Course Selection

Full Course Load

As part of your VISA requirement, all study abroad students will be required to study a full-course load. A full course load in ANU is 24 ANU units per semester (usually 4 courses at 6 units each). If you wish to reduce your study load, study abroad students are allowed to study 18 ANU units per semester. However, if you choose to study 18 ANU units per semester, please note that your study abroad fees will remain the same. 

Course Catalogue

You can browse available courses in ANU using the programs and courses page. Use the semester and year filters search function to find courses that will be on offer while you are at ANU.

Many courses are not available in every semester; when using Programs and Courses you must ensure that you filter it by the semester you have been offered to ensure only appropriate options are displayed.
Enrolment in sessional terms (winter and summer) are assessed on a case-by-case basis and only approved where course dates fit within the applicable visa; for example after 1st February.

Courses requiring a supervisor, or with restricted enrolment, may only be conditionally approved until closer to the start of semester or you may be waitlisted; keep this in mind when selecting such courses.

Meeting Pre-Requisite Course Requirements

As an exchange or study abroad student you will often be taking courses targeted at students in their second or third year of study. As such, these courses will have prerequisite requirements and assumed knowledge. When reviewing courses on the ANU Programs and Courses website, it is important that you review the 'Requisite and Incompatibility' section. This will tell you what previous knowledge is expected or required to be successful in the courses you are interested in. For some, this will indicate that you must have completed a certain number of units within a certain discipline; 6 units is 1 course. For others it may indicate a specific ANU course that you must have completed prior; as an exchange or study abroad student you must show that you have completed a course, or courses, at your home institution that have the same, or very similar, learning outcomes to the mentioned ANU course.

If you feel that your transcript makes it clear that you have the pre-requisite knowledge required, then the transcript you include in your application should be sufficient for assessment. For example, if
the requirement is to have completed calculus and linear algebra and you have these listed as courses on your transcript, this should suffice. If you are unsure whether your transcript is clear enough then you will need to provide course outlines/summaries from your home institution for the courses that cover similar topics.

For example, if the requirement is to have completed calculus and linear algebra and you have completed a mathematics course that covers these topics, you would need to provide this outline for assessment.
If you feel that you meet the requirements with courses you are currently taking, it is important to ensure you include a current enrolment summary with your application so that these courses can be considered. If you do not include this, the courses will not be approved in the first instance.

Course Specific Requirements

You must meet any specific requirements of the courses you apply for, including those below:

  • Visual arts: You must submit a folio of 12-15 images (slides, photographs, CD/DVD, jpeg files, website, etc.) of current work from their home institution.
  • Music: You must submit a high quality audio/video recording of themselves performing.
  • Law: You must be pursuing a law degree at their home university leading to admission to practice.
  • Business or economics: Applicants wishing to study a full-time load (24 units per semester) for must be studying these disciplines at their home university.
  • Australian National Internships Program: You must submit an additional application and require a higher GPA as well as successful completion of two full years of study.

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Global Programs - Outbound Students