Spring Study Abroad Programs in Melbourne, Australia

Seriously, these months were the best of my life so far. Melbourne is an amazing city, and I think a lot of people don't consider it as much as other Australian places, but for me I feel like it had everything I could've wanted. There's so much art and good food, and there's always something to do. I attended the University of Melbourne, and the courses that I took were on the easy side, largely because I was doing what would count towards Gen Ed at my home university. The people in Australia are so friendly and lovely, and I felt very safe there, even in the middle of the CBD. I can't wait to go back someday. Make the most of your time there, or anywhere abroad!

To explain my title, before arriving in Melbourne, I wasn't a huge fan of coffee. But the my program advisor from TEAN told me I had to try the coffee in Melbourne because American coffee is actually not very good. So I did! And then immediately became a coffee addict! This is about how the entire semester went. I honestly cannot find a bad thing to say about Melbourne. The people were friendly and I know I am going to remain friends with them for years to come. The TEAN staff was also very knowledgeable about all things Australia and made sure we knew the best spots to go for something as simple as a coffee. I am so happy I chose TEAN and recommend it for anyone thinking about studying abroad

My time abroad was truly a vacation from school. It was a time for me to explore Melbourne, meet new people, and engage with my studies in a relaxed manner. IFSA was great in being a source of support, in every sense of the word. Through my participation with IFSA, I was fortunate enough to have an instant group of friends to explore with and discover all the things that make Melbourne unique. In terms of academics, it was an easy transition from my home school to the University of Melbourne. It was great to enroll in classes that exposed me to Australian cultures and in elective classes that I would not have to opportunity to enroll in at my home university. Overall, it was a great time, and I would definitely recommend! You learn about yourself and the world, and it is a great learning experience for all.

Taking a semester abroad can be a scary thing, especially if you are younger than the "typical" study abroad applicant. As a sophomore planning to go abroad to Australia, a country around 10,000 miles away from home, you can imagine how many questions and concerns I had before I left. From the very beginning of my application until the time I landed back home after the program, I was always supported by the IFSA staff. My pre-departure advisor was always available to answer my hundreds of questions I had about studying abroad and as soon as I landed in my host country, my program advisor took her place to answer even more questions. This made my experience incredibly easy because I was able to focus on my studies and meeting locals rather than things like insurance, cellphone plans, and medications. Additionally, IFSA had planned a couple excursions that focused on specific areas around us including a tour of Sydney, the Great Ocean Road and a hike in a rain forest. These excursions allowed us to experience being a tourist in our city while also learning about the culture and building relationships with other peers on the trip. Overall, I had an excellent experience with IFSA in Melbourne and would highly recommend this program and IFSA in general to anyone planning to study abroad!

Studying abroad in Melbourne, Australia was amazing and so impactful. TEAN helped me get all my paperwork done in a timely manner and were very helpful in making sure I was on time for everything. Melb itself is a beautiful city that has so much to offer on every corner. It is full of rich culture and has incredible food, coffee, art, and music. The place has something new waiting for you always. If you love the arts then Melb is totally for you. You don't need to look at a phone at any point as there is just so much street art or someone performing on the street. I attended RMIT University which was right in the CBD. Its modernism was cool to see next to some historical buildings. The city is thriving with new buildings going up everywhere. It truly is booming. I met some pretty awesome people as well and was able to create friendships that will last forever. Overall, the experience was superb and going through TEAN was easy to do. I recommend Melbourne to anyone.

In a TEAN study abroad program, you get to know the staff on a more personal level. The week long orientation in the beginning is filled with meeting new people and hearing new stories, not excluding the TEAN staff (who have many exciting study abroad stories to tell)! These personal connections extend when you are relocated to your host city, and the TEAN staff always check up on you throughout your semester and plan unique outings to attend. They make sure that the opportunities are always there for you to have one of the best times of your life.

