Breathtaking landscapes, endless sunshine, cute koalas and kangaroos, vibrant cities such as Sydney and Melbourne, and a laid-back surfing culture – all this makes Australia a popular travel destination for many people. But it's not just nature and lifestyle that impress: the Australian higher education system is also impressive. All tertiary education providers – including around 40 state universities and numerous vocational TAFE institutions – are subject to strict quality controls, especially if they wish to accept international students. This is also reflected in international rankings, where Australian universities regularly occupy places in the top 100. Legally defined quality guidelines ensure a uniform education system and offer prospective students reliable guidance. When studying in Australia, you are therefore spoiled for choice, as it is virtually impossible to distinguish between better and worse universities. Everywhere you go, you can expect modern facilities, dedicated lecturers, and an optimal mix of theory and practice.
The good reputation of Australian universities has long extended beyond the country's borders. It is not without reason that Australia is one of the most popular countries in the world for studying abroad. In 2024, around 558,000 international students from 150 countries began their studies in Australia – a new record high! Internationality is as much a part of studying in Australia as the case study on business studies. To ensure that the quality of universities and the housing market do not suffer too much from the influx of international students, the Australian government has recently introduced measures to regulate numbers and is also considering a legal cap. What does this mean for you if you want to study in Australia? Don't worry, it's still possible, of course. However, thorough preparation and timely application are now more important than ever.
In addition to its international character, studying in Australia is characterized by comprehensive support and a lively campus life – similar to studying abroad in the USA.
There's no question that the decision to study on the other side of the world in Australia is not one you make overnight. Alongside the excitement, there may also be fears and the stress of preparing for the move. But rest assured: this courageous step will pay off! If you take a closer look, you'll quickly see that the advantages outweigh the disadvantages. We've listed five reasons why it's worth studying in Australia – pretty convincing, right?
Australia has invested heavily in education in recent years. This is reflected not only in the Times Higher Education World University Ranking, where six of Australia's 43 universities regularly feature in the top 100 worldwide, but also in the first-class facilities and state-of-the-art teaching methods used by professors.
When studying in Australia, you can combine courses from different disciplines. Try out unique degree programs that are not available anywhere else in the world: how about Marine Biology, Game Design, or Biological Arts? The modular, build-on degrees offer international students an easy way to start their studies.
You won't have to worry about how to spend your free time when studying in Australia. Whether it's the outback, vibrant cities, or surfing on the Gold Coast, Australia's spectacular landscape offers endless destinations for trips. And the relaxed Australian laid-back lifestyle is an experience in itself that will greatly enrich your everyday life.
Down Under is home to the world. Australian university staff welcome international students with open arms and are on hand to offer advice and assistance. Hospitality is a top priority here. Thanks to the excellent infrastructure on campus, you will quickly meet like-minded people and build up a multicultural network.
A degree from an Australian university is highly regarded worldwide. An English-language, practical education, which is standard in Australia, is in high demand in many industries. By studying in Australia, you will therefore not only expand your specialist knowledge, but also improve your job prospects on the international job market.
Most Australian universities specialize in certain areas of research. However, there are also traditional comprehensive universities that offer almost all subjects: the universities in the Group of Eight are also the most research-intensive in the country. Australia does not distinguish between universities and universities of applied sciences. Instead, all universities are required to be active in both teaching and research and to provide their students with an optimal mix of theory and practice. The courses are generally practice-oriented and interdisciplinary. For example, when studying in Australia, each lecture is accompanied by a tutoring session in which the material learned is reviewed in small groups.
As in Germany, the academic year in Australia is divided into two semesters. However, because Australia is located in the southern hemisphere, the semester dates are different. The spring semester runs from February to June. After a short break, the autumn semester begins in July. The semester break, which lasts about three months, begins in November with the start of the Australian summer. Since exams in Australia usually take place during the semester, you actually have time off during the semester breaks and can use this time to work or travel.
The degrees that can be obtained at an Australian university are diverse. If you study at the undergraduate level in Australia, you will receive a Bachelor's degree after six semesters. In addition, students with outstanding achievements have the opportunity to obtain a Bachelor's Honours Degree by completing an additional year of study. This serves as specialization and facilitates admission to a PhD program.
Postgraduate studies in Australia are divided into different qualification levels. This is due to the fact that lifelong learning is very important in Australia and it is much more common and easier to change your original career path by acquiring new skills. The country-specific Graduate Certificate or Graduate Diploma is awarded after one to two semesters. If you decide to continue your studies in Australia, the credits you have earned up to that point will be counted toward your Master's degree. The same applies if you decide to discontinue your studies. If you would like to study for a Master's degree in Australia, you can choose between a Master by Coursework and a Master of Research. The latter is more academically oriented and concludes with an independent research project. Both programs usually last two years.
