International Student Support Program

About the Faculty International Unit | International Student Support Program | International education research | Faculty International Unit staff | Contact information

The Faculty of Medicine, Dentistry and Health Sciences welcomes students from all over the world. By 2001 the faculty was training a third of all international students electing to study undergraduate medicine in Australia and close to half those studying undergraduate dentistry. By March 2003 more than 1000 international students were enrolled across all faculty disciplines, including substantial numbers at the postgraduate level.

The Faculty International Unit (FIU) offers a unique program to ensure overseas-born students are provided with a high-level of linguistic and cross-cultural support during their academic studies. The International Student Support Program is based on:

• identification of international students at risk;
• analysis of students' language and cross-cultural needs;
• research into students' academic performance;
• provision of support on campus and at clinical sites;
• personalised service with one-on-one tutoring;
• assisting faculty staff to understand the needs of international students, including their learning difficulties;
• monitoring student outcomes;
• providing exit support to prepare students to enter global labour markets.

As well as workshops and lectures, the International Student Support Program offers individual consultations so that students can receive tailored assistance with aspects of their academic and professional work in order to enhance learning. View the guidelines for individual consulations [PDF 28k].

To learn more about the program, view Professor Hawthorne's paper [PDF 35k] presented at the 14th Australian International Education Conference in August 2000.