Education in Australia (MCS)

I cannot speak for the entirety of Australia, but the education system at James Cook University is very different from what I am accustomed to back in the states. Though to be fair, I don’t come from a very diverse educational background at home either. I’ve always had the benefit of having very small class sizes throughout my life and close relationships with my teachers and professors. Before coming to JCU, the largest class size I ever had was a few below 30 people. However, at JCU, I think my smallest class has 50 people in its lecture. JCU has around 15,000 students vs. Allegheny’s 2,100.

How classes are set up and how they weight assignments is also very different. Each of my 4 classes is split up into 3 sections; Lecture (self-explanatory), Practical (lab), and Tutorials (smaller lecture based class). Even with these 3 sections, I sometimes only have a class once a week. For example, my History of Global Connections class only meets on Thursdays and has its Lecture and Tutorials spread throughout the day. The assignments are less frequent throughout the semester than I accustomed, like only having 2 papers and an exam for a class, but they are more heavily weighted. For the first time, I have final exams that are worth 60 – 70 % of my grade. The way they grade here is also very different. While I am used to A's,B's, and C's, their equivalent are HD's (High distinctions), D's (Distinction), and C's (Pass with Credit) respectively. 

JCU’s Marine Biology and Environmental program are incredibly renowned in Australia. I’ve been all over the country at this point in the semester and every time I mention that I study at JCU, people are aware of one of the branch campuses. So, the most popular subjects here are related to marine science of some sort. However, the school itself has a vet, medicine, law school, as well as offering many other bachelor, masters, and professional programs. When I googled the most popular subjects to study in Uni in Australia (what everyone calls universities here) I was surprised to find that education, arts, and business topped the lists. Australia has 38 public universities and 3 private vs. America’s thousands. It generally only takes 3 years to get a bachelor degree here and a 4^th year can be added on to pursue an honours or professional degree. I was surprised that this is actually the case from many places in Europe as well, as indicated by one friend that originates from Scotland. Liberal arts is offered as a degree at some university's here in Aus unlike the teaching style at Allegheny, though I haven't actually met someone taking this course. 

             Extracurricular seem as prevalent here as they are at home. JCU offers many different types of clubs, social opportunities, and ways to get involved on campus. The cost of schooling is kind of similar to America, on average their public uni’s are between $7-33,000. They also have many chances to study abroad through JCU’s multiple schools around the world, including one in Singapore. However, it doesn’t seem like as many Australian students pursue the study abroad experience as people in America. Interestingly enough, I assumed many people who I’ve met from different countries in Australia are only here for study abroad. However, 20.7% of students in the Australian University System are international students in Australia for a full degree. 

              A ton of students come to university after secondary education in Australia. However, it is just as common for students to go to a college (something similar to our associates degree in America). A lot of men also go straight from secondary school and become tradies or go right into blue-collar work. Depending on the job or university degree, people who have a uni degree aren't always paid more than tradeworkers. 

              I'm not entirely sure how going to school in Australia will effect me yet. Obviously, still having a year to go back at Allegheny, I will have to become accustomed to our way of schooling again. However, as my parents have so pleasantly informed me, I will probably be more prepared for masters degree work where assignments are more heavily weighted and less frequent. I really think that going through an educational system so different than what I am used to has built upon my skills are a student. I know now that I am capable of working in a wide range of learning environments.