As an international student, there are a few things you need to know about coming to UWA on Student Exchange or Study Abroad (SESA). Learn more about our entry requirements, fees and units, and hear from past inbound students about their experiences.
Hear from the international students who’ve joined UWA SESA program and see how the experience changed their lives.
Application documents include:
Where documents are not in English, a certified English translation must be enclosed with your application. For further information, email UWA’s Global Learning Office.
| Deadlines | Nomination | Application |
|---|---|---|
| Semester 1 (February - June) | 30 September | 15 October |
| Semester 2 (July - November) | 30 March | 15 April |
Academic calendar
| Semester 1, 2026 | Semester 2, 2026 |
|---|---|
| Orientation: 16 – 20 February Teaching: 23 February – 22 May Non-teaching study break 1: 6 – 10 April Non-teaching study break 2: 25 – 29 May Examinations: 30 May – 14 June | Orientation: 13 – 17 July Teaching: 20 July – 16 October Non-teaching study break 1: 31 August – 4 September Non-teaching study break 2: 19 October – 23 October Examinations: 24 October – 8 November |
High school students
Undergraduate students
To study at UWA as an exchange or study abroad student you should normally:
Postgraduate students
You will need to enrol in a full academic load of 18-24* points per semester. Most units** are worth six points, so this typically means enrolling in three to four units per semester. While most units run for a single semester, some may be full-year units. Check with your home university to confirm the credit requirements for your program. You can use UWA’s online Handbook to browse units.
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*Enrolling in additional credit in excess of 24 points per semester will result in additional fees. Students will also need to meet the relevant academic prerequisites in both level and content.
**‘Unit’ at UWA refers to an individual class or subject area, e.g. ENVT2250 Ecology, while ‘course’ means a degree program, e.g. Bachelor of Science.
Before selecting your units, we recommend that you read the unit description in the UWA Handbook and ensure that you meet any specific prerequisites for the units that interest you.
Please note, the Student Exchange and Study Abroad program allows you to choose units from any school except in the areas of Medicine, Dentistry and postgraduate Psychology.
Subjects of study at UWA are referred to as units. You'll require each relevant student office's (there may be more than one) approval for each unit you wish to take. The schools (faculties) will ensure you meet the prerequisites for each unit prior to your enrolment.
Refer to the UWA Handbook and Terminology Glossary
Students will be asked and assessed for their unit selection prior to arrival. Enrolment can be finalised pre-departure and the last day for unit changes is Friday of Week 1 of classes.
Medicine, Dentistry and Postgraduate Psychology units are not available to SESA students. UWA also does not offer a Bachelor of Law, but instead a postgraduate Juris Doctor. As a result, there are restrictions on the Law units that SESA students can enrol in.
It’s important to have considered the fees and expenses you will incur when you study at UWA. Please ensure you have reviewed the tuition fees and any ancillary fees prior to applying.
Student Exchange
If your university or college has a formal student exchange agreement with UWA, you can apply to study with us as an exchange student. This means you don’t pay tuition fees at UWA but will continue to pay the tuition fees of your home university or college.
Study Abroad
Study Abroad (not Student Exchange) students, or their sponsors, must pay tuition fees to UWA. These are paid either through your home institution or directly to UWA. Further information on fees can be found below. There are several options to apply as a Study Abroad student.
Tuition fees are calculated based on your enrolment. Please indicate when accepting your offer whether you will be enrolling in three or four units. A standard full-time enrolment load at UWA is 24 points per semester.
Extra points will lead to extra fees being charged on a pro rata basis.
Students studying across two academic years (for example, Semester 2, 2025 and Semester 1, 2026) may be charged different fees for each semester.
The fees below relate to 2026 enrolments.
Tuition fees for 18 points:
Tuition fees for 24 points:
A Student Services and Amenities Fee (SSAF) is payable in addition to the above fees. If entering Australia on a student visa, you will also require Overseas Student Health Cover (OSHC) as a condition of your visa. UWA can arrange this for you, or you may purchase your own OSHC through an Australian Government approved provider. Residents from Sweden, Norway and Belgium are exempt from requiring to purchase OSHC.
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^Fees information accurate as at September 2025 and is subject to change
In addition to meeting the Academic requirements, students must meet one of the English Language requirements. View the complete list of tests by which UWA's English language competency requirement may be satisfied for admission to undergraduate and postgraduate coursework degrees.
Students who do not meet the standard ELC requirements may be approved admission to UWA on the basis of the Alternative English Language Competency requirements. Students gaining admission via this pathway are assessed on a case-by-case basis and if approved they must enrol in the following unit in their first semester of enrolment:
Minimum scores for this conditional offer are:
UWA Centre for English Language Teaching (CELT) English Language Pathways:
To be eligible to study at UWA, you will need to check that you meet entry requirements.
