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International Students

Start your ECU studies in 2021 with an exciting range of online units across seven of our teaching schools.

Semester 1, 2021

Why ECU?

  • QILT logo

    ECU top in teaching quality

    For the fifth year in a row, ECU has received the top undergraduate teaching quality ranking of all 37 public universities in Australia.

    ECU was also the top-ranked public university in Australia for undergraduate skills development for the sixth year in a row.

    View QILT results.

  • The Good Universities Guide 2021

    Good Universities Guide

    In the 2021 Good Universities Guide, ECU graduates have given us a 5-star rating for teaching quality, skills development, student support, learning resources, learner engagement and overall student experience.

    The 5-star rating for undergraduate teaching quality has now been achieved for 14 straight years.

    Read more about the Good Universities Guide.

  • THE Impact Rankings 2020

    THE Impact Rankings

    ECU has been ranked number 9 in the world for Quality Education and is in the top 100 overall in the 2020 Times Higher Education (THE) Impact rankings, showing how the global higher education sector is working towards the United Nations' Sustainable Development Goals.

    Read more about the THE Impact Rankings

  • THE World University Rankings 2020 Top 100 Young

    THE Young University Rankings

    ECU has been ranked in the world's top 100 universities under 50 years old in the 2020 Times Higher Education (THE) Young Universities Rankings, THE World University Rankings.

Why Perth?

There are many reasons why international students choose Perth as the place to seek higher education in Australia. The lifestyle is definitely one of them!


Multicultural City

32% of citizens were born overseas, the most in Australia*.

Safe & Welcoming

One of the world's top cities for liveability^

Hello Sunshine!

The worlds sunniest capital city**.

Food Heaven

Most restaurants per head of population in the world*.


* Source: Office of Multicultural Interests, Western Australia
^ Source: The Economist's annual liveability survey.
** Source: Flight Centre

This information is available in Simplified Chinese.

Scholarships for International Students

Our World Ready scholarships can reduce your tuition fees by up to 20%, saving you thousands of AUD. They're available to international students studying on-campus or studying online in Semester 1, 2021.

View Scholarships

2021 Semester 1

Start your studies in your home country to get a headstart on your ECU degree. Choose from a range of our most popular courses in an online study period commencing in February 2021.

Whilst some courses can be studied entirely online, most courses will require you to come on-campus in Perth to finish your degree when borders re-open. You must also meet visa requirements to travel to Perth.

Select a course and view available online units from one of our study areas below.

Student visas and post-study work eligibility

Stay longer on your student visa

From November 2019, international students may be eligible to stay in Western Australia for three years after completing their undergraduate or postgraduate study.

A post-study work visa may give you the opportunity to gain more work experience and you could be eligible for skills assessments required for a skilled visa application.

There may also be an opportunity for you to apply for a limited number of scholarships, providing up to $15,000 per year to support study and living expenses. For ECU, the scholarship would require you to study at our South West Campus in Bunbury.

More about post-study work visas


Note These announcements are a positive development for international students interested in studying in Perth, but are subject to change as they are formally implemented by the relevant state and federal government departments.

Online study and post-study work eligibility

As a result of COVID-19, the Australian Department of Home Affairs has made changes to the Temporary Graduate Visa (subclass 485).

For online study undertaken outside Australia due to COVID-19 travel restrictions will count towards the Australian Study Requirement for existing and new student visa holders.

Graduates affected by COVID-19 travel restrictions can apply for and be granted a Temporary Graduate visa outside Australia where they have met all the requirements.

Student visa and online study

Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)

  • If you are based outside of Australia or living in another Australian state you can commence your studies online. If you are already in Western Australia we expect you to study on-campus.

  • You can now complete your English proficiency testing from home, using the TOEFL Special Home Edition. The scores are identical to the TOEFL iBT, and your results will be available in 6-10 days. Visit TOEFL Special Home Edition to register for the test.

    Also, if you are looking to package your ECU studies with an English course, our English pathway providers accept a range of other tests.

  • Our Admissions team may assess your latest results to issue a conditional offer for your selected course at ECU. You can submit final documents at a later date, but you do need to meet all conditions of your conditional offer, e.g. academic, English, GTE, before we can make you an unconditional offer that allows you to proceed to the next steps.