Studying abroad in Melbourne through TEAN was a remarkable experience. I took trips to a variety of exciting places in nature and in the city. Melbourne is a beautiful place, the people are for the most part welcoming and enthused with visitors; the food is varied from delightful cheap dumplings to gourmet crocodile burgers to chicken parmas (a pub staple); the culture takes influence from both Europe and Asia, culminating in an exciting mix unique to the city. Through TEAN I gained an immediate group of friends and explored parts of the city and surrounding areas (including going to New Zealand with a fellow TEAN student), all with whom I still keep in touch. We were guided and helped throughout my time there by the TEAN location advisor, who was a spectacular asset. The trips offered were also very cool, we went on a walking tour of the whole city, watched an AFL game, and took a tram down to St. Kilda to dine and watch some comedy. They were helpful through the entire trip, and I very much recommend studying through TEAN.

I did two semesters abroad in Melbourne because I loved it so much. I'd definitely recommend living there! My experience studying at Melbourne University as an international student was largely positive, but with ups and downs here and there. I found that the grading at times was less harsh than I expected. I was nervous for exams because I didn't know what they'd be like, but I did much better than I expected. The lectures are all recorded and it's easy to watch them online, so you don't have to worry about missing lectures and you can study pretty methodically just by re-watching as much as you'd like. I definitely had plenty of free time because I could decide to skip a lecture if my friends wanted to go explore around the city or go out to eat, because I'd just come home and watch it online. I had two class-free days a week, too, so I only had to go to campus three days if that. Also, my IFSA program coordinator was extremely helpful with my class decisions before I even met her in person, and even more helpful once I got there. Your program coordinator will let you know how to adjust your course load to suit your requirements and how rigorous you want your classes to be while you're abroad. Living in Melbourne, I definitely had the city life experience. It's like living in any city, so you'll deal with the same things you would living in a city in the U.S. Melbourne is super unique and livable and you'll never run out of amazing new restaurants and sight-seeing. If you're proactive on Facebook, you can find tons of random public events that are super fun to do with friends. White Night is a classic Melbourne tradition where all the shops are open 24 hours for one day and the whole city goes crazy and gets covered in lights all night long! There's tons of night life too so you'll seriously never be bored, but plenty of coffee shops to get work done in. The tram takes you all around, all you need is your Myki card. The outer suburbs are so quirky and cool too and have seriously amazing street art. I lived off-campus so things were accessible, but if you're living on campus it's super easy to hop on the tram and go into the city center because there's a tram stop on campus. There isn't really a notion of school spirit in Australia, everyone really just shows up for class and then goes home. The majority of students live at home and commute every day, so I don't think there are really on-campus parties or anything like that. But if you're proactive and meet people you'll have plenty to do, there just isn't the typical university social scene you'd expect in the US. It's easy to get involved in campus life, and there are plenty of clubs and societies to join too which have their own events. Also, you get super close with your IFSA friends! The program does a great job of organizing meet-ups, study groups, and trips for the IFSA students, so you have an automatic support network. The Great Ocean Road trip is also breathtaking and a great time for bonding. I'd say the best parts were learning to live in a new place and gaining mental strength about putting myself out there to have fun. It really is what you make of it. Sometimes I felt frustrated or just really didn't want to deal with the pressure of being in an unfamiliar place, but that feeling passes. But other days you're ready to jet-set and go see the world! I traveled to amazing places like Cairns, Brisbane, Byron Bay, Noosa headlands, and the Sunshine Coast. You'll have days you just fall in love with the place you're in and other days where you just don't feel great. But through all of that, you'll get home a stronger, more experienced version of yourself and you'll have so much gratitude for life. IFSA absolutely helped me through the harder parts and helped make the great parts great.

