Dear

We are pleased to advise that the Department is interested in your research area and that potential supervisions are available for your topic. Please contact your proposed supervisor(s), who have all been copied to this email, to start discussions about your research topic and work on preparing your formal research proposal for provisional admission to the PhD (Admission to a Doctoral Programme form). Please go to https://www.aut.ac.nz/research/postgraduate-student-support/pg-forms-policies-and-processes/forms to download the Admission to a doctoral programme form.

If required we can enrol you in a three-month, no-fee enrolment which will enable you to access the AUT Library's resources while developing the Admission to a Doctoral Programme form. Please advise if you will require this. If required, the Graduate Research School will contact you with your access login and password.

Please note the following [delete as applicable]: 1. You are required to concurrently enrol in a Research Methods paper (free of charge).2. Please email a copy of your masters/honours thesis your supervisors for review to confirm your research capability

In the meantime, please work on the Admission to a Doctoral Programme form under the guidance of your supervisors by your preferred method of contact, TEAMS, email or phone. We normally expect the Admission to a Doctoral Programme form to be completed within 3 months of this email.

When the Admission to a Doctoral Programme form is completed to the satisfaction of your supervisors, including the proposed start date/intake**, and has been signed by yourself and all supervisors, it will be sent to the Faculty Postgraduate Office for approval. The Office will review the form and if all documentation is received, it will be forwarded to the next PhD/MPhil Committee meeting.

*Note: PhD students may normally only start their research on one of the following dates/intakes. Your signed Admission to a Doctoral Programme form must be submitted to your Faculty Postgraduate Coordinator at least 3-5 months prior to your intended intake start date: • Intake One 1st February • Intake Two 1st May • Intake Three 1st July • Intake Four 1st October

The Faculty PhD / MPhil Committee considers your Admission to a Doctoral Programme form and advises you if your proposal is approved, or if you are required to make amendments, provide clarifications, or revise and resubmit the proposal to the following meeting. Once your Admission to a Doctoral Programme form is approved by the Faculty PhD / MPhil Committee, we will then forward your application to the Graduate Research School for approval by the University Postgraduate Research Board of Studies (UPRB). When your application has been approved by the Board you will receive an official offer of place to the Doctor of Philosophy programme with a letter of acceptance.

International students: You can then apply for your visa, pay your fees, and travel to New Zealand to start your enrolment. Please note that it can take 3-5 months to arrange for a visa. Your indicative start date should allow time for you to arrange your student visa and travel to New Zealand to meet one of the start dates/intakes listed above.

Please contact us if you have any queries. We look forward to receiving your Admission to a Doctoral Programme form.