EOI Points: STEM Doctorate & Professional Year

Two little-known additional allocations

In the SkillSelect EOI points table, beyond the common factors such as age, English, work experience, and qualifications, there are two additional allocations that many applicants overlook or do not realise they are eligible for:

1. Points for a doctorate in a STEM or business field (Specialist education qualification): 10 points
2. Points for the Professional Year Program: 5 points

This article explains these two allocations, often grouped together as “special additional points” in the EOI system.

Points for a specialist doctorate (10 points)

Who is eligible?

You earn an additional 10 points if you have completed a doctorate (Doctoral degree — equivalent to AQF Level 10) from a recognised institution, and that doctorate is in one of these fields:

• Science
• Technology
• Engineering
• Mathematics
• Information technology (IT)
• Or a business field

This group is often abbreviated as STEM or STEM/Business. Note that not every doctorate counts — only those in the fields above.

Do overseas universities count?

A doctorate from universities outside Australia can also count, provided the qualification is assessed as equivalent to the Australian standard. However, the Department of Home Affairs may ask you to provide evidence of the qualification level when you lodge the visa application.

Combining with ordinary qualification points

The specialist doctorate points (10 points) are an addition to ordinary qualification points. On the ordinary qualification scale, a doctorate is worth 20 points. With the 10 additional points, the total qualification points for a STEM/Business doctorate are 30 points.

This is the highest qualification score achievable in the EOI system — a very large advantage over applicants who hold only a bachelor’s degree (15 points) or a master’s degree (no separate points beyond the 15 points for a bachelor’s level).

Professional Year Program points (5 points)

What is a Professional Year?

The Professional Year Program (PY) is a vocational training program usually lasting 44–52 weeks, designed specifically for international graduates in Australia who want to develop their professional skills and understanding of the Australian work environment. The program includes both classroom learning and a workplace internship.

Eligible fields

A Professional Year is currently available for three field groups:

• Accounting: delivered by providers approved by CPA Australia, CA ANZ, or the IPA.
• Information technology (ICT/IT): delivered by providers approved by ACS (the Australian Computer Society).
• Engineering: delivered by providers approved by Engineers Australia.

Conditions for the 5 points

To earn the 5 Professional Year points in the EOI:

• You must have completed the entire approved Professional Year program.
• The program must be completed in Australia.
• It must be in one of the three fields above.

Note: the Professional Year program must be completed before you lodge the EOI, or before you update these points in your EOI.

Cost and duration

A Professional Year usually lasts about 12 months and carries a significant cost (usually from 8,000 to 15,000 AUD). Beyond the 5 EOI points, the program also gives you real work experience in Australia — valuable for finding employment later.

How to declare them in the EOI

When completing the EOI in ImmiAccount, you will see dedicated fields for:

• Specialist education qualification (a STEM/Business doctorate).
• Professional Year completion.

Be sure to tick the correct options and prepare the corresponding supporting documents to present when you lodge the visa application.