University of Sydney

The University of Sydney is a world-renowned research institution located in the heart of Sydney, Australia. Founded in 1850, “Sydney Uni” as it is colloquially known, is Australia’s first university and is home to 16 faculties and schools with over 33,500 undergraduate students and 19,000 postgraduates. It was ranked 45^th best university in the world in 2015-16 according to the QS World University Rankings.

School’s Main Website | International / Exchange Student Website

Sydney University is particularly strong in Medicine, Law, Business and Arts.
The 2016 QS World University Rankings by Subject ranked USYD to be 9th in Education, 11th in Law and 17th in Medicine.

GPA requirement:

3.2 / 4.0 or ‘B’ on the ECTS grading scale

You must also have completed at least 1 year of university study to be eligible to apply for exchange at Sydney Uni.

Language of instruction:

English

Courses:

Course descriptions can be found in here. Check “available to international students” to search for the relevant courses. There are only one or two exams/assignments that make up your grade in any one course so you must prepare well for them. 

Flying Chalks’ tip: Do note that the language of instruction for most courses offered in colleges other than COB is Japanese. Certain conditions also apply before you may be registered for courses outside of COB. 

Course registration process:

You will select the courses (“units of study”) when you accept your exchange offer. You can still adjust your course schedule and arrange your timetable during Orientation in Sydney, the week before classes start.

Attendance policy:

It varies depending on the course and the professor. Although most courses do not take attendance, attending classes will be helpful as you are expected to know the information presented during lectures for tests and assignments.

Flying Chalks' tip: Many professors record their lectures or even stream them online. If you are unable to attend class, you can listen to the lecture later from home and follow along in the posted slides.

University of Sydney's campus map can be found here!

Selected facilities:

Sydney Uni Sport & Fitness (SUSF)
With the membership, one can access 220 cardio machines, 40 sporting clubs, 65 group classes, gym programs and many more. Check out their website here!

Library
Sydney Uni has various library locations around all the campuses. You can locate them here!

Flying Chalks’ tip: While there are a few libraries and study spaces on campus, most native students live at home with their parents and commute to university. Consequently, these study spaces often close early in the evenings and are not open on weekends. Finding a living arrangement with a quiet place for studying may then be recommended.

Food on campus:

There are more than 30 places to eat on campus, ranging from healthy juice bars to hearty pub meals. There is even a bar on campus (Manning Bar and Grill). You can find a comprehensive list of eateries here!

Flying Chalks’ recommendation: Try the tapioca milk tea at Easyway Tea on campus!

Campus transportation:

You won’t need public transportation to get around campus as everything is within walking distance. If you live somewhere further away, there are a few bus stops that service the university. You can also take the train in to Central and walk about 20 minutes to campus from there.

Find more information on the Sydney Uni free shuttle bus here!

Student life is as exciting as it gets with the Sydney Abroad team and the University of Sydney Union (USU) coordinating many social events such as Sydney Harbour Cruise, breakfast with koalas, Aussie football game, surf camp, city tours and tons of BBQs.

In addition, the University of Sydney Union’s International Student Lounge located on level 4 of the Wentworth Building is a resource and cultural center for students studying at the University of Sydney. The Lounge has information and staff to assist commencing international students’ transition to the University community and has weekly cultural and international student programs, free computer access and tea and coffee. More on what the University Student Union offers international students can be found here!

Orientation program:

Orientation starts two weeks before the semester begins. There are meet-and-greet sessions in the first week and the enrolment advisory in the second week. There is also a big three-day festival called O-Week during orientation.

Buddy program:

You can opt-in for the MATES buddy program and get paired to a student mentor.

Student clubs / CCAs that are popular:

Sydney Uni has more than 200 clubs and societies run by students and supported by the University of Sydney Union that you can join as an exchange student. Unimates is a club that takes special interest in international students. All you will need to join clubs and societies is an ACCESS card, which you can buy during OWeek of Orientation or at any time of the year. Check out the full list of clubs and societies here!

University Events:

A comprehensive list of school events can be found here!

Sydney Uni is situated directly in between two fun and young neighborhoods of Sydney: Glebe and Newtown. Glebe is hip with lots of cafes and gelato shops and cute share-houses where students and expats often live. Newtown is one with more nightlife, Asian and vegetarian restaurants, graffiti, and hippies. There is also a beautiful park called Victoria Park right next to the university campus.

A 20 minutes’ walk up the Broadway will lead you to Sydney's main rail station, from where you can make connections to various other city stops and suburbs including the beautiful Bondi Beach. Another 40 minutes of walking will get you to Sydney’s Central Business District (CBD) and the harbor where you can see the famous Sydney Opera House and Harbor Bridge.

For food:

You can head to cafés on Glebe Point Road (such as Clipper Café) or a Thai place down King Street in Newtown. Do also try Tim Tams biscuit, vegemite, lamingtons, “goon” (boxed wine), and iced chocolate!

Flying Chalks' recommendation: The Chinese Dumplings at the Chinese Noodle House in Chinatown are the best in town!

Flying Chalks’ tip: Look out for free sausage on bread on campus (a lot of organizations give out free food!).

For nightlife and entertainment:

To party with the backpackers, go out in Kings Cross and specifically at The Gaff. Scubar and Side Bar near Central are also fun backpacker bars that often have live music and dancing.

You can go for karaoke on Thursday nights at Kelly’s on King, a pub in Newtown.

Live music and theatre is on show all year round at the Seymour Centre.

Flying Chalks' tip: You can get cheaper tickets at Seymour Centre if you head for the Student Rush just before curtains up.

Flying Chalks' recommendation: USYD student union holds Funch every second Wednesday where you can enjoy games, food, drinks, live entertainment and music between 12–2pm. It’s free for ACCESS members.

For daily necessities and groceries:

If you live near the university, you can go to the Coles in the Broadway shopping center for groceries and the Kmart for affordable necessities.

For shopping:

Paddy’s Market in Chinatown is an enormous market with everything from fruits and vegetables to sunglasses to Australia souvenirs at bargain prices. It is open Thursday to Sunday.

Take a stroll along Pitt Street and find shopping precincts such as Glasshouse, the Strand Arcade, the recently redeveloped Midcity Centre and Westfield Shopping Centre.  These shopping arcades are located within the Pitt Street Mall area between King and Market Streets. The World Square centre spans three levels of an entire city block and houses restaurants, cafes, bars and eateries. Shops include Bayswiss, a Coles Supermarket, Sony Centre and Rebel Sport.

There are outdoor markets around the city on weekends including The Rocks market from 10am to 5pm (on weekends) and Glebe market which is every Saturday from 10am-4pm. There's art and crafts, jewelry, frames, photography, indigenous art wares, delicious homemade produce and many more at these outdoor markets.

For vintage/bohemian clothes shopping check out local stores in Newtown.

Getting from Sydney Kingsford Smith International Airport to Sydney Uni:

• Pick up service

Kingsford Smith International Airport is about 7 km from the campus. As you will probably be heading to your temporary accommodation first, do check if your hostel or hotel offers any airport transfer services. These are usually group shuttles that will take you straight to your hostel for about AUD$16-18.

• Taxi

A taxi should costs about AUD$30 from the airport to the Sydney Uni campus at Camperdown.

• Train

You can also take the train from the airport to Central Station which runs every 10 minutes and costs about AUD$16. If you then need to get a taxi to Sydney Uni (Camperdown) from there, it should cost about AUD$10.