Source
r/usyd•
mat77

Future international student (hopefully) looking for firsthand experience at USYD

After graduating from uni in France a few years back (linguistics) I re-enrolled this year in Japan (media and communication) and I have been seriously thinking over the past few months about joining USYD for my postgraduate degree in 2013, after a friend's recommendation (though he never studied there himself). I'll only graduate from uni here in Japan in March 2013 and I know I still have time to change my mind at least a dozen times but I thought I could use the interwebs to ask you guys about your experience at USYD. I am particularly interested in the master of development studies, so firsthand experience from a current student/graduate would be absolutely awesome but I'll take any advice or story I can get. I know my request is vague and probably hard to answer in just a few lines, but I have never set foot on the Australian continent and my knowledge of the country, its customs and all is pretty close to zero. So basically I'll take any valuable advice. Thanks a lot in advance!

Posted Oct 3, 2011, 3:17 AM UTC

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misswestwood•

I'm in my final year of undergrad studying languages. Can't really help you with specific Masters questions, but if you'd like to know any general things about the uni or Sydney itself - ask away!

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voidtypeB.Sci '11•

I can provide answers on the uni, not on the particular course though :(

I do have a friend majoring in linguistics for her undergrad, who I could refer you to if needed?

ALSO: Are you French/Japanese/Other?

2
mat77OP•

I'm sorry for replying so late, I had a pretty crazy week here.

First of all I'm French! I should have mentioned it in my post, sorry about that. Bonjour, then ^^ And thanks for your replies.

I don't even know where to start. As far as my uni experience goes, I've attended "lectures" in France that looked exactly like high school classes (ie. we basically spent two hours correcting homework, and we basically had no assignment other than fill-in-the-blanks-like exercises) and "seminars" here in Japan where we're supposed to debate about current issues and exchange ideas, which never happens because it seems like I'm the only one who is actually keen on participating (the legendary Japanese shyness isn't a myth... or maybe they just don't care, who knows). So, my first question will be what does a typical class at USYD look like? Do you get tons of homework that you spend your time correcting in class or is discussion a key element? I do hope the latter is closer to the truth ^^

Also I've heard housing was pretty expensive in Australia, so what does the typical student's home look like? Share house / apartment? Dorm? I can adapt to basically anything as long as if has a roof so I'm not worried, just very curious. I have many more questions but this post is getting long so I guess I'll stop here for now. Thanks again!

1
misswestwood•

It's hard for me to comment on what the classes will be like as my experience is only undergrad..

For my big classes I always had lectures + tutes (usually 1 lecture and 2 tutes per week), where the lectures are 1 or 2 hours of the professor standing at the front and you taking notes, and the tutes involve correcting homework/discussion/talking about lecture content/covering the readings.

A friend of mine is doing a Masters of Publishing at the moment and from what I've gathered from her, her classes seem to be more similar to the Honours seminars that I have at the moment; that is, 2 hour classes where there is lots of discussion, some lecturing depending on the teacher, and then a lot of assignments and reading to be done outside of class time. In the lower years tutes are often difficult because as you say, nobody wants to participate, but by 3rd or 4th year, and I'm assuming in Masters, most people are genuinely interested in the field they are pursuing so there seems to be a lot more active discussion which is always good :)

I'm from Sydney as are most of my friends, and the sad truth is - we all still live at home, bar one or two of us. So I'll leave someone else to fill you in about housing issues because I don't really have much info!

But yep, housing is pretty expensive. Will you be here on a student visa? I'm not sure of the rules but I think there is a limit on how much you can work on that visa. Protip: if you can get a job working at the libraries at university, or any other random admin jobs around, they pay pretty well!

Hope that helps! Sorry for such a big block of text.. Hit me up with any more questions if you like!

1
sassy_lion•

I'm also looking to come to USyd from the United States in early 2013, so I have no firsthand experience either.

Just wanted to say hello, hope to see you there!

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UniversityofSydneyUSYD '1857•

Hello potential international students - there's also a place to ask questions specifically about your requirements as an international student here, plus some stuff about accommodation and cost of living there too.

1
USU_Lucy•

Some great Club & Societies on campus good for the cross cultural and other experiences and may be able to help you further with your questions

http://www.usuonline.com/Clubs__Socs/Find_a_Club/T_-_Z/WASABI_-_Japanese_Cultural_Exchange_Society.aspx?t=6

http://www.usuonline.com/Clubs__Socs/Find_a_Club/_-_F/French_Society.aspx?t=6

Linguistics Society http://www.usuonline.com/Find_a_Club/clubpage/?ClubID=94

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