If you’re planning to study abroad Australia should be at the top of the countries you have shortlisted. Solely because of the widespread industry requirements and the quality of courses taught at the Universities in Australia.

In this article we will cover all of your doubts and queries that you have in mind regarding studying abroad in Australia. This article will answer the following topics:

• Why to study abroad Australia?
• How to Apply?
• Process of getting Student Visa
• The best courses to study in Australia
• Top Universities
• Cost of Living and Studying
• Student Loans and Part Time Work Opportunities
• Online learning programs for International Students

By the end of this article you will be confident about the choice you are about to make because of the information which you have gained in this article.

So let’s get to it!

Why to Study Abroad Australia?
Let us first cover the geographic aspects of this. Australia is a country which is geographically and ecologically blessed. As it is the biggest island on the planet, it is surrounded by clean beaches in all directions. In addition to that Australia, due to its geographical placement, has a tropical climate most of the year, which means the summer and the winter seasons are both quite pleasant and provide a peaceful environment to the students.

Furthermore, the cultural diversity and the quality of development as well as stunning architecture in the inland metropolitan cities are a great attraction for student and tourists from all across the globe. Therefore, apart from the educational aspect, students studying in Australia get the opportunity, not just for their academic growth but opportunities for overall personality development are present in abundance in Australia.

Now that we have covered the extracurricular factor of choosing a place to pursue your course, let us dig into the main factor, which is the quality of education in Australia.

For more information of the framework of education in Australia check out our other article on a Guide to the Education System In Australia which provides a detailed description of the Australian Education System from basic schooling to university education.

The education system in Australia is such that, it is able to incorporate national and international students together, with its carefully framed curriculum courses and teaching ethics in schools as well as universities. No matter what your country of origin is or what languages you speak, if you have the zeal to educate yourself, Australia welcomes you with open arms, and provides all the tools that you need to sharpen your skills and overall personality.

Benefits of Studying Abroad in Australia
There are a lot of advantages to study abroad Australia, which you must consider while selecting your Course or University. A few of these benefits are as follows:

1. The wide variety of specialised courses offered over here are a big factor, as to why thousands of students from all over the world choose Australia as their preferred place for pursuing higher education.
2. The worldwide ranking of the major universities of Australia is very high, most of them being in the top 100 universities of the world as of 2019[1].
3. The Australian government is very proud of their education system, as it is one of the most highly rated education systems of the world, in fact in many cases it has served as a referencing point for many other countries. This is why the education ministry of Australia puts special focus on keeping its ranking high, by constantly monitoring the success rate and proficiency of the curriculum along with its accessibility to students all over the world.
4. The geographical and cultural diversity in Australia, combined with the pleasant climate which in no way hinders the study environment are also a major aspect.
5. The migration laws and the process of acquiring the student visa is quite transparent in Australia, which allows students from all over the world to easily apply for the visa and get it approved in order to continue further with their courses.
6. Australia has a lot of career prospects for students during and after completion of the course which enables students to achieve greater success in their career.

Application Process to Study Abroad Australia
After selecting your course and the university where you want to study, you should follow the following steps to apply at the University of your Choice:

1. Submit your Application: Go to the website of the selected University and submit the application for that University after checking their eligibility criteria. Your application should be clear and in a professional format.

2. Get Selected: Once you have submitted your application, there is not much you can do, except wait for your application to get accepted. Once it gets approved, you should receive a letter of acceptance from the University.

3. Submit the Course Fee: After receiving your acceptance letter, you will be required to submit the course fee which is specified by the University depending on the course that you have selected. Only after submitting this will get enrolled in the course as a student.

4. Getting the Confirmation of Enrolment: Once you have you made the payments, it might take a few days for you to get your confirmation of enrolment (CoE). A CoE is a crucial requirement in order to successfully get your student visa approved from the immigration office. This confirmation of enrolment is provided at the time of acceptance for each course you apply for while you study abroad Australia.

5. Overseas Student Health Coverage (OSHC):  This is also another major requirement of applying for visa. All overseas students who are coming to Australia in pursuit of their education are required to purchase a student health insurance coverage. Every university has a list of their approved OSHC insurance provider which you can choose from.

6. Getting the Visa Approval: After completing the above steps and gathering all the prerequisites, you may now apply for a student visa in order to study abroad in Australia. You can go to their website to gather information or you can go the Australian Embassy in your country of residence to apply. A student visa a necessity for you if you are staying in Australia for more than 3 months, other a tourist visa will do.  After getting your visa approved, you are now free to travel and stay in Australia to study at your desired University.

