Student report: University of Newcastle, Australia, Fall 2015 Master
Student Report
Name of the University: University of Newcastle (UoN)
Exchange semester: Fall 2015
I. PRACTICAL INFORMATION
Before leaving Norway
We got our first inquiry from University of Newcastle in Mars, with an application form we
had to fill out, attached. We answered quickly and got the official “offer letter” also in Mars.
The process went really smoothly and there were not really any problems at this time. We
recommend enrolling in subjects as soon as possible, as the classes are really small compared
to Norway and there might not be enough space for each subject.
Applying for a visa
We applied for our visa through the Australian Government’s webpage:
http://www.immi.gov.au/Services/Pages/student-visa-online-applications.aspx
This process also went really smoothly, and you will receive a Visa Grant Number which you
should bring with you to Australia. However, we did not use any of the information received
as they have everything saved in their data-system (at the airport etc.)
The cost of the visa was about NOK 3,200.
Travel
We travelled to Australia with Singapore Airlines and Thai Airlines. We booked our trip
through Ticket.no quite early (April), and got a ticket for about NOK 11,000 return (tur/retur).
I had a stopover in Copenhagen and Singapore, before my final destination Sydney. From
Sydney I travelled by train to Newcastle which takes about 3 hours. The total time of the
travel was 30 hours.
Housing
There is possible to live on campus, however, we recommend searching for apartments
outside campus. Especially if you are a master student, you will be studying at the City Hub
and therefore the best option would be to live in the city. We lived in Darby Street, a very
central street with heaps of restaurants, cafes and nightlife. But be careful not to be “egged” as
throwing eggs at people during nights is apparently a common thing to do in this street.
We found our place through Bar Beach Student Accommodation
(barbeachstudentaccomodation.com.au) which we were really satisfied with. It is also quite
common to start living in the YHA hostel and search for accommodations when you are here.
However, if you are a master student, you are likely to start a bit later than the bachelor
students, hence, it can be a bit more difficult to find a place to stay. In general, we recommend
following areas: Bar Beach, Cooks Hill, Merewether, The Hills and Newcastle East.
Student report: University of Newcastle, Australia, Fall 2015 Master
Costs
The prices in Australia are approximately at the same level as in Norway, although it depends
a lot of the currency. The currency was quite high at the moment we were there, which made
it more expensive to live there. However, both public transport and going out for dinner are
cheaper in Newcastle than in Norway.
Culture and Language
The Australian culture is quite similar to the Norwegian, so we did not have any problems
regarding culture or language. The university however is very international and you will find
that there actually are more international students at the university than Australian students,
which I think is a great opportunity to meet people from different places around the world.
Australia is a very large country in terms of size so if you want to travel a lot, you need to
expect long distances and expensive flight tickets. We tried to travel as much as possible;
however the time was very limited with busy weeks and weekends. Recommended places to
go if you want to travel are: Great Barrier Reef/Cairns, Whitsundays, Ayers Rock/Uluru,
Brisbane, Fraser Island, Tasmania and Melbourne. Closer places (but very nice) are: Sydney,
Port Stephens/Nelson Bay, Seal Rocks, Forster, Port Macquarie, Lake Macquarie and Blue
Mountains (Sydney).
II. ABOUT THE SCHOOL
Univesity of Newcastle has several campuses; the main one is in Callaghan, approximately 40
minutes from the city. If you are a master student in business, you will attend the city campus
in the center of the city. There is a student hub open 24/7 as well as a library, so you do not
need to go all the way to Callaghan to study.
Course Registration
As mentioned above, we recommend enrolling for courses as early as possible as the places
may be limited. However, if you have not enrolled for courses before leaving, there is still
possible to enroll for courses during the first weeks of the semester. Please note that if you are
doing your master’s in Leadership and Organizational Psychology, there are quite strict rules
concerning which courses BI approves, hence, it is very important to enroll early.
Academic calendar
The academic calendar at UoN is divided into 12 weeks, where the first week with lectures is
week 1, and the last exam week is week 12. Midterm exams are normally held in week 7.
Arrival date:
First day of the semester:
Last day of classes:
Examination period:
Any special events/holidays:
Other:
August 21th 2015
September 7th 2015
November 27th 2015
From December 3rd to
December the 11th.
No holiday
Mid-terms week 7
Student report: University of Newcastle, Australia, Fall 2015 Master
The International Office
We found the International Office useful when applying for universities, and also for the
period afterwards.
Social activities
As mentioned, UoN is an international university with students from all over the world. You
will therefore meet people from several different countries, mostly from Asian countries, but
also a lot from Europe (Germany, England, Norway, Sweden, Denmark). The relationship
between the native students and the international student are very good.
The university has several student organizations that arrange social events for students, such
as parties (Halloween parties, etc.), wine-tasting, bush-walking, scuba-diving and more. There
is also possible to join different organizations/clubs, although these are primarily located on
Callaghan campus.
