Future Students

Whether you've come from overseas, interstate or from the various regions of Western Australia, Perth is simply a great place for students.

At UWA you'll study at a internationally regarded university, while having the opportunity to work and have serious fun in a great state.

Arguably the largest state in the world, Western Australia (colloquially referred to as WA), covers one-third of the Australian continent. It spans more than 2.5 million square kilometres (roughly one million square miles), with a number of different climate zones. When it is warm and dry in the north of the State, it is cool and wet in the south. Bordered largely by desert to the east, Western Australia is bounded by 12,500 kilometres (7,813 miles) of the world's most pristine coastline to the west.

The State's sheer size creates a huge diversity of landscapes, offering something for every interest and plenty of opportunity to move off the beaten track.

Visitors experience unique flora and fauna, outback wilderness, majestic waterfalls and gorges, spectacular reefs, historical towns and vineyards.

Western Australia is adored for its brilliant blue skies, warm sunny climate and white sandy beaches. It is a land blessed with some of the world's most precious natural phenomena including the dolphins of Monkey Mia, the 350-million-year-old Bungle Bungle range and the towering karri forests of the South West.

In the far north is the Kimberley region, an ancient landform of rugged ranges with deep, spectacular gorges and pristine sandy beaches. The Pilbara region is the heartland of Western Australia and offers thrilling adventure and eco-tourism opportunities. The north is contrasted by the natural forests and vineyards of the south west.

Culturally Diverse

One of the first things you'lll notice about Western Australia is its cultural diversity. People of more than 200 different nationalities live, work and study here, speaking 170 languages and practising over 100 religions. Of all the states and territories, Western Australia continues to have the highest proportion of people born overseas.

Almost half a million Western Australians, or more than a quarter of the state's population, were born outside the State. The 2006 census shows that the most common languages other than English spoken at home are Italian, Mandarin, Cantonese, Vietnamese and Arabic.

Perth is the capital city. It is a modern, well-planned city with a population of more than 1.5 million people drawn from around the world. It is Australia’s fourth largest city and the main business district is only five kilometres from the UWA campus.

Perth offers all the benefits of a cosmopolitan city such as good shopping, financial services and a vibrant restaurant and café lifestyle. It also has an enjoyable climate, and a magnificent natural environment which includes the Swan River and many world-famous beaches. Perth has a good bus and train service, making it easy to get around the city and to the main UWA campus if you don't have a car.

Perth’s sunny Mediterranean climate provides warm dry summers which allow a wide variety of sports and outdoor activities such as golf, tennis, sailing, swimming and windsurfing.

Perth has an enviable standard of living, and the Economist Intelligence Unit recently voted it as one of the Top Five cities in the world in which to live.

A dynamic economy

Western Australia is the powerhouse of the Australian economy. With 10 per cent of the population, it currently generates nearly 30 per cent of Australia's export income. It is a highly diversified and internationalised economy. Already a leading provider of energy, precious and base minerals and agricultural produce to the world, it is now also a world-class supplier of manufactured goods and services to its neighbours and beyond.

Western Australia exports expertise in traded services, information and communication technologies, tourism, resource and infrastructure engineering, education, health care, building and construction, defence systems, environmental systems, mining equipment and services, chemicals, food and wine.

Innovation

The key to much of Western Australia's ongoing economic success has been the development or adoption of advanced technologies.

Coupled with this is an advanced, world-class education system and a wealth of research and innovation.The awarding of the 2005 Nobel Prize in Medicine or Physiology to Professor Barry Marshall and Emeritus Professor Robin Warren, highlighted the quality of scientific research conducted at the UWA.

In 1982, Professor Marshall - a UWA graduate and current staff member - a young doctor working at Royal Perth Hospital along with Emeritus Professor Warren, a pathologist, discovered that infection of the stomach with previously unidentified bacteria caused gastric ulcers, and increased the risk of gastric cancer.

The work revolutionised the treatment of gastric ulcers by enabling an antibiotic cure, and has lead to significant reduction in the prevalence of gastric cancer.

Information compiled with the assistance of Perth Education City.