high-impact research culture, committed to enhancing our region's cultural, economic, environmental and educational development, and responsive to contemporary challenges in Greater Western Sydney and beyond.

We are recognised for our capacity to carry out successful collaborative research partnerships and for our work with partners from industry and from the government and community sectors.

This recognition is reflected by our performance in competitive national research funding, for example UWS ranks among the most successful universities in Australian Research Council (ARC) Linkage grants funding and is strongly represented in ARC Discovery grants funding.

Our research centres and programs attract international, national and local interest and contribute to developments that are making a difference in contemporary life.

To build on our research strengths, we are committed to developing future generations of researchers through research training programs for postgraduate research students, postdoctoral fellows, and early career researchers. Our research commitment is also supported by a ten-year research investment program.

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Research Centres

Research centres are the flagships of the University and represent our primary research strengths. While the nature of academic life at UWS provides many and varied opportunities for research to be conducted in colleges and their schools, the term 'research centre' identifies areas that have been recognised for achieving significant research maturity through externally review and benchmarks for quality and excellence.

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Research Groups

University research groups are established to support the development of researchers who share a common research focus and who can demonstrate their competitiveness in the national research landscape.

The 'university research group' designation is reserved for areas of the University that have yet to achieve the level of research maturity required of research centres but that are recognised for their potential as a primary research strength.

'Research concentrations' are groups exploring areas of emerging research interest and are active across all colleges.

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Research Degrees

UWS research degrees are designed to enable students to focus on contemporary social issues and scientific problems. Our research students are supported by a supervisory panel of two to three staff members who may hold honorary or adjunct appointments and we actively encourage the appointment of associate supervisors from industry as well as other universities where this is appropriate. The supervisory panel provides students with well-rounded expertise in topic areas that are increasingly interdisciplinary.

Research Degree	Emphasis
Masters (Honours)	Primarily undertaken as a supervised program of original research with a particular emphasis on research methodology. Provides students with the opportunity to develop their potential for research, enhance their skills of problem identification and specification, and their ability to develop and present solutions. » More information
Doctor of Philosophy (PhD)	Provides training and education for those with the capacity to conduct independent research at the highest level of originality and quality, uncovering new knowledge either by the discovery of new facts, the formulation of theories or the innovative re-interpretation of known data and established ideas. » More information
Professional Doctorate	Provides extended and advanced training in professional fields where projects and investigations are more applied in nature and more obviously oriented to professional practice. Designed to equip candidates to be critical consumers of research in a professional setting. These degrees include the Doctor of Business Administration, Doctor of Education and Doctor of Creative Arts, Doctor of Cultural Research. » More information

The Graduate Certificate in Research Studies is a preparatory research training course for those who have an undergraduate degree or masters degree by coursework and/or extensive professional experience. Research students may receive admission to a research degree conditional on satisfactory completion of the course.

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Research Support and Management

The Office of Research Services provides administrative and management support for researchers and research activity across UWS, with a strong focus on research development, income generation, ethical review, and the coordination of research student training and development.

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