Academic requirements
High school students
At the time of the application, you should have completed a high school qualification in accordance with the admission requirements for entry into the relevant bachelor’s degree program at UWA (for example, Bachelor of Arts).
Undergraduate students
To study at UWA as an exchange or study abroad student you should normally:
Postgraduate students
Admission to postgraduate courses normally requires the completion of an undergraduate degree.
English language requirements
In addition to meeting the Academic requirements, students must meet one of the English Language requirements. View the complete list of tests by which UWA's English language competency requirement may be satisfied for admission to undergraduate and postgraduate coursework degrees.
Students who do not meet the standard ELC requirements may be approved admission to UWA on the basis of the Alternative English Language Competency requirements. Students gaining admission via this pathway are assessed on a case-by-case basis and if approved they must enrol in the following unit in their first semester of enrolment:
Minimum scores for this conditional offer are:
UWA Centre for English Language Teaching (CELT) English Language Pathways:
Before selecting your units, we recommend that you read the unit description in the UWA Handbook and ensure that you meet any specific prerequisites for the units that interest you.
Please note, the Student Exchange and Study Abroad program allows you to choose units from any school except in the areas of Medicine, Dentistry and postgraduate Psychology.
Subjects of study at UWA are referred to as units. You'll require each relevant student office's (there may be more than one) approval for each unit you wish to take. The schools (faculties) will ensure you meet the prerequisites for each unit prior to your enrolment.
Supporting documentation
Make sure you have the following documentation ready before you start your application for UWA.
Where documents are not in English, a certified English translation must be enclosed with your application.
Finances
It’s important to have considered the fees and expenses you will incur when you study at UWA. Please ensure you have reviewed the tuition fees and any ancillary fees prior to applying.
Study Abroad
Study Abroad (not Student Exchange) students, or their sponsors, must pay tuition fees to UWA. These are paid either through your home institution or directly to UWA. Further information on fees can be found below. There are several options to apply as a Study Abroad student.
Tuition fees are calculated based on your enrolment. Please indicate when accepting your offer whether you will be enrolling in three or four units. A standard full-time enrolment load at UWA is 24 points per semester.
Extra points will lead to extra fees being charged on a pro rata basis.
Students studying across two academic years (for example, Semester 2, 2025 and Semester 1, 2026) may be charged different fees for each semester.
The fees below relate to 2025 enrolments.
Tuition fees for 18 points:
Tuition fees for 24 points:
Student Exchange
Exchange students are exempt from paying UWA tuition fees. Instead, these fees are paid to their home institution.
Applying directly to UWA
If you do not need approval from your home university, you can apply online.
Please contact the UWA Global Learning Office for advice via askUWA.
Applying through a UWA representative overseas
If you are applying via an approved UWA representative, your agent must first nominate you to the Global Learning Office. Once this nomination has been received, you will receive an email from the UWA Global Learning Office inviting you to apply.
UWA has representatives in more than 60 countries.
Applying through your home university
Study Abroad
To study as a Study Abroad student, your home university can nominate you, or you can apply independently.
Student Exchange
If your university has an exchange agreement with UWA, to study as an Exchange student, they must nominate you for the Exchange program. Once your nomination has been received, you will receive an email from the UWA Global Learning Office inviting you to apply.
Information supplied to the University’s application system is collected and stored in line with the UWA Privacy Statement.
If your university or college has a formal student exchange agreement with UWA, you can apply to study with us as an exchange student. This means you don’t pay tuition fees at UWA but will continue to pay the tuition fees of your home university or college.
There are additional costs that both exchange and study abroad students will need to consider, such as an Australian Student Visa, Overseas Student Health Cover (medical insurance), accommodation, books, transport and living expenses.
If your university has an exchange agreement with UWA, you need to be nominated to participate in the exchange program.
At O-week I met the outstanding group of people in charge of my faculty and I remember the volunteer that took me to each talk was so nice and curious about my country and became one friend I saw through the campus during the semester. The great variety of student associations on campus helped me making friends and thanks to Perth International I had the opportunity to attend awesome events and meet amazing people from all over the world that shared the exchange experience like me.
My semester at UWA has been my happiest time in which I felt welcomed at an amazing community and found a big family far away from home at St. George’s College. I wanted to stay longer at UWA because of all the amazing people I met there and the academic excellence that it proved to be. Teachers care for their students and always provide a variety of skills in which knowledge is developed in the students. There is always something great happening on campus and by far exceeded my expectations.
Coming from a very different culture as an exchange student to UWA, I felt very nervous and had a lot of expectations of how the courses I was going to take would be. Since my arrival, the staff was so kind and welcoming to me and helped me choose my units.