As in other countries, the highest university degree is the doctorate. In Australia, this program takes an average of three years to complete.
Unlike in Germany, vocational training in Australia does not take place in companies or vocational schools. Instead, there are TAFE institutes, which are comparable to German universities of applied sciences. TAFE stands for Technical and Further Education. The programs offered there are very diverse, but what they all have in common is that they are practice-oriented and teach professional skills. As at universities, the qualifications – country-specific certificates and diplomas – are divided into different levels. While these qualifications are not usually recognized abroad, a Level 6 qualification allows you to transfer to an Australian university.
Study in Australia without a high school diploma
Think you can't study in Australia without a high school diploma (Abitur)? Think again! You can even study at TAFE institutions without a high school diploma. Cooperation agreements between TAFEs and Australian universities make it possible for you to enroll in a related field of study at a university with a TAFE diploma. Since your previous achievements are recognized, you will enter directly into the second year of a Bachelor's program. This saves you time and money while studying in Australia and means you will graduate with a Bachelor's degree.
Australia has spent a lot of money in recent decades and built up an outstanding education system that has long been an export hit. Accordingly, the costs of studying in Australia are high, especially for international students. Unfortunately, there is no way around it: studying in Australia is expensive. After the US, Australia has the second-highest tuition fees in the world.
To give you a rough idea, here are a few figures: If you are studying for a Bachelor's degree in Australia, you can expect tuition fees of between 20,000 and 48,000 Australian dollars (AUD) per academic year. That's roughly equivalent to €1 2,000 to € 28,000. A Master's degree typically costs between AUD 30,000 and AUD 55,000 per year, which is roughly equivalent to € 17,000 to € 32,000.
As with studying in the USA or studying in England, tuition fees vary depending on the university, degree program, and degree. Bachelor's degree programs are more expensive overall than Master's degree programs, although the fees per academic year are often higher for Master's programs. If you study humanities or business administration in Australia, you can save money, as these subjects are among the comparatively inexpensive degree programs. The situation is different for medicine and dentistry: their fees start where those for other subjects end – at AUD 50,000 per year for a Bachelor's degree and AUD 60,000 per year for a Master's degree!
In addition to tuition fees, there are also living expenses, which are also very high in Australia. The Australian Department of Home Affairs recommends budgeting at least AUD 20,000 per year for living expenses. This does not include specific costs that arise if you want to study in Australia, such as a student visa, flights, or health insurance for foreign students.
One way to study in Australia more affordably is to not enroll in a full Bachelor's or Master's program, but instead spend a semester abroad in Australia. If you only study in Australia for a shorter period of time, you will naturally have lower living and accommodation costs. Since you will take fewer courses during a semester abroad in Australia than you would during a full degree program abroad, you will only have to pay a portion of the tuition fees – expect to pay between AUD 8,000 and AUD 14,000 per semester. Some Australian universities offer visiting students the option of taking only three courses per semester instead of the usual four, which further reduces tuition fees. If you participate in an exchange program between your home university and a Australian partner university, the tuition fees are often waived entirely. In addition, you can take advantage of a wide range of external funding opportunities for international students – more on this in the next section. Your dream of studying abroad in Australia does not have to be thwarted by high tuition fees! Contact the International Office at your university to find out about the options for studying in Australia for a semester abroad.
Don't want to miss out on a degree from a renowned Australian university? Then the dual degree program might be right for you. You will first study two semesters in a Master's program at Munich Business School in Germany and then spend two more semesters at Bond University, Australia's first private university in the beautiful city of Gold Coast. After successfully completing your studies with a Master's thesis, you will have two degrees: an Australian Master's degree in Business or Sports Management from Bond University and a German Master of Arts from Munich Business School!
With Munich Business School (MBS), your dream of studying abroad in Australia can come true! At MBS, stays abroad are an integral part of the Bachelor's and Master's programs. Here, internationality is not only taught, but also lived. Of course, Australia is also represented in MBS's global network of partner universities. Get an overview of the universities in Australia where you can study with MBS.
We now know that studying in Australia is expensive. But that's no reason to bury your head in the sand. There are a number of ways you can finance your studies in Australia, including tuition fees and living expenses, so you don't have to spend all your savings. Here are a few ideas:
The DAAD (German Academic Exchange Service) scholarship database is a good first port of call if you are enrolled at a German university and are looking for a scholarship to study abroad in the United Kingdom.
