International students
Welcome to JCU's largest and most diverse faculty. The Faculty of Arts, Education and Social Sciences welcomes students from throughout the world for study abroad and full degree programs.
Check out the great subjects and degrees we have on offer and take the opportunity to meet some of our recent students.
For more information on the study abroad or full degree programs at JCU contact the International Student Centre, or Stephanie.Hunter@jcu.edu.au.
If you have studied at JCU as a study abroad student please email your comments to Stephanie Hunter. We would love to get your feedback.
Study Abroad
You can choose any subjects from across the university while on a study abroad semester as long as you meet the pre-requisites and have approval from your home university. Listed below are some of the subjects from this faculty that have been popular with study abroad students. More extensive subjects listings are available at each of the School's websites (listed below).
Subjects for Study Abroad
** This subject is equivalent consists of teaching in Australian Schools. It is equivalent to three standard subjects which is 75% of a full-time load for one semester. It is open only to students who have completed two years of full time study toward an education degree in their home country.
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Field Trip Information
AN2107/3107 Australia Through Time & Place
Cairns & Townsville campus, Study Period 2 (Semester 2)
This subject considers the development, practice and findings of anthropological and archaeological research on Australia. Following a critical overview of the evidence of human colonisation and settlement of Australia and its cultural and linguistic diversity, the subject provides an integrated exploration of a number of key areas of research in the two disciplines under the headings: ritual; cosmology beliefs in time and space; colonial encounters; authentic pasts/authentic presents; leadership and power; kinship and country.
AR2201:06 Principles of Archaeological Investigation
Townsville campus, Study Period 1 (Semester 1)
This six unit subject (equivalent to two standard subjects) is offered as an intensive field school held over eight days during the April mid semester break on the Townsville campus. Using JCUs on-site archaeological field training laboratory, you will gain skills in surveying, site recording and excavation techniques, and approaches to data collection, processing and interpretation.
These basic field skills are required for planning and executing field-work projects, essential for archaeologists working in any part of the world.
The field school will be taught by Dr David Roe, who has extensive experience in leading archaeological excavations in Britain , the Solomon Islands , Vanuatu and Pitcairn Islands . He has also conducted field work in Portugal , Tasmania and Siberia .
HI3281:06 Introduction to Historical Cultural Heritage
Cairns Campus, Study Period 7
This six unit subject (equivalent to two standard subjects) looks at the history, theory and principles of European cultural heritage management in Australia ; heritage practice; the role of government and other organisations in heritage preservation.
Included in the subject is a two-day field trip to Mungana, a mining town that sprang to life in the mining boom between 1870 and 1920 but is now abandoned. Mungana is located near Chillagoe, three hours drive north-west of Cairns , in a stunning outback landscape featuring mining heritage, aboriginal art sites and fantastic limestone bluffs and caves.
This field trip will give you the opportunity to develop site recording techniques including basic surveying, working a dumpy level to find site profiles, photographic recording and drawing plans and elevations of historical remains, through work on a real heritage site in the town. In previous years students have worked on the remains of the former school, butcher's shop, hotel and houses.
You will also have the opportunity to investigate other places of historical significance including the Chillagoe smelters, old Mungana Cemetery and rock art sites near the town.
Note: Students currently pay around $20 for o/night accommodation which is organized by the lecturer. Transport to and from Chilagoe is paid for by the School of Humanities .
IA1007:03, IA2007:03, IA3007:03 Linking Indigenousness
Cairns & Townsville Campus, Study Periods 1 & 2 (Semesters 1 & 2)
Linking Indigenousness is designed to give you the opportunity for direct interaction with Indigenous Australians in contemporary settings. You will have the option to participate in a four-day field trip to Greenvale (3 hrs North West of Townsville) or to complete the program through a 3-day block at either the Townsville or Cairns campus.
The Greenvale Field Trip is held in the lecture recess week in both Semester 1 and 2. You will be transported to and from Greenvale via 4WD vehicles and stay in the community for four nights. You are taught by members of the Gugu Badhun people, and from this will develop a deeper understanding of contemporary Indigenous Australian people and the issues that have affected them in the past and at the current time. Through staying in the community for an extended period, you will be immersed in the lifestyle of a very rural town and have the opportunity to swim in local lagoons, fish and see native wildlife up-close.
If you elect to do the on-campus blocks take a one-day field trip to a place of Aboriginal significance or an Aboriginal community,
Note: Students participating in the Greenvale field trip currently pay $500 for expenses.
AR2402:03 Maritime Archaeology Field School
(offered in even numbered years in Semester 1, field school block held in September lecture recess. Field school is held in Townsville but students from either campus can enroll. Numbers are limited).
Dive Shipwrecks on the Great Barrier Reef
Discover a piece of Australia ’s maritime history in one of the world’s most spectacular locations – the Great Barrier Reef .
The Maritime Archaeology Field School is an accredited archaeology subject offered by the School of Anthropology , Archaeology and Sociology at JCU. It provides an introduction to the techniques of underwater survey, position fixing, mapping, photography (including video), detailed recording and conservation.
This intensive course is delivered through fieldwork on Magnetic Island and culminates with a diving opportunity on the famous Yongala shipwreck, located on the Great Barrier Reef off Townsville.
To enroll you will need to hold appropriate diving certification and satisfy the competency requirements of the University Diving Officer. Dive courses are available through private operators in Townsville and Cairns .
AR2405:03 Rock Art Field School
Cairns Campus, Study Period 8
(offered odd numbered years). Students at either the Townsville or Cairns campus can enrol but numbers are limited.
Learn about rock art in the Australian outback.
The Rock Art Field School is an accredited archaeology subject. The five-day intensive program is delivered in association with the Indigenous custodians of rock art sites located in North Queensland .
Through this subject you will gain hands-on field experience in the recording and interpretation of rock art. You will also gain an understanding of the significance of rock art to Australian archaeology and Indigenous people.
This is a fantastic opportunity to visit areas of North Queensland and learn about the past and present lives of Indigenous Australians through the rich cultural heritage of their rock art.
FR2622:03 Immersion French 1
FR3622:03 Immersion French 2
Townsville & Cairns campus, Study Period 11
One of the best ways to become fluent in a language is to become immersed in it, and what better way than on a Pacific Island. Immersion French is designed for second and third year Bachelor of Arts students, but is also open to overseas students who have studied at least two years of French at university and who wish to expand their knowledge of the French language and culture. JCU has joined forces with Flinders University in South Australia for this fieldtrip.
New Caledonia is a semi-autonomous French territory located in the Pacific Ocean approximately two hours flight north-west of Brisbane . You will spend around two weeks in Noumea , the territory’s capital, staying with a francophone (French speaking) family and taking 30 hours of language instruction at a tertiary institution. This is followed by a four-day stay with a (French speaking) Kanak tribe on the East Coast of the Island , experiencing their Melanesian culture.
You will be accompanied to New Caledonia by a French lecturer from either JCU or Flinders University .
Assessment for the subject is an interview and a 2000-3000 word assignment on a topic relating to your experiences in New Caledonia .
Participation in this field trip is at the student’s own expense.