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Academics at JCU

James Cook University offers quality academics in a unique tropical setting and is especially suited for students interested in marine biology and environmentally related fields. The program is open to students in diverse majors as JCU offers a wide variety of subjects, such as liberal arts, education, indigenous Australian studies, sciences, exercise and sport science, health related fields, engineering, agriculture, and rainforest science. Please refer to the James Cook University website for a more complete listing of subjects: http://www.isc.jcu.edu.au/studyabroad.cfm.

Orientations

To prepare adequately for the study program in Australia, students are asked to participate in an all-day pre-departure orientation in Oregon (in November and in May). Upon arrival in Australia, James Cook University provides a week long on-site orientation, including workshops on various topics such as writing skills. James Cook requires that students attend their Orientation ‘O’ week. An enrolment verification process, where students can meet with JCU academic advisors and finalize their subject choices, is an essential part of the orientation.

Courses in Australia

Participants are enrolled as regular James Cook students, taking classes with Australian students and other international students. Classes are structured in a similar way to those found in Oregon. However, in general, greater emphasis is placed on independent study outside of class contact hours than what students may experience in Oregon.

Courses or classes are called subjects at James Cook University and are generally intended to be taken in specific years of a degree. You can tell if a JCU subject is a first, second or third year subject by the first number in the subject code – ie: BT2400:03 Flowering Plant Diversity is a second year subject. Generally, James Cook University will approve study abroad students to take 1st, 2nd, and 3rd year subjects.

At JCU, most individual subjects have a value of 3 credit points. A normal full-time study load for a semester is four subjects or 12 credit points in the JCU system. Students who take more than 12 credits points will be assessed additional fees. The number of credits earned in Oregon for these subjects will be determined by the student’s home campus.

A unique feature of the JCU study abroad program is the opportunity to study subjects which contain a field trip component, enabling students to learn from a hands-on experience in your field of study. A listing of some of the more popular subjects that have field trip components can be found on the JCU website

Students are responsible for the associated field trip costs as listed on the web site.

Registration and Credits

Students participating in this program will be registered at their home university in Oregon and will receive home campus credits for courses taken at James Cook University. Students’ course work will be reviewed and evaluated by appropriate academic departments at their home institutions. Students must keep detailed records of course outlines, reading lists, exam results, and other work completed to facilitate accurate evaluation by their home university academic departments.

Students are advised to consult with their academic advisor about their plans to study in the Australia program. Students wishing to earn major or minor credits for courses taken at James Cook University are strongly advised to be in frequent communication with their advisor to determine what’s possible.

Because of the nature of this program, courses and credits are applied after completion of the program.

James Cook University Campus Descriptions

The University has four faculties: Law, Business and the Creative Arts; Science, Engineering and Information Technology; Arts, Education and Social Science; Medicine, Health and Molecular Sciences. JCU has a strong commitment to the study of the region’s indigenous cultures and has the second highest participation rate of indigenous students in Australia.

JCU Campus at Townsville

The city of Townsville is a thriving coastal city of 160,000 people, making it Australia’s largest tropical city. Townsville is a stepping off point for visiting the Great Barrier Reef and is conveniently located to an array of natural environments. The campus has around 11,000 students, including over 1,300 international students. It is located in the suburb of Douglas close to the Ross River and is on a setting of natural bush and parkland about 8 miles from the city center. The campus is home to Australian native birds and animals, including kookaburras, cockatoos, bush turkeys and wallabies.

The Townsville campus offers a wide variety of subjects and is well known for its marine biology studies.

JCU Campus at Cairns

Cairns is about 200 miles north of Townsville and has a population of 130,000. It is one of Australia’s top tourist destinations for its easy access to areas such as the nearby World Heritage Wet Tropics rainforest. The campus has around 3,500 students, including about 250 international students. The campus is often described as the rainforest campus because it is located close to rainforest-covered mountains. The beach is about a 10 minute walk from the campus.

The Cairns campus offers also offers a wide variety of subjects and is strong in rainforest science.

Host University Website:

• General information on James Cook University
• Information directed to study abroad and exchange students

Academic Calendar

James Cook University is on a semester system, which they also refer to as Teaching Periods on their web site. Students are eligible to study for a semester or an academic year on this program.

• Teaching Period 1 (Semester 1): February – June
• Teaching Period 2 (Semester 2): July – November

Each semester is comprised of 13 weeks of teaching, with a one-week break in the middle of the semester and a one-week study period before exams.

A list of important dates can be found on the JCU website.

Campus Contacts

Click on the name of your University for contact information.

* Also serves as the program Coordinator/Assistant.

Downloads

• Deakin Program Handbook
• James Cook Program Handbook
• Australia Slideshow

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