III. ACADEMICS
In the classroom
The teaching style is very varied with both lectures and tutorials, and a lot of presentations
and group projects; however it depends on the subject. The classes are small compared to
Norway, with 20-60 students per class.
Since UoN offer three semesters per year rather than two, the workload is obviously greater.,
in terms of presentations and assignments required handed in. On the other hand, the final
exam will only count for 30-50% of your grade, compared to 100 % in Norway. In most
subjects, however it is required to pass at least 50% of the final exam to pass the subject.
Course materials
There are ‘required’ books for most of the subjects, but it is definitely possible to complete
the subjects without the books as power point slides and additional materials are usually
provided. All books related to the subjects are available in the library for at least 2-hour loans
but most of them also for 1 week or 1 month loan. In the library you will also find articles and
access to databases.
Exams
The exams were primarily based on lectures and tutorials, but it was also required to read
course materials. The exam duration was 2-3 hours.
Library and technology
The university has one main library at the Callaghan campus but also a library at the City
Campus. Here you can find all the mandatory books, computers, group-rooms and silent
study-places. The library (City Campus) is open Mon-Fri 8.30am – 8.30pm (7pm Fridays) and
Student report: University of Newcastle, Australia, Fall 2015 Master
1pm-5pm Saturday and Sunday. Alternative study areas are located downstairs and open 24
hours, however, often limited space.
Description of courses
Course code &
name
Master/
Bachelor
Master
Exam form
Prerequisites
Approved as
Comments
2 individual
assignments
(60%) and final
exam (40%)
None.
Elective
GSBS 6012
Entrepreneurship and
Innovation
Master
None.
Elective
GSBS 6140
Investment
Analysis
Master
Group project
(20%),
individual
assignment
(30%), final
exam (50%).
Group
assignment
(20%), mid-term
(30%) final
exam (50%)
10 units (7,5
ECTS). Business
analysis, both
qualitative and
quantitative. Some
statistical analysis.
10 units (7,5
ECTS). Interesting
course with many
real-world cases.
Corporate
Finance
Elective
International
Financial
Management
Master
Group
assignment
(30%) mid-term
(20%) final
exam (50%)
Corporate
Finance
Elective
GSBS6040
Human
Resource
Management
Master
Individual
assignment
(20%),
individual
assignment
(40%), final
exam (40%).
None
Elective
GSBS6192
Strategic
HRM
Master
Individual
assignment (20
%), group
assignment +
None
Elective
GSBS 6002
Foundations of
Business
Analysis
10 units (7,5
ECTS). Includes
knowledge of
various securities,
both also
calculations such as
risk and return,
CAPM etc. Require
both calculations
and understanding.
10 units (7,5
ECTS). Less
theoretical than
investments as realworld cases are
presented and
discussed in class.
Includes
calculations regards
exchange-market
and understanding
of the international
financial market.
10 Units (7,5
ECTS).
Introduction to
HRM. A practical
view and a lot of
real world
examples and
cases.
10 Units (7,5
ECTS). Strategic
HRM is the
capstone course in
Student report: University of Newcastle, Australia, Fall 2015 Master
presentation (30
%), individual
assignment
(50%).
GSBS6190
HR and
organizational
development
Master
GSBS6001
Master
Managing under
Uncertainty
Individual
assignment (5 %
+ 15 %), Group
report +
presentation (40
%), final exam
(40 %).
None
Elective
Assignment 1
(20 %),
assignment 2
(40%),
assignment 3
(40%).
None
Elective
the Master of HRM
and it is a quite
demanding course.
The course
provides a strategic
framework for
integrating and
applying HRM
concepts.
10 Units (7,5
ECTS). This course
introduces of
learning
interventions for
improving the
performance and
effectiveness of a
system. The
assignments
concern
development and
evaluating of
training programs
which is interesting
and relevant.
10 Units (7,5
ECTS). A very
interesting course
about decision
making, how to
improve the
decision making
process and
common traps. The
lecturer focused on
improving our
essay writing skills.
The courses HRM, HR and organizational development, Managing under uncertainty and
Strategic HRM were all approved for MsC in Leadership and organizational Psychology.
Summary of our exchange experience (comments can be used)
Our experience at the University of Newcastle was very good. The university itself was
satisfactory, but it was mostly the surroundings that made the experience exceptional. Being
located between the university and the beach, and in the middle of a busy street with nice
cafes and busy nightlife, it was possible to combine studying with a real Australian lifestyle
(read: beachlife). The social environment was great, and we made friends for life. Meeting
people from other cultures is interesting and give you experience you will learn from.
Also the language-skills you obtain being a semester abroad could not be compared to what
you learn from just reading English literature at home. This is certainly something that will
come to use in the future. We have also developed ourselves personally during the trimester,
Student report: University of Newcastle, Australia, Fall 2015 Master
meeting people different from ourselves and seeing places we’ve never been before. We
really loved the time spent in Australia, and we are definitely going back some time in the
future.
If you have any questions, don’t hesitate to contact us through the International Office.