How University in Australia Differs From Uni in Other Countries

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Making the next step in your education and taking a pathway to university is a pretty big deal, especially if you’re wanting to study internationally.

While the idea of university is pretty straight forward, most colleges differ all over the globe, and depending on which country you want study in, each can make a huge difference to what kind of experience you have.

If you’re looking at studying in Australia but are confused with the how universities in other countries compare, we’ve got your back.

Pathways into uni

In Australia there are so many different pathways into university that you can choose from. Whether you’ve come straight from high school or TAFE, or if you haven’t studied for a while, there are plenty of options out there.

One of the most popular ways of university entrance in Australia is through an ATAR score that you achieve while completing your high school certificate. This score, ranging between 1 and 99, essentially ranks you against other students in your year group and region to determine whether or not you can get into your preferred course or university.

Students who choose not to complete university entrance classes in high school can instead apply for university with a TAFE certificate or a university bridging course. These options work very similar to one another: essentially, students complete a course—whether that be a certificate, diploma or bridging course from the university—that works as a stepping-stone into your preferred course.

Students who haven’t studied for a while or who aren’t keen on bridging courses can choose to apply with a portfolio of all of their previous work and study, or, if they are above the age of 21, can apply as a mature aged student.

Things work a little differently in other countries around the world, so let’s have a look at three.

In the United States, students apply for their preferred university and course directly through admissions tests and/or forms straight to that university. Students are encouraged to write to their preferred uni—maybe send in a personal essay—and sit an admissions test.

In the United Kingdom, students can register for uni through their high school A-levels, which are essentially high school university entrance courses, or through the International Baccalaureate (IB) which is a non-for-profit foundation that offers educational programmes. The IB Diploma programme can be used to apply for university entry.

And in China you can apply for your preferred university via application form. This is done through the China University and College Admissions System (CUCAS) which is an online portal international student use to apply for Chinese universities.

Learning style

Depending on how you prefer to learn, you might want to consider how each country approaches teaching, the way classes work and their size. The learning style of a course can also impact the way universities ask you to complete assignments and exams, so let’s compare Australia with Japan.

In Australia, universities tend to mix bigger lectures with smaller workshops and tutorial courses so that students can learn to manage a workload and be an autonomous thinker.

Tutorials and workshops tend to be much smaller classes that require students to do weekly readings and smaller in class projects, presentations or debates. Lectures tend to be more long-form, larger classes where the tutor presents the information and students simply take notes.

In Japan, the focus is heavily on lectures, with fewer tutorials and workshops. Study in Japan is very independent, and students are expected to manage their own time and research information related to their course on their own.

Degree length

Surprisingly, even the length of certain degrees will vary from country to country, so let’s compare Australia with the UK.

Australia

• Bachelor’s degree: 3 years
• Honours: 1 year
• Master’s: 1 – 2 years
• PhD or Doctoral degree: 3+ years

United Kingdom

• Bachelor’s degree: 3 – 4 years
• Master's degree: 1 years
• PhD/Doctoral degree: 3 – 4+ years

Undergraduate degree structure

The structure and flexibility of your undergraduate degree may vary depending on which country you study in. If you’re looking for more flexibility to discover what you like, you may want to look into which countries have that option.

In Australia, study tends to be more focused and specialised from the get-go. Students choose their degree and classes are dedicated to that specialty of study even in first year.

In the US, however, the focus is more so on the breadth of study. In the first few years of an undergraduate degree, students are able to choose from several different classes from a range of different subjects to form a base for their education. A major is then chosen for the final two years of study as the main focus of study.

Rankings

Where a university ranks globally might be really important to you, and while I’m sure we’ve all heard of Harvard University and the University of Oxford, there are still a bunch of other really great unis on the list from all over the world.

Accoring to QS World University Rankings 2021, at the time of writing, Australia’s highest-ranking university is Australian National University, sitting at number 31 on the list, with University of Sydney at 40, University of Melbourne at 41 and University of Queensland at 46.

Australia is also home to a bunch of universities that are number one in certain specialties, so look up your area of interest and preferred university to see where it ranks.

The world’s highest ranking universities are all in the US and the UK, with the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) at number one and the University of Oxford at number five, but plenty of other countries also have top ranking universities.

Just a few of these include Switzerland’s ETH Zurich – Swiss Federal Institute of Technology at number six, Singapore’s National University of Singapore (NUS) at number 11, China’s Tsinghua University at number 15, Hong Kong’s University of Hong Kong at number 22 and Japan’s University of Tokyo at number 25.

Fees

So, obviously your uni fees will depend on what course you choose and which university you decide to study at, but there are some average and general numbers on how much uni costs around the world.

Australia sits somewhere in the middle at about $4,700 per year, but here we have easy access to HECS-HELP loans. These are essentially university loans from the Australian Government that you pay back through your taxes when you start earning enough money to meet the threshold.

Some lucky students around the world have access to free university; these countries include Denmark, Estonia, Finland, Germany, Norway, Poland, Slovak Republic, Slovenia, Sweden and Turkey. Back in the mid-70s, Australia was on this list, but only until the mid-1980s. It’s important to keep in mind that some of these countries may only offer free education to residents or citizens so double check before you pack your suitcase.

On the opposite side of the spectrum, some countries have extremely high fees that take a long time to pay back. The US is notorious for having expensive university with yearly costs at about $8,200 for public university and $21,100 for private schools.

Chile also has some pretty expensive university as students pay around $7,600 per year.

While the length, style and cost of your eduaction may differ depending on where you choose to study, it's an experience you won't want to miss, so maybe think outside your borders for your next study destination.

Header Image: mapodile via Getty Images