Studying abroad with TEAN was one of the best decisions I've ever made! The adventure began immediately with our four day orientation where we saw kangaroos and koalas, went scuba diving at the Great Barrier Reef and even got to go bungy jumping. During these first few days everyone got to know each other and I made friendships that lasted not only the whole semester but continue after coming home! The housing accommodations were up to date, clean and were in the heart of the CBD which was a great location! I loved the campus of University of Melbourne, it was the perfect mixture of old architecture and modern design and the classes offered were interesting and different from the options available at my home university. TEAN provided fun activities throughout the semester and a network of support! I would recommend this program to anyone wanting to study abroad :)

TEAN Abroad was incredibly helpful in my transition from my home university to life abroad. They guided me in the entire process of applying for the program at my dream destination of Melbourne, Australia. Not only did they organize a fantastic orientation in Cairns, Australia, but they also​ continued to enhance our experience by showing us around our chosen city and brought us to different events throughout the semester. Because of the incredibly nice people at TEAN, we got to see a live footy match and sport the hometown gear in the fan section. We got to see a comedian at the International Comedy Festival and a concert at a local music venue. They tailor each program so that everyone can experience something they enjoy and make everyone feel right at home. Not once did I feel unsafe in my apartment or ignored from the TEAN staff. I got to spend my five months abroad in an apartment right in the city center with great new friends who I still remain in contact with. If anyone is looking to study abroad in Australia, New Zealand, or Asia, I highly recommend they use TEAN as their third-party organization to help make their experience remarkable right off the bat.

IFSA at the University of Melbourne was, overall, a great program. I felt fully supported through all of the complex administrative work that goes into studying abroad--applying for a visa, finding housing, signing up for classes. IFSA did a great job of streamlining and facilitating the whole process, and of making us feel comfortable and safe while we were in Melbourne. I'm typically a more independent person, so I didn't communicate much with our IFSA mentor while at the university, but I really appreciated all of her reaching out and offering to chat. It never really felt like I was fully alone, and being connected to a network of American students in the city was highly useful. The housing options through IFSA were good, though I wish there had been a bit more variety in the residential colleges they allowed us to apply to. I was very happy at International House, but I think we would have benefited from being able to pick from more options. International House had a meal plan that was quite expensive, and I found that once I was in Australia, I very rarely had time to actually eat meals there (especially given the college's 45min windows for lunch and dinner). That felt like a huge waste of money, and I wish IFSA had made those realities clear before I applied. Perhaps my biggest issues with IFSA occurred during the Sydney orientation program. I was glad that we all met up in a single Australian city before going to our individual programs, but I felt that we were treated as young children for most of the time. I was particularly bothered by our visit to an Aboriginal Cultural Center outside Sydney, during which we watched Indigenous people dance (alongside a large group of primary schoolers) and painted boomerangs (an activity, I think, that was designed for 6-8 year olds). The visit offered a very watered-down version of Aboriginal history in Australia, which didn't even really acknowledge colonization or any of its consequent injustices. By contrast, during the Melbourne Welcome orientation program for exchange students one week later, we were made aware of all of these dynamics and did more 'adult' activities, like learning how to throw boomerangs. I think IFSA should restructure the activities during the Sydney program to reflect the age and maturity of its students. This is my most significant complaint about IFSA mainly because this was the period during which I spent the most time with IFSA organizers. The University of Melbourne and the academics offered there were, I found, fantastic. I really enjoyed the classes I took at the Design School and within the Department of Indigenous Studies. I learned a lot in the latter department and met some great professors and students in all my classes, many of whom I am still in touch with. Registration was made easy by UniMelb's help centers and its many advisors, so there were no real issues there. I had a lot of fun in Australia and the people I met will be lifelong friends. I travelled a ton and saw many of the most beautiful things I've ever seen in my life. I would highly recommend this program as a whole to anyone as IFSA makes all of the nitty-gritty details easy to take care of.

