MUSEQ-R
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Annual student experience survey

Each year, current Graduate Research students are invited to provide feedback on their university experience via the Macquarie University Student Experience Questionnaire – Research (MUSEQ-R).

This survey asks you about your satisfaction in key areas of your research journey such as skill development, the intellectual climate in your department/faculty, infrastructure, and your supervisory support. The feedback you give is used by the GRA and Faculties to understand what we are doing well and where we can enhance your research journey.

Your answers are confidential, and anonymity is protected. Results of the survey are produced as percentages of students being satisfied or unsatisfied. All text-based answers are checked for anonymity.  You can get a taste of previous year's results below.

The survey is distributed to your student email address. Check your emails during September - October for your invitation and personalised link to complete the Graduate Research Annual Survey.  If you have any questions about the survey, please contact gr.experience@mq.edu.au

The 2025  MUSEQ-R opened on Monday 15 September and will be open until Sunday 2 November, 2025. All research Masters and PhD students receive an invitation via their student email to complete the survey. 

There are around 1500 research students across Macquarie, with a wide range of experiences. Don't leave feedback for your area and circumstances up to other students!  We look forward to seeing what you have to say for 2025. 

If you have questions about the survey, please write to gr.experience@mq.edu.au

In 2024, the response rate for the survey was again around a quarter of the research student cohort.  This is an area for improvement in survey communication in 2025.

You said…

Overall, 83% of respondents to the survey were satisfied with their overall experience of research at Macquarie. This was steady with 2023 and 2024 results - having risen from 74.5% in 2021. At Faculty level experiences vary, with 89.5% of MQBS respondents satisfied, while in FMHHS respondents recorded a dip to 74.8%. This is partly explained by student profile. International students consistently respond with higher satisfaction rates than domestic students, a pattern found globally amongst research students.

Highlights of Macquarie-wide and Faculty responses for the six major categories:

  • Supervision: Macquarie research students are very satisfied with their supervisors. For 2022-2024, satisfaction has held steady at about 90% or just below.  FSE and MQBS respondents both reported a 92% rate of satisfaction.
  • Skills development: A highlight for 2024.  From just below 85% in 2021, skill development has steadily increased over the following three years to an MQ-wide average of 92% for respondents. Most of the 8 focus areas for skill development show steady improvement over the last four years, with notable increases in satisfaction for communication and time management. When filtered for part-time students, satisfaction is closing the gap to full-time students.
  • Intellectual climate: Always a challenging area that reports lower than other domains for all Australian universities. At Macquarie, satisfaction has increased steadily if modestly over the last four years, with an overall average of 71.8% respondents satisfied. Department seminars, social opportunity, and student background all factor in this area. Intriguingly, domestic part-time students reported higher satisfaction than domestic full-time students for 2024.
  • Infrastructure: This domain includes workspace, equipment and technical support, computing, and financing. Computing and finance were highlights for MQBS, while students reported less satisfaction with workspaces. In contrast, FMHHS students are very satisfied with their workspaces. On average, there is a small increase to satisfaction overall across Macquarie with a score of 78.9%.
  • Industry engagement: This area is relative to Faculty and discipline, and so satisfaction rates look different. Overall satisfaction is steady with 2023 results at 57.6%, but Faculty results are a better indicator: In MQBS and FSE satisfaction increased, to 76.7% and 69.4% respectively. Arts and FMHHS registered slightly lower rates than 2023.

Our action plans for 2025

Across all four Faculties, the new Graduate Diploma of Research program (replacing the Bachelor of Philosophy) aims to enhance research skills training with Faculty-specific courses, while also building connections among the research cohorts for the year. A revision to the Supervision Policy was published in Oct 2024, adding greater clarity to Supervisor responsibilities for all graduate research as well. Improvements were also made to the commencement experience, simplifying how all students get started with their enrolment and mandatory training.

Faculty-level actions in response to 2024 Survey results:

Faculty of Arts:

  • Skill development will be a focus area, particularly in time-management and leadership. Industry engagement will also be an area for work, with FoA collaborating with the GRA in building capacity.
  • Dissatisfaction with financial support is acknowledged, and avenues for support for the graduate research community and events will be investigated.

Faculty of Medicine, Health and Human Sciences:

  • There will be a focus on strengthening the research community and involvement of research students for 2025.  For example, 3 Minute Thesis, networking between research students and ECR staff, mini-festivals for MRes, and department social and research catch-ups.
  • Increased on-demand training for supervisors, in collaboration with GRA.

Faculty of Science and Engineering:

  • Aim for higher engagement in MUSEQ-R for students and supervisors to improve the quality of feedback. FSE's  response rate in 2024 was 23% of a population of close to 600.
  • A major priority for 2025 will be industry engagement, and to lift the satisfaction level above that reported for 2024 (69.4%). Industry leaders within FSE will be engaged in partnerships, and faculty events will be delivered for each School.
  • Improve preparedness for MRes and PhD by targeting progression at each level, from Graduate Diploma to MRes, and then to PhD, in collaboration with GRA.

Macquarie Business School

  • MQBS also plans to continue focusing on industry engagement - both for research and employment for graduates. Industry recruitment events and online masterclasses to connect with industry are some of the ideas to pursue.
  • MQBS will learn from different satisfaction levels between their departments, to expand strategies that are working well.
  • Research training will be customised more closely for disciplines, rather than generic breadth.

