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Explore: your options for overseas study
Types of programs
Semester and full year exchange
If you participate in an exchange, you study with a partner university overseas but remain enrolled full-time and continue to pay your tuition fees at the University of Sydney. A student from your host institution does the same in reverse, and the result is an exchange of students and places.
There are semester and year-long exchange program options available virtually and in-person.
Short-term exchange (2-6 weeks)
A short-term program might be better suited to you if your course has limited flexibility for studying overseas and receiving credit. You still remain enrolled full-time and continue to pay your tuition fees to the University of Sydney, but your study overseas is over a shorter period such as during the summer and winter breaks.
Some faculties have additional short-term opportunities that might also be worth exploring including fieldwork, internships, study tours and placements. These all have their own eligibility requirements and application process.
Short-term non-exchange
With these programs, you pay your tuition fees directly to the host institution or program provider and you don't need to be enrolled in corresponding units of study at the University of Sydney.
You can apply to receive credit towards your University of Sydney course, but it's not mandatory. If you apply, and credit is approved, it will be applied to your transcript after you return.
Many students participate on short term non-exchange programs during the summer (December - February) and winter (June - August) breaks, with options available at universities such as Harvard, Yale, and London School of Economics.
Some short-term exchange have limited places so you may be offered a non-exchange option as an alternative.
Faculty programs
There are a number of faculty-run programs offered overseas. Each of these programs have different eligibility and admission criteria, and you’ll need to apply directly to the faculty, school or centre.
Some of these include:
- Business School Industry Placement Program
- Faculty of Health Sciences (FHS) Abroad opportunity for undergraduate and postgraduate health sciences students
- Offshore units from Sydney Law School
- Interdisciplinary field schools in Southeast Asia
- Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences program at St Xavier’s College, Mumbai.
Other global opportunities
Open Learning Environment: In-Country Experience
You can travel overseas, or have a virtual experience, and learn another language with an intensive in-country unit as part of the Open Learning Environment (OLE). You'll gain six credit points toward your course, as well as unique and first-hand experiences through a combination of formal language classes and cultural activities, including visits to museums, theatres and memorial sites .
Industry and Community Project Units (ICPUs) global intensives
ICPU global intensives are elective units where you will have the opportunity to spend two weeks overseas in-person or virtually while working intensively in interdisciplinary groups undertaking relevant research and presenting solutions to a real-world challenge.
Last updated: 30 January 2024
