University of New South Wales

UNSW moved years ago to a three-term calendar, which lets a student finish a degree faster or take a lighter load each term. Engineering is its largest faculty and its reputation in renewable energy and photovoltaics is genuinely international.

The Kensington campus is close to the eastern beaches, and the university runs one of the largest co-operative scholarship and industry-placement programmes in Australia.

UNSW is strongest in engineering, computing and business and the requirement for those faculties is correspondingly specific, particularly on mathematics.

• Completed Class 12 from a recognised board for undergraduate entry, meeting the course's stated prerequisites — engineering, computer science, actuarial studies and commerce all assume mathematics at a defined level, and an application without it will not succeed however strong the overall result.
• A recognised bachelor's degree for postgraduate entry, with the discipline background the course requires and particular weight on the final years.
• English evidence through IELTS, TOEFL or another accepted test at the level set for the programme.
• Full transcripts and certificates, plus a statement of purpose for postgraduate coursework applications.
• Academic references, a research proposal and an identified potential supervisor for research degrees.
• Portfolios or interviews for architecture, design, media and some health programmes.

The three-term calendar means there is more than one entry point in a year, but not every course admits in every term, so confirm both the requirement and the available intake on the course page.

UNSW charges international students per programme and bills on the courses enrolled in each term, and because the academic year runs as three terms rather than two semesters, the way fees fall across the year is different from most Australian universities.

• The faculty sets the rate. Engineering, computer science, business, science, arts and the health disciplines are charged at clearly different levels.
• Fees are charged on enrolled courses per term, so how you distribute your load across the three terms changes what you pay when, even though the total for the degree is driven by the number of courses required.
• The three-term calendar can compress a degree, which brings the total living cost down while leaving the tuition per course unchanged — a real consideration when comparing total cost against a two-semester university.
• Compulsory charges outside tuition — the student services and amenities charge, overseas student health cover for the visa period, and equipment or materials on studio and laboratory programmes.
• Indicative fees are reviewed each year, so budget a multi-year degree with increases assumed.

Use the fee published against your own programme for your year of entry, together with the university's estimate of living costs in Sydney. We will confirm the current figure and what it covers before you commit.

UNSW runs central scholarships for international students alongside faculty-level awards, with engineering, business and science each maintaining schemes of their own.

• Central international merit awards, assessed on academic record, some considered automatically from the admission application and some requiring a separate submission.
• Faculty awards attached to a discipline or a named programme, administered by the faculty and published on its own pages.
• Donor and industry-funded awards, often tied to a field, a project or a demonstrated record of involvement outside study.
• Research training funding for higher degree by research candidates, combining fee support and a living stipend, allocated competitively in rounds.
• Government international programmes, applied for outside the university on their own timetable.

Because there are three intakes a year, scholarship rounds are tied to a particular term's entry rather than to one annual date. Check which round your intended intake falls into, and apply for admission early enough to be assessed in it.

The Kensington campus is a self-contained site in Sydney's eastern suburbs, a bus ride from the city and close to Coogee and the eastern beaches, which shapes student life more than the distance from the centre suggests.

• The three-term year sets the rhythm. Terms are shorter and more intensive than a conventional semester, with fewer courses at a time and less slack in the middle, and it takes a term to adjust to the pace.
• A strong engineering and technology culture, with maker spaces, student-run competition teams and industry-linked project work alongside coursework.
• A large clubs and societies scene spanning faculty societies, cultural and national associations, performance, entrepreneurship and volunteering, plus an extensive sport programme with social grades.
• On-campus residential colleges and apartments, applied for separately from admission and with their own closing dates; shared housing in the eastern suburbs is the norm after first year.
• A short trip to the beaches, which is a genuine part of how students here spend their time, and a warm humid summer.
• Well-developed international student services — orientation, visa and work-rights advice, health, counselling and an active South Asian student community.

Plan accommodation around the term you are entering in, not around a February start, and secure it before you fly. Eastern suburbs rents are high and availability is tight.