These are just a sample of the survey results, highlights, and actions flowing from your 2024 feedback. If you would like to know more detail about the 2024 results, please contact gr.experience@mq.edu.au

In 2023, around 24% of students responded to the annual survey. The highlights below summarise responses across all four Faculties. To be considered ‘satisfied’ in a given domain, students responded with an average of ‘satisfied’ or ‘very satisfied’ cumulatively across the questions in that domain.

You said…

When asked about their overall satisfaction, most research students (more than four out of five) were satisfied with their experience, consistent with previous years.

Notably, compared year on year, satisfaction levels are significantly higher than the COVID-19 impacted years (2020-2021) and also generally higher than 2019. The trend is one of steady improvement.

  • Supervision: Supervisors are great! 9 out of 10 students are satisfied with their supervisory teams. But you would like more guidance on topic choice and literature reviews.
  • Skills: You’re confident in your skill development – but leadership is an area where more can be offered – consistent with previous years.
  • Intellectual climate: Moderately satisfied, in line with 2022. We’ve bounced back from the COVID-19 impact of 2020 and 2021, but you’d like to see more engagement in your schools and departments.
  • Infrastructure: Workspaces are pretty good. But as always, funding can be improved.
  • Library: Four out of five students are satisfied with the library. Different disciplines experience the library in different ways. You can always speak with a Research Librarian to help with tailored literature needs.
  • GRA Support: Most students are satisfied with GRA Support for their studies, but you told us that our website needs work.

Our action plans for 2024

In considering the results from the 2023 survey, the GRA together with Faculties have developed the following actions (and more) to continue improving students’ experience during their degrees.

  • Overall, to increase the sense of being part of a cohort throughout your degree we now have specific starting points across the year, and we have developed a new streamlined and guided orientation so that you start your PhD or Masters with what you need.
  • A revised Supervision policy has now been released (effective Oct 1, 2024) to provide greater clarity on responsibilities for supervisors.
  • In 2024, we launched the Graduate Researcher Development Program to support and guide skill development. You can now evaluate your skill levels and map out training development against a skill framework specifically designed for researchers.
  • We’ve increased funding for the PGRF, raising it to an available $6000.
  • We’re working on communicating more effectively, so that you can hear about opportunities more easily, and connect with your peers and research communities. The first piece of this is a refined website for Graduate Research, organised according to the journey through your degree from getting started to submission and beyond.
  • We’re developing an industry strategy to bolster industry engagement and professional pathways.

These are just some of highlights emerging from the 2023 Graduate Research Annual Survey results. Each Faculty has their own set of individual results and following actions. Speak to your Research Training Director or Associate Dean, Research Training and Performance (AD, RTP) for information about your area.

Your 2022 feedback

Graduate researchers’ satisfaction improved in Overall Experience, Supervision, Skills Development, Intellectual Climate and Infrastructure in 2022, compared with 2021:

  • 92% thought the support and guidance from their supervisors was good or excellent
  • 95% of students were satisfied with their skill development
  • 60% of students felt they were well integrated into the broader research culture and community
  • 86% of students were satisfied with the infrastructure provided
  • 84% of students were satisfied with their overall degree experience

Areas that require improvement were also identified:

  • student integration into the research community
  • administrative processes and support
  • scholarship and research funding

Our response

Based on students’ feedback in 2022 and 2021, the Graduate Research Academy (GRA) at Macquarie University further enhanced its services to support students’ needs - including additional online developmental opportunities and support, greater financial support and student provisions, and enhanced administration processes.

  • Increased scholarship stipends to assist students with the increases in the cost of living.
  • Continued to deliver a range of workshops to support students with their skill development and milestone requirements.
  • Launched a range of initiatives, including Covid leave and extension provisions, to support students during lockdown.
  • Joined the iPREP Biodesign program to provide students with an exciting opportunity to collaborate with industry on design thinking.
  • Established the Graduate Research Advisory Group (GRAG) to strengthen the communication between Graduate Research Leadership, management and students and to provide an effective mechanism for engaging with the GR cohort to inform decision making.
  • Developed Guidelines for Graduate Research Internships and introduced new provisions to support students wishing to undertake an internship opportunity.
  • Offered new supervision workshops focused on supervision practices and supporting students’ skill development and progression.
  • Increased the amount of Postgraduate Research Funding (PGRF) to help students cover expenses relating to the conduct of their research or fieldwork.
  • Introduced new mandatory training requirements for external supervisors, creating an awareness and understanding of the rules, policies, and codes that supervisors and students are expected to adhere to.
  • Trained GRA staff in Mental Health First Aid and awareness, and provided all students with access to the Black Dog Institute’s Mental Health and Wellbeing eLearning module.
  • Transitioned from paper-based forms to eForms for key processes such as variations to candidature.
  • Launched the Graduate Research Peer Mentors program to improve peer level support within the research community, reduce the sense of isolation and create networking opportunities.
  • Hosted a range of social events, including the annual GRAfest, providing an avenue for students to connect with the graduate research community.
Graduate Research Academy
Level 2, 16 Wally's Walk
Macquarie University NSW 2109