About Australia
Australia is located in the southern
hemisphere, and it has slightly less land area than the U.S. Almost all
its major cities are located on the coast, including its two
largest—Sydney (~4 million), and Melbourne (~3 million). Australian
cities tend to be very multi-ethnic. For example, Melbourne has
the largest Greek population outside Greece. While most
Australians are of European descent, one in five Australians has
ancestors from East and Southeast Asia. There are 600 distinct
groups of Aboriginies—the native people of Australia. The interior
of Australia is mostly desert. It is also home to Ayer’s Rock,
Australia’s most famous landmark. The capital and seat of the
Australian government is located in Canberra. The Head of State is
a British monarch and the head of government is a prime minister.
Australia has a parliament with a 148 member house and a 76 member
senate. The Australian economy is the 20th largest in the world.
Almost half of its exports are natural resources—oil, gas, coal, gold,
copper, bauxite, uranium, and iron. It is the largest producer of
wool in the world, and also exports a variety of other agricultural
products including beef, mutton, sugar, wheat, and wine. While
English is the native language of Australia, Aussies—as Australians tend
to refer to themselves—have added a whole host of colloquialisms,
idioms, and abbreviations to the language. For example, No worries
mate, means, “Everything’s fine,” and uni is another word for
“university.” There are a lot of outdoor opportunities in
Australia, whether you take a camel safari through the central desert, a
canoe trip in Kadu National Park in the Northern Territory, a ski
adventure in the Snowy Mountains in the south, or a backpacking trip
through the rugged wilderness of Tasmania. Scuba divers and
snorkelers will find incredible marine life in the Great Barrier Reef
(off the eastern sea board) and the Ningaloo Reef off the west coast,
and there are countless pristine beaches and good surfing areas.
Australian film has thrilled mainstream American audiences for some
time, whether it was the futuristic road warriors of the Mad Max films,
or outback citizens wrestling crocodiles (and a few bad guys) such as
Crocodile Dundee (or the more recent incarnation, Crocodile Hunter).
While Australian film directors such as Peter Weir (Witness, Dead Poet’s
Society, The Truman Show) continue to influence the industry, actors
such as Russell Crowe continue to take top honors at the Academy Awards.
Australian rock and pop music has also produced a number of
internationally recognized acts, and Australian art— especially
Aboriginal art (or art using Aboriginal motifs) has made it into a
number of permanent gallery collections around the world.
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Australian
Educational System Australian universities normally follow
the southern hemisphere calendar. Fall semester typically runs February
to June, and spring semester runs July to November. Students
participating in a February-June term will be registered at UI for
spring semester; students participating in a July-November term will be
registered at UI for fall semester. Summer vacation in Australia takes
place during our winter (December and January), since the seasons in the
southern hemisphere are reversed to those in the northern hemisphere.
Students registering for a July to November term may find fewer courses
available to them than during a February to June term since some courses
are year-long courses and they would be entering these courses mid-term.
Education in Australia tends to be more specialized and students usually
concentrate on one or two subject areas. Generally speaking, there
is less inter-disciplinary coursework than you find in the U.S. system.
The typical Australian student may take straight business and management
courses while you might want to take business, psychology, political
science, and physical education. As an exchange student, some of
the restrictions limiting course selection across disciplines may be
eased so you can choose courses from a variety of subject areas.
University education is usually comprised of lectures and smaller group
tutorials that highlight certain aspects of a subject while students are
expected to use independent reading and research to explore the broader
elements. Fieldwork may also be an integral component to some courses.
There is greater emphasis placed on final exams, presentations, and
papers than in the U.S. Reading assignments are often extensive and
professors may assume that, in addition to your assigned reading, you
are reading widely on your own to better learn the subject matter.
You will be expected to present well-argued papers and presentations.
Weekly quizzes, monthly tests, and regularly scheduled graded
assignments may be nonexistent. Thus, your final grade may come
down to how well you did on your papers, class presentations, and final
exam.
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