Pre-experience postgraduate business programmes in Australia

Australia has 41 universities, most publicly funded, located largely in the south and east of the country. The major research universities, termed the Group of Eight, include:
• University of Adelaide
• Australian National University
• University of Melbourne
• Monash University
• University of New South Wales
• University of Queensland
• University of Sydney
• University of Western Australia.

All 41 universities, not just the Group of Eight, offer bachelor’s and master’s degree programmes. Some offer a wide range of pre- and post-experience business master’s programmes, plus many diploma and certificate programmes.

Programme length   
Business master’s programmes range in length from one to two years. The typical business master’s programme lasts 18 months. At the University of Sydney, for instance, most programmes require 18 months of study, but some, such as the Master of Human Resource Management and Industrial Relations, require as little as 12 months. Other programmes can be completed in 18 months, if a candidate has already done a bachelor’s degree in a related field, but require 24 months if a candidate lacks prior coursework in the field.

Many programmes offer the opportunity to start in either fall/autumn or spring, unlike most programmes in the northern hemisphere.

Costs
Typical tuition fees range from A$20,000 to A$30,000 per year – with locals paying about 75% of what international students pay.

Living expenses tend to be less than in North America, and substantially less than in Western Europe, for comparably sized cities. Expect to pay from A$1,200 to A$2,500 per month for non-tuition expenses.

Scholarships
A modest number of scholarships are available to international students for postgraduate study in Australia. Many universities offer grants, usually for only part of the course fee, for which competition is fierce.

IDP Education Australia awards a limited number of postgraduate scholarships on behalf of the government.

International applicants should consult www.jason.edu.au, a database for postgraduate scholarships aimed at international students wishing to study in Australia.

In recent years, Australian citizens and permanent residents from disadvantaged backgrounds have been targeted through the Commonwealth Learning Scholarships Programme.

Working
International students are permitted to work full-time during vacations and up to 20 hours per week during terms. Most postgraduate programmes discourage working during the programme, but many students manage to work at least half-a-dozen hours per week.

Studying in Australia
Australia is an informal place, as are its universities. In fact, Australian universities generally encourage substantial interaction between students – and between students and professors. In addition, Australia’s increasingly international orientation and highly varied ethnic mix – long gone is the policy of welcoming only white immigrants – mean that international students are likely to find themselves generously welcomed.

All of Australia’s universities have a wide range of student clubs, ranging from social, cultural, and sporting to academic and pre-professional.

Rankings
The Good Guides provide online information about Australian business programmes, both undergraduate and postgraduate. For more about these, see the ‘Rankings’ discussion.

Reputation
Australia is a highly popular destination for international students, ranking third after the US and UK. One reason is that Australian postgraduate qualifications tend to be well regarded, due in part to the country’s multiple quality-control measures, which are meant to ensure that all programmes are up to snuff. (The Australian Universities Quality Assurance, for instance, is an independent auditor that evaluates universities every five years.) That said, no universities have brand-name recognition equal to that of the most famous American, British, and European universities.