Perth, Australia
Perth is the capital of Western Australia, with a population of about 2.1 million. Located on Australia's southwestern coast, Perth is a multicultural, cosmopolitan city, full of opportunities to experience the arts, theatre, music, food, and outdoor activities. The city center is just 15 minutes from the coast and the region is noted for sailing and a multitude of national parks. Local attractions include whale-watching, botanical gardens, and the charming 19th century port town of Fremantle.
About the Program
HWS offers an exchange program at Curtin University of Technology, a large research university of 40,000 students, ranked among the best in Australia. With over 16,000 international students studying at Curtin University, you will experience a unique international and cross-cultural learning environment, sharing the campus with students from more than 105 countries.
Perth is ideally situated for those who want to experience the unique opportunities of Western Australia, from hiking or horse riding in the Karri and Marri forests, snorkeling at Ningaloo Reef and Rottnest Island, or joining Curtin Volunteers! in one of their programs serving a remote Aboriginal community. Note: this program runs on a “southern hemisphere” calendar, meaning July—November for fall and February—July for spring.
HWS students will take four courses at Curtin University, chosen from an extensive range of subject areas. One of the courses available to students, Community Service, includes an internship (typically in the not-for-profit sector) designed to facilitate engagement with Australian culture and society. As a major research university, the curriculum serves most HWS majors and minors but areas of particular strength include the physical and natural sciences, architecture, computer science and mathematics, and journalism. Note, this is a large university and students will often enroll in classes that have 100-200 students. The faculty assume that students are independent learners and while they are accessible to students needing assistance, the onus is on the student to seek help when appropriate.
Grading standards are rigorous and tend to weigh heavily on one or two exams rather than being distributed over a larger number of small assignments. For more information click here.
ACADEMIC FOCUS
Due to the wide range of courses offered at Curtain University, this program can accommodate students from almost all disciplines. The program is particularly recommended to students interested in architecture, Australian and Aboriginal studies, computer science, geoscience, mathematics, physics, theater, and writing (journalism).
This program is open to all juniors and seniors in good academic and social standing with a minimum GPA of 3.0. Due to the challenging nature of study abroad, student academic and disciplinary records will be carefully screened. Note: due to the timing of the academic calendar at Curtin, seniors participating in the spring semester will not be able to return in time for commencement on the HWS campus.
Students live in residence halls on campus, usually with other international students. In most residences, students have their own bedroom in a 6 or 8-bedroom self-contained apartment. Students cook for themselves in the shared kitchen and/or eat at one of the many campus cafeterias.
Just across the road from the campus, students can buy groceries or visit restaurants and fast food venues. Campus residences (except for one residence hall) have phones and wifi internet access. Check out this link to see the different residence hall options:
http://housing.curtin.edu.au/on_campus/where/
Upon arrival students will participate in an extended orientation, including a wide range of activities and tours where you will get to know fellow students and become familiar with the campus and with the region. The university also offers an “e-mate program” that matches incoming exchange students with Curtin University students by email so that you can ask questions of current students before you arrive, and then you can meet your “e-mate” when you get to Perth. Students are encouraged to seek out opportunities to immerse themselves in campus life and the local culture, including campus clubs (Curtin has over 80 international, religious, academic, sporting and special interest clubs and societies), taking part in community service activities and excursions through Curtin Volunteers!, and participating in campus events and activities. Optional excursions to a variety of locations are available for an additional fee.
Students will be charged standard HWS tuition and fees and a $600 administrative fee. This will cover tuition for a four-course semester, health insurance, the orientation program, and access to campus clubs and organizations. Note that no room or board charge is included. Students will pay room fees directly to Curtin University and should plan to bring their board fee to cover meal expenses throughout the program. Room fees will depend on the residence hall students choose, but most residences will cost from $3200—$3800 for the semester. While meal expenses will vary according to individual tastes, we estimate that about $2200—$2700 should be sufficient for students who prepare their own meals.
Additional expenses not covered include airfare, books, visa, a local transit pass and personal expenses (laundry, entertainment, and independent travel). We estimate airfare for this program at $2000-$2300 from the East Coast, books at $300, and visa at $600. It is difficult to give an accurate estimate of personal expenses because student spending habits differ considerably. We would suggest a minimum of $1500 above and beyond meal and accommodation expenses. However, students on a tight budget should be able to manage with less and part-time employment is an option for those who would like to work. If you are concerned about finances, we strongly encourage you to talk to the CGE staff who can offer information and advice based on your specific situation.
HWS students must complete all components of the Global Education application in order to be considered for admission to this program.
- This program is offered every semester.
- All components of the application must be submitted online by the published deadline. Specific deadline dates are set each semester and typically will be in late September/early October (for Fall programs) and late February/early March (for Spring programs).
Program Handbook
IMPORTANT: The handbook(s) below is/are the most recent handbook(s) published for this program. A new version, with updated information, will be made available each semester. Program participants will receive their updated handbook approximately 2-3 months prior to their program’s start date.
FALL HANDBOOK / SPRING HANDBOOK
Please DO NOT MAKE TRAVEL ARRANGEMENTS until you have received final confirmation of the program start/finish dates for the specific semester you are attending. Dates included in versions of the program handbook intended for previous semesters do not necessarily apply to future programs.
NOTE: The information above is subject to change. Please see the CGE for more information.
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