How international students should apply
Acceptance conditions for an Australian study visa
ICSPF recognises the difficulties which international students have in coming to Australia for long periods. The initial step is to be accepted into an ICSPF course, and then receive an Electronic Confirmation of Enrolment (ECoE), available from the MCD office, which you use to obtain a student visa from the DIMIA, which has offices in most countries. DIMIA will not issue a visa without an ECoE.
Financial support
The MCD expects to be satisfied that you have sufficient financial resources in place so that you can study without having to worry about your living costs, and that a church or similar body akin to your own is willing to accept you in Melbourne and offer you personal support. Please note that the MCD itself has no scholarship funds available, though doctoral candidates may apply to be awarded an International Postgraduate Research Scholarship from the Commonwealth Government, which covers tuition and health insurance, but not living costs: details of this may be obtained from the MCD Registrar.
Language ability
Unless you come from a country where English is the official language, or you have completed a degree using English as the language of instruction and assessment, you must normally have reached an average score of 7.0 across all bands with no band under 6.5 in each section of the International Language Testing System (IELTS) or 580 in the Test of English as a Foreign Language (TOEFL) in the twelve months preceding your application. If you intend undertaking a research degree you will also need to have a reading knowledge of the languages required for the primary sources and essential secondary sources for your chosen research topic (e.g. Koine Greek, biblical Hebrew, ecclesiastical Latin for primary sources, German, Spanish, Korean, Italian, Chinese, French etc for secondary).
Qualifying for Research degrees
If you are applying to enter a research Masters degree (MTheol, MA [Research mode], MMin) or doctorate, you will normally be expected to have passed the research qualifying requirements before leaving your home country (see the Regulations for each degree on the MCD website). This normally includes having obtained a Distinction grade in a 12,000-word research essay at postgraduate standard. In addition, the Academic Board expects that a suitable and MCD-approved person in Melbourne has indicated his or her willingness to act as your interim supervisor.
Procedure for international students applying for MCD coursework awards
The processes of application and obtaining a student visa can take considerable time: intending applicants are advised to contact an MCD teaching college as early as possible to make initial enquiries - contact details can be found on the MCD website.
Three steps are involved in making an application, each being completed before the next is taken:
- Contacting your church authority and a Melbourne MCD teaching college to ensure that you will receive necessary financial and personal support during your time as a student in Australia.
- Making application to the MCD to be accepted into an MCD course. When this has happened, the MCD will issue an Electronic Confirmation of Enrolment.
- Applying to DIMIA for a student visa.
Step one: Meeting acceptance conditions
As an international student you must submit the following documents to the MCD teaching college through which you intend to study:
- A letter from your own church authority (outside Australia) indicating its willingness for you to undertake the intended course of study; and
- A statement of how your financial obligations will be met during your time in Australia; and
- Written information from a theological college, or Melbourne-based church authority (Diocese, Synod, General Secretary, Superintendent, etc.), indicating their willingness to support you during your time of study; and
- Evidence that your home country is English-speaking; or
evidence that you have successfully completed a degree using English as the language of instruction and assessment; or
the results of your IELTS or TOEFL test.
Step two: Application for admission to an MCD award
Application forms for ICSPF postgraduate courses can be downloaded from this website. Each section must be completed, and all signatures obtained before the application can be processed by the MCD Academic Board.
The signature of a Coursework (for GradDips, MTS, MDiv, MA [Coursework mode] degrees) or Research (for MTheol, MA[Research mode] , PhD, DTheol degrees) Coordinator can be obtained through the ICSPF. Applications from international students will only be considered when
- A Melbourne theological college or church authority has been previously consulted and formally indicated their willingness to accept you as a student; and
- You provide full details and transcripts of all your previous tertiary studies, including details of the institutions in which that study took place; and
- If you plan to take a research degree, a person acceptable to the Academic Board has formally indicated his or her willingness to act as your initial supervisor. Research students are accepted initially for one year: continuation of candidature is granted only if a suitable supervisor is available and willing to act.
Step three: Visa application
A visa application requires obtaining from the MCD office an Electronic Confirmation of Enrolment (ECoE). For this to happen, you must have been accepted into an MCD course, and must have provided the MCD with the following information:
- A Letter of Acceptance into an MCD Course from an MCD Research Coordinator (for postgraduate applications) or the Coursework Coordinator of an MCD teaching college (for BTheol applications).
- Your full name (clearly indicating your surname / family name)
- Your date of birth
- Your citizenship and country of birth
- Your passport number
Please allow a few months for the government administrative processes to take place in granting you a student visa to enter Australia: these are not issued lightly.
FORMS:
Application for Admission International Students
(Coursework awards -- 2008)
RTF version, PDF Version
Maintaining the good standing of your student visa
The Commonwealth Government requires all Higher Education Providers, including the MCD, to ensure that international students have their study and results monitored constantly throughout their stay in Australia. In practical terms, this means that you are required to attend 80% of face-to-face classes in each unit / subject, and must pass all units / subjects for the course towards which you study. Postgraduate students are required to complete their chosen degree in the time indicated on their visa: no extension of the time on a visa can be given.
People in Australia on student visas are required to study full-time, and may only be permitted to work part-time after receiving permission from DIMIA.
Failure to comply with these requirements will result in your visa being cancelled, meaning that you will have to return to your home country.
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Further enquiries
These should be made to:
The Executive Assistant to the Dean
Melbourne College of Divinity
21 Highbury Grove
KEW Victoria 3101
Australia
Ph (613) 9853 3177
Email: admin@mcd.edu.au
Fax (613) 9853 6695
Web: www.mcd.unime
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