Australia might be far away for many international students, and the expectations of traveling home should probably be minimal. However, Australia’s higher education system is one of the best globally, ranked eighth overall. In addition, Australian cities like Melbourne, Sidney, and others are not only ranked high for student life but are also the best cities in the world in all categories.
Studying in a developed country like Australia does not come cheap, but the benefits outweigh high tuition fees, especially when one considers enrolling in Australia’s more affordable universities. Moreover, since most universities in Australia are funded by the government, studying at a lower cost is quite possible.
Related Scholarships
- University of Western Australia Scholarships
- Australia Awards Scholarships
- Australian National University Scholarships
Cheap Universities in Australia
1. University of Divinity
- Annual Undergraduate Program Tuition Fee: 13,632 AUD
- Annual Graduate Program Tuition Fee: 15,840 AUD
The University of Divinity is a university in theological studies, offering education related to the Christian faith. This university is comprised of eleven colleges and nine different Christian denominations, including Anglican, Catholic, Lutheran, Baptist, and others.
International students interested in receiving bachelor’s degrees in ministry, philosophy, or counseling can apply. However, there is a variety of other divinity-studies-related diplomas and graduate certificates in spirituality, religious methodology, and theological education. Moreover, postgraduate students who wish to obtain degrees in either theology or philosophy, but are on the budget, should certainly consider this university.
2. Federation University Australia
- Annual Undergraduate Program Tuition Fee: 23,300 – 31,100 AUD
- Annual Graduate Program Tuition Fee: 22,700 – 29,200 AUD
The Federation University Australia is the country’s fourth oldest university, established in the nineteenth century. However, it was under the name of Federation University until it merged with Monash University’s Gippsland campus and the University of Ballarat in 2013. FedUni is a public institution located in Ballarat, the third-largest city in Victoria, where it has several campuses and an additional campus in the state of Queensland.
International students have a wide range of study areas to choose their future undergraduate degrees, such as Arts, Humanities and Social Sciences, Engineering, IT, and many more. Even though this affordable university in Australia is not ranked is not in the world’s top university lists, FedUni ranks high in humanities studies, as its teaching quality ranks in Australia’s top 20%.
3. Victoria University
- Annual Undergraduate Program Tuition Fee: 25,000 AUD
- Annual Graduate Program Tuition Fee: 30,000 AUD
Victoria University is a dual-sector, public university based in Melbourne, Victoria. As one of the six dual-sector universities in Australia, it combines both vocational and academic higher education degrees. VU has campuses spread out across Melbourne, with one campus in the center of Sydney. Moreover, it delivers courses through partner institutions across East Asia, especially in China, Malaysia, and Sri Lanka.
The most prominent feature of this affordable university in Australia is its block model of studying, according to which the students focus on completing a four-week block equivalent to one unit. This educational system has proven beneficial for the student passing rates, which are above 90% at VU.
The most affordable degrees at Victoria University are in Arts and Media, while their Business studies are slightly more expensive. With the ranking in the world’s top 400 universities and the certificates of excellence for their research facilities, VU is an outstanding value-for-money higher education institution.
4. Australian Catholic University
- Annual Undergraduate Program Tuition Fee: 24,000 – 30,600 AUD
- Annual Graduate Program Tuition Fee: 27,000 – 31,000 AUD
Australian Catholic University has eight campuses in six different cities and two different states in Australia. Namely, ACU has three campuses in Sydney and campuses in Melbourne, Brisbane, Canberra, Ballarat, and Adelaide. This is a result of the merging of four different Catholic higher education institutions in 1991. In addition, this young university scores 41 on the Young University Rankings list.
This cheap Australian university has four different faculties in Education and Arts, Health Sciences, Law and Business, and Theology and Philosophy. In fact, it is one of the top universities in the world to obtain a nursing degree, while also high in rankings are their educational degrees.
5. University of Southern Cross
- Annual Undergraduate Program Tuition Fee: 24,400 – 29,600 AUD
The University of Southern Cross is an affordable university in Australia located in Lismore and Coffs Harbour campuses in New South Wales and Gold Coast in Queensland. USC is a public university, ranked 100 on the list of the world’s best young universities.
UCS has programs distributed into six schools and nine research facilities such as Law and Justice, Education, Health and Human Sciences, Arts and Social Sciences, and Business and Tourism. Moreover, USC has its college named USC College as well as Gnibi College of Indigenous Australian Peoples. Its research centers are renowned for natural sciences, social justice, and children’s psychology.
6. Charles Darwin University
- Annual Undergraduate Program Tuition Fee: 25,584 – 35,280 AUD
- Annual Graduate Program Tuition Fee: 28,104 – 34,680 AUD
Charles Darwin University is located in Darwin, the largest city in the the Northern Territory. Positioned in the first 700 on the QS rankings list, Charles Darwin University is an attractive and affordable institution for international students. In addition, as this is a public university, citizens of New Zealand and holders of Australian residence visas can receive government subsidies for their studies.
CDU is the largest university in Australia’s northern parts, consisting of six different colleges: Business and Law, Education, Health and Human Sciences, Engineering, IT and Environment, Nursing and Midwifery, and Indigenous Futures, Arts and Society.
International students going after the degrees in Creative Arts and Education will find that CDU’s UG degrees are reputable and more affordable, with an average of around 26,000 AUD annually. More expensive are the degrees in nursing and engineering, for which a student must fork out an extra 10,000 AUD a year. The situation is similar with master’s degrees, with the most expensive master’s degree in pharmacology.
7. Western Sydney University
- Annual Undergraduate Program Tuition Fee: 26,240 – 39,200 AUD
- Annual Graduate Program Tuition Fee: 30,080 – 33,280 AUD
Western Sydney University has its seven campuses distributed in various boroughs of Sydney, Australia. Its ranking is in the top 500 on the QS University Ranking, securing a spot in the top 2% of the world’s universities. WSU has a growing world reputation for high-impact research and academic excellence.
The most notable is the School of Health, with the most expensive bachelor’s degree in Nursing, for which an international student must plan to submit a total of 39,000 AUD yearly only in tuition fees. However, undergraduates pursuing bachelor’s degrees in Arts or Business would be required to pay from 26,000 – 30,000 AUD in tuition fees. Master’s degree students would have to pay 33,280 AUD a year for a degree in Artificial Intelligence, which is quite affordable compared to other bachelor’s degree annual fees.
