UOW Malaysia bachelor’s degree students have the option of spending a semester at UOW in Australia – without paying any extra tuition fees.
SPENDING a semester abroad when pursuing your bachelor’s degree changes you.
It gives you the opportunity for learning and insight in a global university, with students from creeds and ethnicities you will likely never meet at home.
So, what if you could spend one semester abroad, while still paying the same tuition fee as you would if you were still in Malaysia?
Well, this is the latest enriching advantage of studying at UOW Malaysia.
UOW Malaysia bachelor’s degree students, pursuing any of some 30 courses at its Selangor and Penang campuses, have the option of spending one semester at the University of Wollongong (UOW) in Australia – without paying any extra tuition fees.
For comparison, an international student studying at UOW pays about RM47,800 per semester in tuition fees, while pursuing a Bachelor of Business Administration.
At UOW Malaysia, a Malaysian student pays about RM11,000 per semester while pursuing a Bachelor of Business (Hons).
The privilege accorded by UOW Malaysia, for example, will allow its Bachelor of Business (Hons) undergraduates to spend a semester at UOW in Wollongong while paying the same RM11,000 tuition fee.
There will be other extra incidentals such as flight tickets, accommodation and living expenses. But, being exempted from the standard semester tuition fees, removes a huge chunk of the education cost.
This privilege, aptly named “Semester Abroad”, is available to UOW Malaysia students in the first year of eligible degree programmes. It is also available to students who have previously joined UOW Malaysia.
“It is not about from whom and where you are learning from. A lot of learning comes from who you are learning with,” says UOW Malaysia head of marketing Mitchell Liong.
“It truly is a borderless world now, so as a university student, you will gain so much from spending even just a few months in a world-class university abroad.”
The Semester Abroad programme is available to UOW Malaysia students in the first year of eligible degree programmes and to students who have previously joined UOW Malaysia.
UOW traces its roots back to 1951 and is located in the city of Wollongong, at the edge of the Pacific Ocean, just 80km south of Sydney.
Wollongong has a population of about 300,000, while UOW’s campus has a standing population of about 33,000 students from 199 countries.
The sheer diversity of UOW’s students turn Wollongong into a university city on a cosmopolitan scale.
“You might experience culture shock at first and realise almost everything you thought you knew is not absolute, when applied to the world at large.
“But after one semester, studying and doing assignments with people of countless differences will change your view of the world,” Liong says.
He shared that this is an exclusive privilege for UOW Malaysia students as UOW is a public university in Australia, with campuses in Malaysia, Dubai and Hong Kong.
“You become part of a global alumni after you study in UOW Malaysia, with almost 200,000 members from 199 countries.”
Available twice a year, for eligible UOW Malaysia students in their first year, the semester abroad at UOW typically includes orientation week. Thereafter, classes and assignments begin for three months. Then come the exams, which can stretch for two weeks.
In short, the Semester Abroad programme is like any other semester that UOW Malaysia students will experience at home.
However, at UOW in Australia they will be living right next to the Pacific Ocean on a campus with a supermarket, hairdressing salon, post office, travel agent, medical centre, dentist, physiotherapist, two banks, seven coffee shops and over 16 food outlets.
Students can also choose to involve themselves in any of the 130 clubs and societies on the campus.
When it’s time to take a break from the books, students can walk on any of the city’s 17 patrolled beaches or hike into the Illawarra region in search of waterfalls and breath-taking panoramas of hills.
They could even grab a bite at the many food markets offering cuisine from different corners of the world.
Through this adventure, UOW Malaysia students will be supported by UOW’s student welfare and care support services.
For a better understanding of this privilege, visit www.uow.edu.my to fix an appointment with UOW Malaysia’s education advisers.
