A guide to uni life in Melbourne

By Ezmee Wyatt, University of Melbourne, Australia

I have now been home for just over a month, and as I start to prepare for my final year at Manchester, I thought now would be a good time to reflect on my experience of being a student at the University of Melbourne (and share some tips / insight). 

Overall, the structure of a module is similar to Manchester. For the sorts that I took (i.e. geography, politics, environment etc) the format was the same; a two-hour lecture and an hour seminar/tutorial (where attendance and contribution usually goes towards 5-10% of your overall grade). However, there were some differences in regard to the actual work. I found that for each module, more work was required – for example in Manchester I was generally used to having one mid-term assignment and an end of term exam, whereas in Melbourne there were 3/4 assignments throughout the semester. The benefit of this is that there is less pressure on each individual assignment as they have less weight. The flip side, however, is that it does mean more overall work, or at least more varied research as opposed to in-depth research on one thing. Melbourne uni was also keen on presentations – I had to do three across the year (and had only ever done one before in two years at Manchester) so be prepared for that! However, what’s nice about uni in Australia is that the system is a bit more like the US one, where people major and minor. Because of this, there are people from all sorts of course backgrounds in each subject, so if you ever feel out of your depth, the likelihood is that half the room also does! Relatedly, don’t be daunted by the higher grade boundaries (80% is required for a first) as, from my experience, the lecturers tend to mark more generously and so if you were achieving a first in Manchester (for example) the likelihood is you will also get a first in Melbourne. 

The actual uni campus is also really nice, there are loads of cute cafes tucked away, as well as different food places, and lots of green spaces to enjoy when the weather is nice. There are also lots of places to study – my favourites were the Baillieu Library, the business and economics building and Melbourne Connect on Swanston Street. I also really recommend the State Library Victoria which is in the CBD and a really beautiful place to work!

The university is also situated in a great area (Parkville); the CBD is about a 15-minute walk away and the suburb of Carlton is next door – this is a lovely area known for its Italian food, definitely worth checking out! There is also a Yo-Chi there (this is an amazing frozen yogurt place that is basically always open!). If you live slightly further from the uni, there are also loads of trams, so it is easy to get to; I lived in Brunswick (which I highly recommend) and caught the 19 tram. Note – international students can get 50% off on the tram which is definitely worth doing as a normal fare is $5 – this isn’t really advertised so make sure you look for the form on ‘myunimelb’. 

Overall, I really enjoyed studying at the University of Melbourne; the format and style of the uni was not too dissimilar to Manchester, but different enough that it provided a fresh challenge and new way of thinking.