“Melbourne is a fun city with lots of events happening throughout the year, from the Australian Open to cultural, comedy and arts festivals. The laid-back Aussie lifestyle makes living here an enjoyable experience.” — Michelle (from Singapore), Bachelor of Medicine/Surgery and Medical Science
Preparing for study
Congratulations! Chances are, if you're reading this page, you have accepted your offer to study at the University of Melbourne (if you haven't, go back to "I have an offer, now what?" for information on how to accept or defer your offer).
Now it's time to get ready to move to Melbourne, find a place to live, decide whether you need to work while you study and learn about life in your new city.
Visas
If you haven't already got your visa to study in Australia, now is the time to do that. All citizens of countries other than New Zealand or Australia need a visa to study here. You should have received information about applying for a student visa with your offer of a place from the University.
Organising your arrival
Each semester, International Student Services organises pre-departure briefings in a number of countries. All commencing international students and their families are invited to attend the briefings prior to their arrival in Melbourne. This will help you understand more about what life in Melbourne will be like.
If you can't make it to a pre-departure briefing, don't panic. There is a lot of information right here that can help you find your way.
Accommodation
Finding a place to live can be complicated from a distance. Melbourne offers plenty of housing options. Some students choose to live in campus residences, some choose to stay with an Australian family, while most Australian students choose "share housing" where a number of students live together close to the University.
The Student Housing Service can help you find and maintain affordable, safe and appropriate housing.
Need somewhere to stay until longer term housing is available? You can request temporary accommodation before you arrive in Melbourne. If you provide at least 72 hours notice the University can book you into a budget hotel located close to the University for up to three nights. There's also longer term housing available for all students including Study Abroad and Exchange students.
- Read more about moving to Melbourne
- Apply for temporary accommodation
Enrolment and orientation
The first step in your new academic life is enrolling and attending your International Student Briefing. Then there's orientation, designed to help ease your entry into campus life. To assist you with your move to Australian tertiary study Transition and Orientation has advice and information to help you understand all aspects of university life, including what happens at enrolment and orientation.
- Read more about enrolment
- Read more about orientation
- Getting used to a new country
- Check out the First Year@Unimelb blog to give you the real story of what life as a first year student is like.
Work while you study
Have a look at the cost of living in Melbourne. Have you planned well enough to make it through your whole course? Many students need to work while they study. However, you have to apply for a work permit if you are on a student visa and you can only work 20 hours per week while your course is in session (for research students, that applies for the whole year until you have submitted your thesis).
Fun while you study
Being at university isn't all hard work. Life on campus can be great fun too! For more information on activities and events outside of classes, take a look at the following:
Leadership and Volunteering
Challenge yourself, develop confidence, or enhance your leadership/team and interpersonal skills. Would you like to get involved in the community, connect with others at university or make new friends? How about gaining work experience, going on an adventure or just having fun? If you answer yes, come and visit Leadership, Involvement & Volunteer Experience.
Use the full range of services available
Our Academic Enrichment and Wellbeing Services can offer assistance in many ways:
- Careers & employment
Search for jobs ? Careers & Employment (C&E) has plenty of useful information and resources to help you look for work and assist with your career planning. Look for a part-time or casual job on the Careers Online jobs database. With more than 200 part-time and casual jobs on the system per week and 5,000 lodged over the year, it's the ideal place to start job hunting. - Child care
The University offers Child Care Services for the children of students and staff. The centres cater for children from three months old until primary school age, but you need to apply early as demand is high for the limited number of places available. - Counselling
The Counselling Service provides high quality, professional and confidential counselling, free of charge to all students of the University. The Service also offers a series of free workshops and groups each semester on a wide variety of topics linked to your personal and academic effectiveness. - Disability
Hundreds of students successfully manage their studies whilst living with a range of health conditions or impairments that influence their participation at University. The Disability Liaison Unit (DLU) provides advice, information and services (e.g. alterations to assessment, accessible formats, liaison with academic staff). - Finance
Students facing genuine financial hardship can access interest-free loans and grants through Student Financial Aid (SFA). SFA can also assist with budgeting advice, government assistance and a range of other matters related to student finances. - First Year: Enrolment, Orientation and Transition
Enrolment and the Orientation Program are the start of your academic year with the University of Melbourne. It is a great time to become familiar with the University and meet new people. Find out more about the programs, and learn more about what to expect of university life and how to be prepared. The First Year@Unimelb blog can also give you an insight into uni life from current first year students. - Health
For any health concerns you may have, you can consult the doctors at the Health Service. They can help you with travel health and vaccinations, contraception and sexual health, work/sport injuries, allergies and mental health concerns, such as anxiety, depression and eating disorders. - International student services
International Student Services (ISS) provides a cycle of support for international students and their families from pre-arrival to returning home. Visit ISS for information on visas, welfare and general support, advocacy and bringing families to Australia. - International students under 18
If you are an international student who will be under 18 years of age when entering Australia, you will need to confirm you have appropriate accommodation, support and general welfare arrangements in place before you can apply for a student visa. You will need to meet one of the three requirements below:- Living with a parent;
- Living with a relative;
- Other approved care arrangement.
- You can also enrol in the University of Melbourne Under 18 Supervision Program
- Read more about students under 18.
- Language and academic skills
The Academic Skills Unit (ASU) helps all students to maximize their independent learning potential by providing individual tutoring, workshops and short courses which involve researching and writing, exam preparation and oral presentations. For interactive academic online services visit the Academic Interactive Resources Portal (AIRport).
Student Information Directory
The University provides a wide range of student services to support students throughout their studies. Full details are available from the Student Information Directory.