Academics

The University of Sydney offers a wide range of coursework to accommodate your academic plans. Fully integrated into the academic and social life at the University of Sydney, you can pursue classes in science, math, architecture and planning, business, economics, engineering and computing, health, psychology, arts, humanities, and social sciences.

 

Unique study opportunities

  • Access popular courses that offer guided field-based experiences related to the Australian outdoors, Australian sports, and Australian arts.
  • Collaborate on a real-world project through the Industry and Community project course, or take an internship for credit at a a leading business, government, or community organization.

Language

Language of Instruction: English

Language Study: Optional

Foreign language study is available. Check the university course catalog.

Courses and credit

Requirements While Abroad

To successfully complete this program:

  • Take a full-time course of study: Four courses for a total of 24 quarter/16 semester UC units each semester.
  • You may take one course per semester for pass/no pass credit. 

Current Program Courses

In addition to regular university courses, independent study and internships for academic credit are also an option in this program. Before you enroll in courses, review the calendar, restrictions, and prerequisites for all courses to ensure success.

Course Numbers and Division
Most class codes are made up of letters (representing the discipline area) and numbers (representing the year level). First-year level Australian classes (where the numerical portion of the code begins with ‘1’) will be assigned lower-division UC credit, while second- and third-year level courses (where the numerical portion of the code begins with ‘2’ or ‘3’) will usually be assigned upper-division UC credit. 

Industry and Community Project

The University of Sydney has partnered with more than 70 leading business, government, and community organizations to offer real-world projects. You can work in interdisciplinary groups throughout the semester, in collaboration with your industry partner and an academic supervisor. Groups present their projects to the industry partner at the end of the semester.

Catalogs and resources

Academic Culture

To help you acclimate to Australian campus life and culture, there are a few key differences and similarities with UC to be aware of:

  • The Australian semester is longer and has a slower pace than the UC semester or quarter.
  • Students address Australian lecturers and tutors informally by their first name.
  • Similar to UC, the main forms of teaching are lectures (50-500+ students), tutorials (10-25 students), seminars (30+ students; half lecture, half tutorial), and labs/practicals.
  • All lectures are recorded—beware of waiting until the last minute to watch them.
  • In Australia, students are expected to be independent and show initiative. Instructors won't chase you up if you miss classes or assignments.
  • Assignments tend to require heavy research and critical analysis.
  • You’ll need to use Australian English for assignments.

Grades

You will earn direct UC credit and grades for all coursework. Australian university grades are criterion-referenced rather than norm-referenced (i.e., curved). This means that your performance on an assignment will be compared to a predefined standard, not to the performance of your classmates. Your lecturer will advise you of this standard via a grading rubric.

Most assessment is due toward the end of the semester. In a semester, it is not uncommon to have your first assignment due in the sixth week and not receive any grades back until the eighth week. Finals may be very heavily weighted (40-80% of your final grade). There is usually a study week (called swot vac) between the last week of the semester and the start of the exam period.

UCEAP converts your Australian grades to UC grades. Fall grades are usually available in December. Spring grades are usually available in July.