Most popular courses in Australia
Although, the Australian education system offers a wide variety of well-drafted courses to students from around the world, some courses are more in demand with students than others. This is because of various facts such as , there are certain industries which are more prevalent in Australia than others or simply because some courses taught in Australia have a better reputation in the international employer pool that others.

Here is a list of top 10 courses which are popular among foreign as well as native students, in Australia:

1. Accountancy: Finance and Accounting courses in Australia are among the most sought after courses, mainly because of the quality of course and the well prepared curriculum.

2. Business Management: The same factor applies to Business Administration and Management courses taught over here as well. Business management courses attract the largest number of students to study abroad Australia.

3. Architecture: The demand and value of the Architecture courses offered in Australia, has recently got up. The recent development is because most of the population in Australia, aspire to live on the outskirts of the urban areas and metropolitan cities. This is why due to the expansion of cities, architecture and construction courses have become an important asset for employers.

4. Medicine: Be it, dentistry courses, veterinary courses, surgical courses or even pharmaceutical courses; Australia has always been at the top of their game when it comes to medical sciences. The advanced medical technology, research facilities, and diverse biological presence is a main factor for this achievement. That is why Australia provides one of the best medical training courses in the world as they also have the tech to support their learning process.

5. Engineering: Since colonial time, engineering has been a main area of focus in the Australian culture, and that is why they have come so far in their architectural and technological fields. Civil Engineer is one of the most popular engineering courses offered in Australia, along with many other core engineering courses such as, Mechanical Engineering, Electrical Engineering, Biotech Engineering, Computer Engineering and Chemical Engineering.

6. Earth and Environmental Sciences Earth sciences include, specific courses based of different fields such as Metallurgy, Mining Oil, Gas and Geology courses. These are full time degree courses which require skill and hard work in order to excel in the respective fields.  

Environmental Sciences go hand in hand with Earth sciences as in the recent times, the world in moving towards a sustainable future and therefore environmental sciences is field that is pushing the world to adopt sustainable means of livelihood.

7. Agricultural: Australia has always been fully self-dependent on their agricultural productions. Being such a huge island with such ecological diversity, agricultural advancements in Australia were a requirement of necessity and this is why even in today’s date, they are still encouraging more and more research and development in the field of agriculture to keep up with the demands of growing population. Australia is among the top countries who’s agricultural cultural courses and practices are adopted all over the world.

8. Law & Justice: Law courses are also very must sought after in Australia. Almost all of the universities in Australia offer law courses in their institutions. These may be both undergraduate courses and courses for higher education. Corporate Law is one of the major aspect in the Australian culture and that is why most aspiring lawyers who are looking for a career in corporate law, prefer Australia as their country of choice to pursue a course in Law.

9. Tourism& Hospitality: This is where all this talk about diverse culture and geographical advantage comes into play. Australia’s tourism industry is at an all time boom, and is looking to further increases it. Being the country with a pleasant climate throughout the year and having a vast library of flora and fauna, Australia has used that to turn at into a productive industry by encouraging their Tourism and Hospitality industry. That is the reason why Tourism and Hospitality courses in Australia are in such demand among students and major hotel brands and big travel companies.

10. Fine Arts and Designing: ‘Medicine, law, business, engineering are all noble pursuits and necessary to sustain life, but poetry, Arts, beauty, creativity, these are what we stay alive for’ these words from the movie Dead Poet Society, stand to be true to this day. That is why; arts and design are a huge popularity among students who are starting find their way in life. Be it visual arts, performing arts, the art of filmmaking or design structures, there are institution in Australia that offer well researched courses to that aim at evolving amateur students into creative legends.

This was just the tip of the iceberg that is the Australian education system. There are a plethora of courses and academic opportunities from which students can take advantage from and make their lives extraordinary.

That’s not all, most of the above courses are taught at the top universities of Australia most of which ranked among the top 100 Universities of the world. Before wrapping up this article let us look at the top universities of Australia by order of their rankings:

1. University of Melbourne
2. University of Queensland
3. Monash University
4. Australian National University
5. University of Sydney
6. University of New South Wales
7. University of Western Australia
8. University of Adelaide
9. Curtin University
10. Deakin University
11. James Cook University
12. Macquarie University
13. University of Tasmania
14. University of Technology, Sydney
15. University of Wollongong
16. Griffith University
17. La Trobe University
18. Queensland University of Technology
19. RMIT University
20. Swinburne University of Technology

This information is taken from Shanghai Rankings.

Hope this article cleared all your doubts and provided you with enough information about what and where you can study abroad Australia, transform your whole life.

All the best!