Local Section Navigation

• Overview
• About ECU International
• Study in Perth
  • Our courses
  • Full degree
  • Study abroad and exchange
  • Enquire here
  • Studying at ECU
  • Find a representative
  • Visa information
  • Moving to Perth
  • Government rules and regulations
• Study overseas
• Representatives & Partners
• Students speak for themselves

Starting university will be one of the most exciting adventures of your life! It marks the beginning of pursuing your dreams, determining what your future career will be, meeting new people, and entering a new and fascinating phase of your life.

New people

It is only natural to feel nervous in a new environment. The thought of meeting new people can be quite daunting. However, one of the great things about studying at Edith Cowan University (ECU) is that, in addition to studying with people who have similar interests and ambitions, you will also be interacting with people from different countries and cultures.

We have over 22,000 students studying with ECU. Almost 20% of our students are international students who come from over 90 countries around the world; making ECU a truly culturally diverse university.

You can kick start the socialisation process by attending orientation – this is a great time for you to meet people studying the same course.

We also have various clubs, societies and support groups where you can meet people who share common interests.

How do I learn?

You will probably have one lecture per week per subject, with the duration ranging from 1-3 hours. Depending on the popularity of the subject, class sizes can have anything from 30-350 students.

Each subject usually also has a tutorial that will last 1-2 hours with classes of 15-30 students. Tutorials offer you an excellent opportunity to further investigate and analyse key areas highlighted at the lecture.

Less contact time

As a full-time student, you may spend as little as 12 hours per week in formal lectures and tutorials, depending on the number of lectures and tutorials per week that you undertake.

As a general rule of thumb, you should set aside roughly 40 hours per week for university work. This will include contact time as well as assignment preparation and study time. This time allocation will increase substantially during exam periods. Bear in mind that for every hour of teaching time, you should aim to spend at least 2-3 hours to independently conduct reading, researching, preparing for exams, and working on assignments.

You may find your timetable is quite varied incorporating lectures, tutorials, laboratory sessions, and seminars. Depending on university timetabling, you may be able to fit this into several days or it may spread over the duration of the week.

What help can I expect?

Universities, by their very nature, are large places; thus, it can be difficult for staff to identify if someone needs help.

We provide extensive support to our students and we encourage you to seek help when you need it. Our lecturers and tutors are more than happy to help you with any course or unit queries. We also have Learning Advisers who can assist you with your studies.

In addition to learning support, we also offer an enormous range of support in other areas, such as counselling for academic or personal issues, financial assistance, career development and employment advice as well as medical advice.