Australia Studies Centre

Adventure, Academics, and Art!

The Australia Studies Centre is a semester-long program, sponsored by the Council for Christian Colleges and Universities, with a focus on the arts. The Sydney-based Wesley Institute provides students with an opportunity to live in this coastal city, to experience Australian culture, and to study visual, theatrical, musical arts. During the semester students will travel to Blue Mountains and Jenolan Caves and to the capital city of Canberra. Students live with Australian families within a 10 - 15 minute walk to the campus. Explore tentative course offerings.

Want a student's view? Read Kristen's Story.

Requirements
Students must have completed two full years of college and have at least a 2.75 GPA to qualify for the program. Will consider sophomores. Students are required to attend all Messiah-run pre-departure orientation sessions the semester before studying abroad as well as half-day reentry retreat upon returning to campus the following semester.

Credits
The 15 or 16 credits earned may meet general education or major requirements Courses taken will appear on Messiah transcripts with letter grades. Please refer to the grade conversion chart. Students will take courses in Australian and Indigenous History as well as choose from a variety of courses from Integrative Studies, School of Theology, School of Music, School of Dance, Improvisation, School of Drama and School of Design.

Students will meet their third language/cross-cultural requirement by participating in this program. Students will not earn 3 credits, rather the requirement will be waived.

Course listings and course descriptions

Costs 2013-2014  $20,720, plus $300 deposit

Fee covers tuition, housing, meals, *round-trip airfare (from Los Angeles), educational excursions, pre-departure, and re-entry orientation. Note: additional fees students may encounter include (but are not limited to) local transportation, visas, passports, immunizations, and course fees. 

For comparison, a typical semester in Grantham for 2013-2014 is $19,655.

Note: *Once flights are booked, students are responsible for the cost of the flight if they cannot participate for any reason, including visa issues.  Students are responsible for their own transportation to and from the jumping off point in the United States.

Application Deadlines (A $50 application fee must accompany your application.)

“The most rewarding and interesting part of my experience was finding God in what seemed to be very vacant spaces. On our trip to the Outback it was amazing to see how deep and rich God's creation is.”

--Kelly Carmack

To learn more about The Best Semester program in Australia, check out:

CIA World Fact Book: Australia