I spend the second semester of my junior year on IFSA Butler’s program at University of Melbourne. IFSA helped me feel at home in a new place from organizing a pre-orientation program in Sydney to meet other students and get adjusted to life in Australia to taking us on a surf lesson along the great ocean road. I’ll never forget during my last week in Melbourne I took an extremely hard linear algebra final and afterwards met up with Lindsey, my IFSA contact in Melbourne, who bought me coffee and calmed me down. Having that support system was amazing, especially being so far from home, and I’ll always be so appreciative of all of the work that the staff put in to ensure we had the best time possible. Thanks to the encouragement and help from IFSA staff, I was able to set goals for myself, meet new people, try new things, and step outside of my comfort zone.

Deakin University has quickly become a second home to me during my time here. The 8,000-mile journey made me nervous but was quickly calmed after arriving on campus for the first time. The people I have met at this school have become study buddies, travel buddies, and ultimately, lifelong friends. The classes have challenged me as a student but have been some of the best that I have taken in my overall college courses. They have opened up topics in different perspectives and have created many new skills that I get to take home with me. Having the chance to explore Australia has been a dream and weekends and the inter-trimester breaks were the perfect times to explore the surrounding areas. Melbourne itself has lots to offer and I couldn’t have picked a better place to live for my study abroad experience. It is truly something exciting seeing a kangaroo for the very first time.

I have made so many new friends for life while still being able to travel and take units that fit my course perfectly. Deakin has helped make the transition into this university seamless. The faculty is always ready to help in whatever way they can, and the students are extremely friendly and welcoming. This study abroad experience has made me much more independent and responsible. Studying abroad has also really helped me get out of my comfort zone and try new things, which has been good for me and really helped me grow. Living in Melbourne and traveling around Australia has really helped expand my world view by experiencing a culture that is incredibly different and unique from my home. It has made me appreciate things about my home but also ignited my curiosity and made me want to explore as much as possible. This trimester at Deakin has also made me want to continue learning whenever I can throughout my life and my future travels. This trimester has been one of the best times of my life and I am so glad that I came to Deakin.

Studying abroad in Australia has been the most extraordinary and life-changing event in my life thus far. While it may at first sound daunting, the opportunity to study in a different country is an amazing one. The education I have received thus far at Deakin University has not only been classroom-based, but has provided me with valuable real-world knowledge as well. Living in a different country halfway across the world has been an amazing way to immerse myself and learn about a different culture firsthand. I know that travelling and going to university here in Australia will continue to benefit me and provide me with invaluable experiences in the future.

It has been amazing from start to finish. Starting with the picturesque trip that was orientation and at the end having met amazing people from all over the world. This experience made me explore outside of my comfort zone and explore a different culture, country and way of life. The classroom experiences at Deakin were interactive and friendly. If I ever needed assistance, assistance was readily available from fellow students and staff. It’s a cooperative community. Being in Human Resources Management, this experience made me see various aspects of the field I am studying. It taught me many different strategic approaches as well as the differences in legal systems. Overall, Deakin takes in international students with open arms. They gave us guidance and helped us build bonds that cannot be forgotten and friendships that are forever lasting.

It was quite an adventure and I learned so much! It was great to be in class with students from other countries, my eyes were opened to how people do things differently. It was also great getting to live with students from other countries. I never felt scared because we were all in the same boat and could help each other out. Every experience was amazing! I learned about so many cultures and different ways of life! I would recommend Deakin to anyone! Everyone was so friendly and I loved every second! I will remember this experience for the rest of my life!

My favourite part of my Deakin experience was the welcome week held in Lorne. We mountain biked on the beach and learned how to surf! During this time, we met so many other international students, and everyone seemed to bond really well. The Burwood Campus is also the perfect size for transitioning to a different country. It is small enough where you don’t become overwhelmed or lost, and there were always friendly staff to answer questions. The cafés located around campus have great vibes, great coffee, and good food. My favourite café was Caffeine, to grab a cup of coffee then sit at their computers to do homework in their vibrant atmosphere.

During my time at Deakin, I have grown more as a person than I ever expected, and have a new appreciation for all different cultures and countries.

I got to participate in unforgettable events. I have met so many cool people, and the friendships I have made along the way and the memories we all share are something I will cherish the rest of my life.