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Subclass 500 Course Definitions: Higher Education and Postgraduate Research Courses (2026)

Plain-language guide · general information, not immigration advice

Under clause 500.111 of Schedule 2 to the Migration Regulations 1994, a postgraduate research course is a course of study leading to the award of either a masters degree (research) or a doctoral degree — and nothing wider. A higher education course is a separate, named list of nine awards running from diploma (higher education) up to masters degree (extended). Both sit inside the broader definition of "course of study", which for an applicant who is not a secondary exchange, Foreign Affairs or Defence student means a full-time registered course. The definitions below follow the official text of the Regulations published on the Australian Federal Register of Legislation as at the September 2026 version of that text; they are general reference only, not personalised advice, and a specific enrolment should be checked against the current official text or with a qualified practitioner.

What is a "course of study" in Subclass 500 terms?

Clause 500.111 defines "course of study" by applicant type rather than by a single rule. For a secondary exchange student it means a full-time course of study under a secondary school student exchange program administered by a State or Territory education authority. For a Foreign Affairs student or a Defence student it means a full-time course of study or training under a scholarship scheme or a training program approved respectively by the Foreign Minister or the Defence Minister. In any other case — the situation most applicants are in — it means a full-time registered course.

The same clause defines a school student as a student enrolled, or intending to enrol, in a course of study at a primary or secondary school. That label matters elsewhere in the Subclass 500 criteria, but the higher education and postgraduate research definitions operate on the award the course leads to, not on the type of institution.

Which awards count as a higher education course?

A higher education course is a course of study leading to one of nine listed awards. If the award on your enrolment is not one of these, the course is not a higher education course for Subclass 500 purposes.

Award listed in clause 500.111
Diploma (higher education)
Advanced diploma (higher education)
Associate degree
Bachelor degree
Graduate certificate (higher education)
Graduate diploma (higher education)
Bachelor honours degree
Masters degree (course work)
Masters degree (extended)

Two entries are worth pausing on. A masters degree (course work) is a higher education course, not a research course, even though it sits at postgraduate level. A masters degree (extended) is likewise on the higher education list. The dividing line is not "postgraduate versus undergraduate" — it is whether the award is expressed as research.

Which awards count as a postgraduate research course?

Only two: a masters degree (research) and a doctoral degree. The list is closed, so a professional doctorate naming question aside, the classification turns entirely on whether the award the course leads to is described as a research masters or as a doctoral degree. A masters by coursework, a masters extended, and a bachelor honours degree all fall outside it, because clause 500.111 places them in the higher education list instead.

Suppose an applicant holds an offer for a "Master of Philosophy" that the institution awards as a research masters. On the face of the definition that is a postgraduate research course. If the same applicant were instead enrolled in a "Master of Science" awarded by coursework, the course is a higher education course. The label on the award, not the faculty or the subject, does the work.

Why does the research-versus-coursework line change anything?

Three places in Subclass 500 turn on whether a course is a postgraduate research course:

The higher education label also carries its own consequence at clause 500.611(1)(b), where it is named alongside postgraduate research courses for condition 8203. Beyond these points, the Regulations set the primary criteria — enrolment, genuine applicant for entry and stay as a student, English proficiency if required, genuine access to funds, and health insurance — at the level of "course of study" generally rather than by course type.

Does the thesis-marking provision belong to research students only?

Clause 500.211(b) allows an application made in Australia where the applicant is seeking to remain because the relevant educational institution requires the applicant to do so during the marking of the applicant's postgraduate thesis. This is an alternative to clause 500.211(a), the ordinary requirement that the applicant be enrolled in a course of study. The provision is written around the marking of a postgraduate thesis and applies only where the application is made in Australia.

How do I check which category my course falls into?

Work from the award, in this order: read the exact award title on your offer or enrolment record; compare it against the nine higher education awards; and if it is a masters, check whether the award is expressed as research or as coursework or extended. Where the award title does not match any listed wording, clause 500.111 does not resolve the question, and the safest course is to treat the classification as unsettled and confirm it against the current text of the Migration Regulations 1994 before relying on any consequence that flows from it.

Frequently Asked Questions

Does a masters by coursework count as a postgraduate research course?

No. Clause 500.111 lists a masters degree (course work) and a masters degree (extended) as higher education courses, and reserves the postgraduate research course definition for a masters degree (research) and a doctoral degree. Postgraduate level alone is therefore not enough to make a course a postgraduate research course.

Is a PhD a postgraduate research course for Subclass 500?

Yes, if it leads to the award of a doctoral degree. The definition covers a course of study leading to a doctoral degree, so a doctoral award places the course in the postgraduate research category rather than the higher education category.

Are graduate certificates and graduate diplomas covered?

Both are listed as higher education courses, but only in their higher education form: graduate certificate (higher education) and graduate diploma (higher education). The wording in the definition is specific, so an award described differently is not matched by the list in clause 500.111.

What extra requirement applies if my course is a postgraduate research course?

Clause 500.217(6) requires the applicant to satisfy public interest criterion 4003B in addition to the public interest criteria that apply to all applicants. The content of that criterion is not set out in the Subclass 500 clauses and must be read from the criterion itself in the Regulations.

Does my course type affect my family members' applications?

It can. Under clause 500.317(6), a member of the family unit of a primary person whose course of study or intended course of study is a postgraduate research course must also satisfy public interest criterion 4003B. For other course types, that additional requirement is not engaged by this clause.

Is a bachelor honours degree a research course?

No. A bachelor honours degree is listed among the higher education course awards in clause 500.111. Honours study that involves a thesis does not move the award out of the higher education list, because the classification follows the named award.

Where does the full-time requirement come in?

For applicants other than secondary exchange, Foreign Affairs and Defence students, "course of study" means a full-time registered course under clause 500.111(d). The full-time and registered elements are part of the general definition, not an additional test attached only to higher education or postgraduate research courses.

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