Although it wasn’t “discovered” until the seventeenth century—the island’s indigenous people, the Aborigines, had been there for some 40,000 years!—Australia today is a prosperous, developed country of 22 million people. The main cities, Sydney, Melbourne, and Brisbane, are on the south and east coasts, while large areas of the interior remain uninhabited.

The cities are vibrant, with excellent museums and art galleries, including displays of aboriginal painting and sculpture, and a distinctly Australian outdoor lifestyle. None of them is much more than a stone’s throw from the beach and Pacific Ocean. Outside the cities, Australia has a wild variety of ecosystems—rainforests, coral reefs, sand islands, and deserts—as well as unique flora and fauna. Nobody should leave without encountering a kangaroo, or a koala bear perched in a eucalyptus tree. Even some of the constellations in Australia’s night sky are different—just one example of how the world can change when seen from a fresh (southern hemisphere) perspective.

Subtropical Brisbane is Australia’s third-largest city and the capital of the state of Queensland. It’s an increasingly prosperous, hilly city, with an extensive network of bike paths. The summers (that’s southern hemisphere summers!) are hot and humid, the winters mild and dry.

Brisbane has a great reputation for its live music scene, both classical and popular, and GOMA, its contemporary art museum, is the largest in Australia. The city also hosts a number of music and film festivals. Other popular Brisbane attractions include the botanical gardens, planetarium, and the Lone Pine Koala Sanctuary. The city is also the gateway to the beaches, islands, and coral reefs of Queensland’s Gold Coast. 

Program Description

The University of Queensland, founded in 1909, is the state’s largest university. It has in excess of 40,000 students, of whom almost 9,000 are international students—the majority hail from China, Malaysia, and Singapore—and ranks among the best in Australia. The university prides itself on maintaining a low ratio of staff to students. One of its particular strength is in the Biosciences; the world’s first cervical cancer vaccine was pioneered at UQ. The main St Lucia (pronounced Loo-sha) campus is located five miles south-west of downtown Brisbane, in a bend of the Brisbane River. The campus has landscaped gardens and extensive playing fields. 

Information at a Glance

• Academics

• Academic Calendar
  

• Accommodations and Meals

• Program Costs

• Scholarships

• Travel Brochure

For more information about this program, please visit the University of Queensland website.