Semester at University of New South Wales

Each course is worth 6 UNSW credit points, which is the equivalent of 3 - 4 US credits (as determined by your home institution).

You'll select 6 - 8 courses for pre-approval; courses will not be confirmed until 1 - 2 months prior to departure.

• Early Start: You'll enroll in one, intensive month course prior to the start of the semester. You'll select an additional 3 courses for the semester.

• Standard Semester: During this program, you'll enroll in 3 courses.

The Australian academic year begins in February. When selecting courses, ensure they align with the correct semester:

• Term 1: February – May (U.S. Spring Semester)

• Term 2: September - December (U.S. Fall Semester)

The following courses areas are not available to study abroad students:

• Course codes that begin with DP, Y, or Z

• MDIA, LAWS, DIET, MSCI, PPEC, OPTM, HESC, NEUR, BIOM, and COMP: Some courses in these subject areas are open to study abroad students, but it can be very challenging for study abroad students to enroll in them because seats are often held for full-degree students majoring in that subject area. If you select any courses in these subject areas, please make sure you have an equal number of backup courses you could swap them with.

In Australia, undergraduate degrees are 3 years instead of 4, so the first-level courses dive right into material specific to that discipline, without too much intro-level context. Courses are typically categorized by levels (1000–4000), which correspond to their academic difficulty. Here are our recommended equivalencies to U.S. course levels:

• 1000-level: Equivalent to US 200-level/sophomore courses

• 2000-level: Equivalent to US 300-level/junior courses

• 3000-level: Equivalent to US 400-level/senior courses (these require advanced competency and may have prerequisites)

• 4000-level and above: honors and post-graduate level courses, generally not available to study abroad students

Unique course opportunities:

• CDEV3000: Practice of Work - In this course, students learn about professional practice while working on real-world projects with external partners and developing their personal capabilities for lifelong learning and work. 

• GEOS1211: Earth and Environmental Science - Combining laboratory work and field-based learning on campus, this course teaches students about the geology of Sydney, while exploring topics such as environmental pollution, soil hydrology, and groundwater science. 

• ATSI1011: Indigenous Australia - In this course, students will gain an understanding of the diversity of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander cultures, peoples and societies, including the ways in which Indigenous knowledge systems continue to shape Indigenous identities today. 

• ARTS1190: Sydney: History, Landscapes, People - This course immerses students in the history, politics, and culture of Sydney through walking tours and research on topics such as Aboriginal Sydney, Western Sydney and Queer Sydney, tracing Sydney’s extraordinary urban transformation from a tiny penal outpost to a global city of international renown in only 200 years.