Upcoming Intakes to Study in Australia

 

Australian Universities: Intakes

Australian universities and their programs primarily have two intakes:

  • February intake/semester
  • July intake/semester

 

INTAKE STARTS FROM DURATION NATURE PROS AND CONS
February/Semester 1
  • February/March
 February/Early March–Late May/Early June Primary/Main intake Most popular intake for international students because

  • Universities/colleges offer their flagship and major courses
  • A wide variety of courses are offered
  • Classes are larger in enrolment
  • Greater opportunities for funding such as scholarships, research assistantship, and on-campus jobs
  • The largest number of internship opportunities
  • Greater number of applicants
  • Most intense competition
July/Semester 2 July Late July/Early August–November Secondary intake
  • Aligns with the Indian academic calendar
  • Does not offer as many courses
November/Semester 3 November Minor/Least preferred intake
  • Least options of courses
January and May For vocational courses

Also, some Australian universities accept applications throughout the year. However, such choices are limited. Universities Australia provides a comprehensive checklist of the academic dates of major Australian universities and institutions.

 

Which Intake for Me?

Your decision will depend on your chosen university and preferred course, your past scholastic performance, your test scores, the acceptance rate of your university of choice, opening of application, class commencement, and your availability for the course. Consider the following.

 

COURSE CONSIDERATION
UNDERGRADUATE
  • Typically starts in February/March
  • Can vary according to institution and course
POSTGRADUATE
  • Typically February/March
  • Can vary according to institution and course
  • Most of the top universities offer their master’s courses in their February intake
PhD in Australia
  • 43 publicly-funded Australian universities offer PhD programs in different areas of studies. These include
  • The elite Group of 8 (Go8) universities
  • Innovative Research Universities
  • Regional Universities Network
  • Australian Technology Network
  • Australia’s Technical and Further Education (TAFE) institutions that provide practical and professional training do not award a PhD
  • Doctoral candidates need not attend classes
  • There are no formal semesters for intake; therefore, no strict deadline for application
  • If you are applying for scholarship/funding, the funding agency might prefer that you start at the beginning of an academic year
  • You can start a PhD at any point in the academic year
  • You discuss with your PhD supervisor about when to start your doctoral program
  • Ideally, you should apply to your university at least six months before starting your PhD
  • As an international student, you will have to pay fees to pursue doctoral studies
  • Funding and scholarship are available from different sources, including Australian government sources.
MBA in Australia
  • Most top B-Schools including Australia’s Go8 universities offer their flagship MBA programs in the February intake

 

Deadlines

Here is a general guideline for the deadlines for the two major intakes that Australian universities follow.

  • February intake
  • Between October and November of the previous year
  • July intake
  • Between April and May of the same year

The deadline for the minor November intake

  • September

Most master’s courses in Australian universities have 3 rounds of deadlines, viz., Round 1, Round 2, and Round 3. For Master’s, there are generally two types of deadlines

  • Course Application deadline
  • Scholarship Application deadline

Scholarship deadline can be as early as 6 months from the commencement of the course.

Most B-Schools in Australia including Go8 universities such as the Australian National University, the University of Sydney, University of New South Wales have several rounds of deadlines: Early Decision, Round 1, Round 2, Round 3, Round 4, and sometimes Round 5 and Round 6.

  • Early Decision: Early August
  • Round 1: Early August
  • Round 2: Early October
  • Round 3: Early November
  • Round 4: Early February
  • Round 5: Early April
  • Round 6: Mid-June

However, as it is expected, these deadlines vary from university to university. Always check for specific intakes and deadlines for your university. As an international applicant, you should apply no later than Round 4 for your intake, to give enough time to sort out the visa process.

Here is a sneak peek at the indicative deadlines for international applicants at some of the top-ranked universities in Australia, including the Group of 8 (Go8)*. However, given the current unusual situation because of the CoViD-19 pandemic, you should regularly update yourself about intakes and deadlines in real-time for universities of your choices.

 

INTAKES
UNIVERSITY
February/March Intake/Semester 1 July/Semester 2 November/Semester 3
UG PG MBA UG PG MBA UG PG MBA
Australian National University* 15 December 15 December X 31 May 31 May July/October X X X
University of Melbourne* 31 August X X 31 August August X X X
University of Sydney* 30 January 31 October X 30 June 01 March August X X X
University of New South Wales, Sydney* X X January 31 March 31 March X 31 July 31 July X
University of Queensland* 31 October 31 October 31 March 31 March X X
University of Adelaide* 01 December 01 December 01 May 01 May X X
Monash University* Rolling November X X X X
University of Western Australia* 01 December 01 December 01 July 01 July X X
RMIT, Melbourne October October April April X X
University of Technology, Sydney 30 December 15 January 30 April 30 June X X
Queensland University of Technology 28 January 28 January 24 June 24 June X X
University of Southern Queensland 06 March 06 March 17 July 17 July 29 November 29 November
Bond University Rolling Rolling Rolling Rolling Rolling Rolling

*-Please cross check via the actual university website

Still, feeling a little confused? You can always reach out to us at Manya Education. We provide study-abroad counselling and would be happy to help you to stay on a steady course in your journey of studying abroad.

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