  • If you are eligible, ECU will issue you with an offer to commence on-campus study in semester 1, 2021. If travel restrictions remain in place and you cannot commence on-campus study at this time, we can defer your on-campus commencement to a later date.

    Note Before deferring, please speak to us or your education agent as there might be suitable alternatives.

  • Please visit our Important Dates page.

  • Yes, our Orientation is also done virtually, and we'll be sharing more details with you closer to the date.

  • To receive your Confirmation of Enrolment from ECU, you must:

    • receive an unconditional offer from ECU
    • accept your course offer as outlined in our email to you
    • pay the fees specified in your offer letter, as well as your Overseas Student Health Cover
    • you can avoid delays and make your payment online

  • If you are going to apply for a student visa to include the online component of your studies, you will need OSHC as part of your student visa requirement. Read more about Overseas Student Health Cover.

  • You need to pay your tuition fees in full – as detailed on your offer letter – in order to receive a Confirmation of Enrolment. If you pay for a full study load but enrol only into select units, the remaining fees will be carried over to a subsequent study period as a credit.

  • Refunds will be considered in accordance with ECU’s International Student Tuition Fee Refund Policy.

  • If borders open in the middle of a study period, we recommend you complete online studies from overseas, then transfer to on-campus for the following study period.

Need some help deciding what to study?

Our future student events include a mix of on-campus and online sessions designed to help you decide what to study at ECU.

Download a guide

Download our comprehensive guide to everything ECU, or simply tailor a guide to suit your interests.

Create your own guide International student guide

World Ready Experience

We equip you with the confidence and practical skills to deal with whatever challenges may come your way, no matter where you are in the world.

Stories from our international students

Perth is Australia’s most multicultural city, with around 35% of its citizens being born in another country.

  • ECU experience has been amazing

    Arshil Jah experience studying his Masters of Civil Engineering.

  • Why Malaysian Students Chose To Study At ECU

    ECU students from Malaysia share their experiences of studying at ECU.

  • Why Filipino Students Chose To Study At ECU

    ECU students from the Philippines share their experiences of studying at ECU.

Student stories

  • Mayank Mehra

    Mayank Mehra

    Master of Cyber Security postgraduate and currently employed at the Department of the Premier and Cabinet of WA

    "I chose ECU because of the excellent reputation it enjoyed in the field of Cyber Security"

    I've always had a keen interest in the field of computer sciences and I found cyber security to be a highly dynamic and challenging discipline. Having decided to study Cyber Security, I chose ECU because of the excellent reputation it enjoyed in this field. My study experience here has been great and has presented me with a number of opportunities to build my career. The annual ECU Science Careers Fair was a great opportunity to meet and network with representatives from leading organisations such as Deloitte, KPMG and PWC and government agencies. I have found the lecturers at ECU to be very helpful and supportive and they helped us gain the skills required to make a successful transition from study to the workplace.

  • Maharshi Maharjan

    Maharshi Maharjan

    Master of Project Mangement graduate

    "I chose ECU because I liked the units offered and the structure of the course, and the location was amazing, especially coming from a landlocked country!"

    Studying at ECU was full of learning experiences. Adapting to the learning and teaching systems of a different country was a challenge, but the lecturers, tutors and many different academic support networks were extremely helpful and assisted me in achieving academic success.

    The course has helped me greatly with developing time management skills. Coping with living in a new environment and having to work under stress were big challenges at the start of my degree, but dealing with this pressure is now my greatest strength.

    Whilst studying at ECU I had the opportunity to complete an internship at Landgate. This opportunities helped link theory to practice in the contemporary project environment. The skills I have learnt, and the network I have been able to build though out this experience will undoubtedly help me to excel in my professional career.

  • Joshila Devile

    Joshila Devile

    ECU Exercise Medicine (Oncology) student

    "I was excited to study under the world-renowned professors in ECU's Exercise Medicine Research Institute"

    The course content is up-to-date, and the format of the online study is well-organised. The online discussion boards provide valuable support and information.