IFSA-Butler at the University of Adelaide

  Australia

• Adelaide: 
Adelaide

Term: Academic Year, Fall, Spring 
Dates: February - November

Description: The University of Adelaide's main campus reflects its late 19th century origins with a pleasant blend of old and new buildings in a shady, well-landscaped setting. It resembles the older English universities, with stone buildings, a 'great hall,' enclosing walls and the River Torrens 'along the backs.' Located on North Terrace, in the heart of the city, the main campus is near restaurants, entertainment, parks, shops and the Adelaide Festival Theatre.

The founding of the university in 1874, less than 30 years after the first settlers arrived, shows the high regard colonists placed on learning. As the third oldest university in Australia, Adelaide is one of the country's leading research institutions; it was the first to establish a Conservatorium of Music and was the first to confer degrees to women on equal terms with men.

A medium sized university with 13,000 students, Adelaide stresses the well-being of students and interaction with academic staff. The university has produced three Nobel Prize winners and some of Australia's greates scientists, scholars and public figures. These include Lord Florey, Sir William Bragg, Sir Douglas Mawson, Dame Roma Mitchell and Sir Mark Oliphant. Some of Austrlia's best known scholars reside at the university.

Most of the institution's 11 faculties are on the center-city campus (the Waite Agricultural Research Institute is 20 minutes from North Terrace, the Center for Aboriginal Studies in Music is a ten minute walk from campus, and the Roseworthy--agriculture--campus is an hour north of Adelaide). In addition to the 11 generalist and professional faculties (which contain 50 departments), there are teaching and specialist centers in a wide range of subjects. Adelaide is very strong in liberal arts, performing arts, economics and commerce and the sciences.

Of the many extracurricular activities and services offered by student groups on campus, the major provider is the Students Union with its refectories, Asian food bar, upmarket bistro and dining room, club bar, craft workshop and theater. The Union also funds the Center for Physical Health and more than 60 student clubs and societies that offer almost everything, from hang-gliding to footlights and the choral society. An Overseas Students Association runs a social program during the year and provides general assistance and support to overseas students.

The University of Adelaide is part of IFSA-Butler's Ultimate Australia program. Ultimate Australia allows students to experience the "real Australia" by studying in less touristy cities while enjoying an urban orientation in Sydney, followed by a visit to the Outback before the start of the academic semester.

Highlights: Australia is a land of compelling extremes. The oldest datable land forms on earth are found in Australia, but it was the last continent to be discovered by Western explorers. It is the longest continuously inhabited continent on earth but has a written history of only 213 years. It is the smallest continent on the planet but it is also the largest island. Settled as a convict prison, today the country of Australia is one of the freest democratic societies in the world. As large as the continental United States in land area, it is home to barely 18 million people, the same population as the state of California. In a land of vast unsettled spaces, over 80 percent of the population lives in one of the five major cities.

Originally the European settlers were almost exclusively English and Irish. Today the country has sizable populations of Italians, Greeks, Malays, Indonesians and Chinese to enrich the cultural mix of this once isolated island. It is this diversity and this incredible backdrop that make Australia truly an education by itself. Combine this with the academic excellence of its universities, and you have a study abroad destination like no other.

The academic year in Australia is reversed due to the seasonal inversion in the southern hemisphere. The academic year roughly follows the calendar year, beginning in late February and ending in late November. The application deadlines for IFSA-Butler programs in Australia are November 15 for the spring semester and academic year and March 15 for the fall semester. Remember that if you leave in February for your 'spring' semester, you will be arriving in Australia at the end of their summer and will stay until the middle of their winter season.

Cost in US$: Inquire for more info.

Experience Required: no