Tuition fees - University of the Sunshine Coast, Queensland, Australia

Tuition fees

• Student Services and Amenities Fee
• Commonwealth supported places
• Fee paying student fees
• Honours fees
• Enabling and Tertiary Preparation Pathway fees
• Headstart fees
• Postgraduate coursework fees
• Higher Degree by Research (HDR) fees
• Cross institutional fees
• Administrative and miscellaneous charges

Notes

1. The following fees apply to Australian citizens, Permanent Residents, New Zealand citizens, and holders of an Australian Permanent Humanitarian visa studying in 2013.
2. All fees are listed in Australian Dollars (A$).
3. Fees for international students can be found at USC International fees and costs.
4. Refer also to the Student Fees and Charges Policy and Student Fees and Charges Procedures.

Student Services and Amenities Fee

The Student Services and Amenities Fee (SSAF) will apply to all students * enrolled in a USC study period.

The maximum SSAF any student will pay in 2013 will be A$272.

All students * (except Higher Degree by Research students) will have SSAF charges based on the total enrolment load for the enrolment period as follows:

• 6-unit course: A$17
• 12-unit course: A$34
• 24-unit course: A$68
• 48-unit course: A$136

For example, a student enrolled in 4 x 12 unit courses will pay A$136.

Higher Degree by Research students will pay a flat SSAF charge:

• Part time students pay A$68 per semester
• Full time students pay A$136 per semester

* Students in the following categories will pay A$0 SSAF in 2013:

• Tertiary Preparation Pathway (TPP)
• Headstart Program or Integrated Learning Engineering Program
• Go Program enrolments
• Cross institutional enrolments (where USC is the host institution)
• Visiting students

International students will be charged the above SSAF amounts per course. For 2013, these costs have been included within the International Tuition Fee rates.

Australian Citizens and Permanent Humanitarian Visa holders will have the option to defer payment of their SSAF to a Commonwealth SA-HELP loan. Students not eligible for SA-HELP must pay the SSAF by the fee due date printed on their student invoice. Due dates are also included in academic calendars.

For more information, refer to the Student Services and Amenities Fee page.

Commonwealth supported places

If you accepted a Commonwealth supported place you are a Commonwealth supported student. As a Commonwealth supported student you must make a contribution towards the cost of your education (unless you are enrolled in Enabling or Tertiary Preparation Pathway courses) with the majority of the cost met by the Commonwealth Government.

Eligible Commonwealth supported students (Australian Citizens and Permanent humanitarian visa holders) are able to borrow money through the Commonwealth Government loan scheme known as HECS-HELP. New Zealand citizens and permanent residents of Australia must pay fees by the fee due date printed on your student invoice. Fee due dates are also available on academic calendars.

Eligible Commonwealth supported students (Australian Citizens and Permanent humanitarian visa holders) can pay all or part of the student contribution up-front and receive a 10 percent bonus for amounts paid of A$500 or more.

Student contributions are charged by the courses in which you enrol. Course charges will vary depending on the Student Contribution Band the course relates to. Student contribution bands are shown in course details available from undergraduate programs on the Study Plan tab. Note the course codes you are interested in and refer to the following list of:

Commonwealth supported student contributions by course (PDF 1MB) ^ for student contributions for individual courses.

The following table estimates the cost of an Equivalent Full Time Study Load (EFTSL). One EFTSL is equivalent to one year full time study and this table assumes all courses studied fall within the same Student contribution fee band. The amounts per course represent a typical 12 unit course (units are shown in course details attached to individual program web pages on the Study Plan tab).

† EFTSL represents the Equivalent Full-time Student Load or one full-time year.

* Represents the student contribution per course based on a 12unit course. Unit weighting for courses is shown in study plans on individual program pages.

** Students who commenced but did not complete an Education or Nursing program as a Commonwealth supported student prior to 2010 may apply for transitional arrangements. If eligible for transitional arrangements students will be charged $587 (12 unit course fee) for any Band 1A courses in which they enrol.

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Fee paying student fees

Domestic students who are unable to obtain a Commonwealth supported place will be charged full fees. Visiting students enrolled in individual course / s for either professional or personal development are also full fee paying students. Visiting students will not complete a program with USC and are classified as non-award students.

Eligible fee paying students (Australian citizens or holders of permanent humanitarian visas) are able to borrow money through the Commonwealth Government loan scheme known as FEE-HELP. A 25 percent loan fee applies to undergraduate students.

Refer to the list of Full Fee Paying tuition fees by course (PDF 367KB)  ^ for rates for individual courses.

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Honours fees

The student contribution band for honours is determined by the area of research undertaken.

Honours students are Commonwealth supported students. For more information on Commonwealth support refer to Commonwealth supported places.

Refer to the list of Honours Fees by course (PDF 214KB) ^ for rates for individual courses.

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Enabling and Tertiary Preparation Pathway fees

Students studying Enabling or Tertiary Preparation Pathway (TPP) courses do not pay a student contribution. Enabling and TPP students are offered Commonwealth supported places however these courses are fee exempt. 

Enabling programs are free of charge for Australian and New Zealand citizens and holders of a permanent resident visa enrolled on a fee-paying basis in a concurrent program.

International Enabling and TPP students should refer to International Student Fees for tuition information.

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Headstart fees

Students studying in USC Headstart program or Integrated Learning Engineering (ILE) program are required to make an up front payment by the fee due date. 

HECS-HELP loans are not available for Headstart or ILE fees.

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Postgraduate coursework fees

All postgraduate coursework programs are subject to tuition fees unless the postgraduate program is offered under Commonwealth support arrangements.  Individual postgraduate coursework program pages provide advice where the program is Commonwealth supported.

Eligible students (Australian citizens or permanent humanitarian visa holders) may seek assistance to defer payment via a FEE-HELP loan.

Postgraduate coursework fees are charged according to the Field of Education and unit weighting assigned to each course as per the table below.

* 6 unit course fee

To determine an individual course fee:

1. Go to the postgraduate degree you are interested in.
2. Select the Study Plan tab.
3. Identify the course codes (course codes start with three characters followed by three numerics eg: ACC510).
4. Refer to the list of Postgraduate fees by course (PDF 105KB) ^ and note the 2013 tuition relevant to that course.

Note: Postgraduate coursework tuition fees are reviewed yearly.

International students should refer to International student fees for tuition information.

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Higher Degree by Research fees (per full-time semester)

Research Training Scheme (RTS)

Domestic candidates (Australian citizens, New Zealand citizens and Australian permanent residents) are not required to pay tuition fees for the standard duration of their higher degree by research program. The Australian Government's Research Training Scheme covers the cost of higher degree by research training for these candidates. 

Doctoral candidates are entitled to a maximum of four years full-time equivalent study, and Research Master candidates are entitled to a maximum two-years full-time equivalent study. 

Candidates who do not complete their degree within the maximum RTS allowable completion times may be required to pay fees for any additional periods of enrolment.

Fee paying HDR student fees

† EFTSL stands for Equivalent Full-Time Student Load or one full-time year.  To calculate the amount per course multiply the EFTSL value of the course by the appropriate 1.0 EFTSL amount above.

You may be eligible for FEE-HELP to obtain a loan for paying your higher degree by research program fees.

Refer to the list of Fee Paying Research fees by course (PDF 26K) ^ for rates for individual courses.

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Cross institutional fees

Undergraduate cross institutional students are referred to Commonwealth supported places information. 

Postgraduate cross institutional students are referred to Fee paying student fees information.

Administrative and miscellaneous charges

^ For PDF documents you must have the free Adobe Acrobat Reader, which can be downloaded from the Adobe Download page.

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