The German Academic Exchange Service (DAAD) is the largest provider of scholarships for study abroad. Here you will find a wide range of scholarships for all courses of study as well as subject- and country-specific funding. If you are thinking about studying in Australia for a shorter period of between one and six months, the PROMOS scholarship from the DAAD may also be of interest to you. In addition to the DAAD, there are other private, church, and political foundations that award scholarships. Australian universities also award partial and full scholarships to international students. The best place to find out what requirements you need to meet is on the individual websites of the universities. Please note that you must apply for a scholarship at the same time as you apply for a place at university.
So check directly to see if you meet the relevant requirements. If so, your tuition fees in Australia will be subsidized by up to €5,600 for a maximum of one year, regardless of whether you are studying in Australia as part of a semester abroad (at least six months) or a one-year Master's program. You will also receive a monthly grant and subsidies for travel, health insurance, and living expenses. Since Brexit, study programs lasting longer than one year are no longer eligible for funding through the Auslands-BAföG.
Half of the BAföG for studies abroad is a grant and the other half is an interest-free loan, which means that you must repay half of the money you receive after completing your studies. The subsidy for tuition fees is exempt from repayment.
During semester breaks, you can even work full-time. Suitable places to work include restaurants, retail, or the university campus. Since wages in Australia are relatively high, combining your studies with a part-time job is a great way to offset at least some of the high costs of studying in Australia. If you're lucky, you might even have something left over for your travel fund. At the same time, you will immerse yourself even more deeply in US campus life and experience the country and its people up close – a very unique experience.
If you only want to study in Australia for one or two semesters, you can apply for a KfW student loan or, if you are already enrolled in a Master's program, an education loan of the German federal governement. The latter is also suitable for financing a complete Master's degree in Australia. An education fund that explicitly focuses on studying abroad is the Fonds der Deutsche Bildung.
Before signing a contract, you should carefully compare the providers and be aware that these financing models are loans and that you will have to repay the money you receive (plus interest). You can find more details on how student loans and education funds work on our blog.
If you want to study in Australia, it's not enough to just have the necessary funds. To ensure that your application and entry into Australia are successful, you must first take care of a few academic requirements and legal matters. We have listed the most important points for you:
Studying in Australia, on the other side of the world, is the dream of many young adults – and with good reason! At the same time, studying abroad in Australia is a big step that needs to be well planned and financed. To give you a better overview and provide you with the best possible support in organizing your trip, this FAQ section provides answers to frequently asked questions about studying in Australia.
Of course! Provided you meet the relevant admission requirements, you can also study in Australia as an international student. This means that you must have the appropriate educational qualifications (high school diploma for a Bachelor's degree at a university, Bachelor's degree for a Master's degree, Master's degree for a doctoral degree) and have very good English skills, which you must confirm with a recognized test. A special feature of the Australian education system is that you can also study without a high school diploma by going through a TAFE institution. Depending on the university and degree program, applicants must submit a letter of motivation and/or recommendation or participate in an interview. Once the Australian university has admitted you to study in Australia, you will need to apply for a visa and international health insurance before you leave. In addition to these admission requirements, you will of course need to be able to finance your studies in Australia.
On average, international students in Australia pay between AUD 20,000 and AUD 48,000 per year for a Bachelor's degree and between AUD 30,000 and AUD 55,000 for a Master's degree. However, there is no general answer to the question of costs. How much it costs to study in Australia depends, among other things, on which university you attend, which subject you study, and how long you want to study in Australia. In general, it is cheaper to study in Australia for a semester or a year abroad than to complete an entire degree program. Especially if your home university has a partnership with a university in Australia, you may be able to save a lot of money.
Tuition fees apply to both domestic and international students studying in Australia. Therefore, there is no such thing as free education in the traditional sense in Australia. However, there are funding opportunities that can significantly reduce or even cover the costs entirely. Here are a few ideas:
Studying completely free of charge is not the norm in Australia – but you can significantly reduce the costs through support programs, scholarships, and BAföG for studies abroad. With strategic planning, you can finance an entire semester abroad or even a full degree program with relatively little of your own funds.
Australia has some very good universities. Six Australian universities regularly feature in the top 100 of the Times Higher Education World University Rankings. The list is headed by the University of Melbourne, which is not only the best university in Australia but also a partner university of Munich Business School in Germany. The five other Australian universities that were also among the top 100 in the prestigious university rankings in 2025 are:
Yes, almost all foreign nationals need a visa to enter Australia. There are different types of visas, depending on the purpose and duration of your stay. If you are coming to Australia to study, you will usually need a student visa (subclass 500). It costs approximately 710 Australian dollars. Like other types of visas, the visa to study in Australia can be easily applied for online via the official website of the Australian government. It is recommended that you apply for the visa at least two to three weeks before your planned departure to allow sufficient time for processing and any queries.
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