IFSA-Butler at Southern Cross University

  Australia

• New South Wales: 
Lismore

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

Description: Southern Cross University boasts one of the most modern teaching facilities in Australia, and its environment and location make it ideal for students who are looking for a quintessential Australian experience. In addition to a standard liberal arts curriculum, Southern Cross also offers exceptional studio arts and Aboriginal studies programs, as well as one of the few university programs in natural medicine anywhere in the world. Also unique to Southern Cross is its Outdoor Education unit, with field expeditions to rainforests and Uluru (Ayers Rock) and work that can be tailored to a student's main area of study.

Established by an Act of the New South Wales Parliament in 1993, Southern Cross actually traces its roots back to the early 1970s, when the Lismore Teacher's College and the Northern Rivers College of Advanced Education were established. It has three campuses throughout New South Wales: Lismore, Coffs Harbour and Port Macquarie. IFSA-Butler students will be placed at the Lismore campus, the largest of the three.

Set in the sub-tropical northern coast of New South Wales, Lismore is only 25 miles (40 kilometers) from Byron Bay and 75 miles (120 kilometers) from Queensland's Gold Coast, both popular tourist destinations. The nearest urban center is Brisbane, which is three hours away by car. The smaller size of both the city of Lismore (population 40,000) and the university itself (5,000 students) make Southern Cross an ideal destination for students who are looking for a more individual study abroad experience in a natural environment.

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.

Degree Level: Bachelors Degree (Undergraduate)

Cost in US$: Inquire for more info.

Experience Required: no