(En)roll with the Punches: A Guide to Australian Academia
I’m a worrier. If you haven’t noticed based on my previous posts, “stress” is practically my middle name. In the weeks before leaving for the University of Melbourne I freaked out—as I usually do—about almost everything. Funnily enough, though, the one thing that didn’t worry me was the actual “study” part of studying abroad. All my life I’ve been the kid who enjoys writing lots of essays and memorizing information. I take pride in getting good grades.
And then I arrived at UniMelb. Everything I’d previously known about academia was promptly thrown out the window. With its complicated registration system and unique methods of assessing students, UniMelb felt like—and still sometimes feels like—a whole new world. These differences can be tough to adjust to, at first. But then again, studying abroad is all about embracing changes!
Enrollment, Registration and Timetables, Oh My!
Before we begin, I should add that the terminology used by Aussie universities is close to what is used at home, but diverges just enough to be confusing. Here’s a key of fairly equivalent terms:
- Australian “subject”: American “course”
- Australian “course”: American “major”
- Australian “breadth subject”: American “elective”
- Australian “timetable”: American “schedule”
Why Do I Have a Tutor? I’m Good at This Subject!
Tutes are more akin to classes back home, in that they’re smaller groups of students doing hands-on work led by a tutor.The concept of breaking a subject into lectures and tutorials was totally foreign to me at first. At home, we just have classes. Sometimes the professor talks for the entire class, or part of the time, or, on occasion, not at all. Likewise, students might work together during the class period, or they might not. You never quite know what you’re going to get—which is why attendance in these classes is so important. Most subjects at UniMelb are broken into lectures and tutorials, colloquially referred to as “tutes.” Lectures are exactly what they sound like: a lecturer speaks for the entire period. Typically lectures are held in large theaters filled with students. Attendance is optional. If you miss one (or a bunch), no worries—they’re recorded and posted online. Tutes are more akin to classes back home, in that they’re smaller groups of students doing hands-on work led by a tutor. Unlike lectures, attendance to tutes is marked and you need to attend a required number of them in order to receive credit. Wait a second, you might think. What if I don’t need to be tutored in a certain subject? “Tutor” has a different connotation here than it does in the States. Whereas a tutor in America gives you extra help in addition to your classes, a tutor in Australia is like a professor who guides you through the lecture material. They also usually mark your papers and exams.