The coursework, which is undertaken in the first year of the degree, comprises research training skills and individual coursework subjects. Research skills are tailored for each faculty, but typically include: research methodology; literature review, critical analysis, or laboratory projects; and advanced topics or a minor research project. The individual subjects are normally chosen from options within the Masters by Coursework degrees within the relevant faculty, thereby allowing students to obtain deeper content knowledge in a specific discipline area. International students intending to become university researchers and teachers in their home country will benefit from exposure to Australian teaching methods through these subjects. The research component is the same as for the three-year PhD program, leading to the production of a written thesis which involves a significant contribution to a field of knowledge. Each PhD candidate has two supervisors. In order to progress to the research component, PhD Integrated students must complete the first year with an average of 75%, including 75% in each research training skills subject. Students progressing to the research component will have developed their specific research topic before commencing the research component. This world-class research has led to the creation of a number of Centres of Excellence, which has attracted a critical mass of researchers engaged in significant, well-funded projects with superior equipment infrastructure. This concentration of high quality research has ensured that Engineering at UOW is part of the Go8 - Group of Eight & Associates, the top research faculties in Australia. Engineering research is supported by well equipped laboratories and workshops and a highly skilled team of support staff. There is a major off-campus facility for large scale projects and pilot plant development. The use of resources by external collaborators from industry is encouraged and enquiries are invited PhD scholars have significant freedom in their choice of project and the way the research is conducted and so such studies provide a significant opportunity to make an original contribution to the core of engineering knowledge. Even to those who eventually intend to become managers of engineering enterprises, the skills in problem solving, the ingenuity of experimentation and the critical analysis of results, all of which are acquired in a research degree, are immensely valuable.