Coming from a very different culture as an exchange student to UWA, I felt very nervous and had a lot of expectations of how the courses I was going to take would be. Since my arrival, the staff was so kind and welcoming to me and helped me choose my units.
At O-week I met the outstanding group of people in charge of my faculty and I remember the volunteer that took me to each talk was so nice and curious about my country and became one friend I saw through the campus during the semester. The great variety of student associations on campus helped me making friends and thanks to Perth International I had the opportunity to attend awesome events and meet amazing people from all over the world that shared the exchange experience like me.
My semester at UWA has been my happiest time in which I felt welcomed at an amazing community and found a big family far away from home at St. George’s College. I wanted to stay longer at UWA because of all the amazing people I met there and the academic excellence that it proved to be. Teachers care for their students and always provide a variety of skills in which knowledge is developed in the students. There is always something great happening on campus and by far exceeded my expectations.
Doing an Exchange term at the University of Western Australia has allowed me to grow so much as an individual. It has helped me push boundaries that I didn't know were possible. I now have a friend in 6 of the 7 continents around the world. Furthermore, it has helped with my academic and professional development, like giving me a chance to be an English Tutor or host a LinkedIn Learning Session.
I would highly recommend anyone thinking to do an exchange at UWA to go forward with it. Travelling was a blast, especially exploring Karijini and the beauties of Western Australia. It is a unique university experience and a very welcoming environment. There are many events that the University hosts for exchange students and you are guaranteed to have a great time, all while experiencing the Australian culture.
The decision to do my study year abroad at UWA was honestly the best decision I have ever made. The UWA campus is beautiful and Perth is a great, laid-back city with some of the best beaches in the world. I made some of my closest friends during my time here and had some amazing travel opportunities – getting to explore New Zealand, Singapore, Thailand and Vietnam. I was also able to visit parts of WA and the east coast – it felt like every day was a new adventure.
My advice for anyone considering exchange would be to 100% go for it – you will not regret it. Say yes to all the opportunities you can and don’t be afraid to try new things, even if the thought of it makes you scared or nervous. My year abroad was by far the best year of my undergraduate degree. For anyone coming to UWA, staying in college (Unihall) was the best way to make lifelong friends – who I still talk to now and met up with many times after I went back to Scotland.
I loved my year abroad so much that I decided to come back to UWA to study a PhD. I’ve been here for a year and it is just as amazing as I remember!
My time at UWA was amazing, I could have contact with people from all over the world and learn about their culture. The university is incredible, the campus is beautiful that sometimes I spent time just appreciating the view. The international team from UWA is really kind and helpful and they had lots of activities that allowed us to be in contact with other students. Perth is such a great city, the beaches and the nature are breath-taking.
UWA gave me really good memories, friends that I will keep forever and such a good experience. Hopefully I will be back soon!
Studying abroad at UWA helped to grow not only as a student, but as a person. Each week was full of new adventures and the experiences I had while being there were the best I've ever had. I was able to meet people from all over the world and explore all of WA with them!
Student Exchange and Study Abroad students can enrol in a full academic load of 18 or 24 points per semester. Most units are worth six points, so this generally works out to three or four units per semester.
Typically, most units are offered for a semester, but some must be taken for a full year.
You can use the online Handbook to browse through the units offered at UWA. All units consist of four letters detailing the discipline of the unit (such as ECON for Economics, PSYC for Psychology) and four numbers.
At UWA the emphasis is on independent learning. There will be less direction from lecturers, greater expectations of individual study outside classes, fewer assessments and heavier weighting on assessments.
You will attend weekly lectures, which may be large (sometimes more than 100 students). These will be complemented by weekly tutorials, which are smaller classes where you are expected to participate in discussion and debate. They may be compulsory and are often assessed.
Final grades are based on a combination of oral and written assignments and tests, project work, participation in tutorials and final examinations. Multiple choice is not a common method of assessment.
At the completion of your study at UWA an academic record will be sent to your home university/agent. UWA will not translate grades.
Performance is graded according to the following scale:
HD (Higher Distinction): 80-100%
D (Distinction): 70-79%
CR (Credit Pass): 60-69%
P (Pass): 50-59%
N+ (Fail): 45-49%
N (Fail): 0-44%
UP (Ungraded Pass): n/a
P* (Pass Conditional): n/a
UF (Ungraded Fail): n/a
All examinations are conducted in English (except for language units) and the use of dictionaries is not permitted, nor will additional time be granted if English is not your first language.
For enrolment in Semester 1 (February – June), the application deadline is 30 October of the year prior.
For enrolment in Semester 2 (July – November), the application deadline is 15 April of the same year.