upage_UNSW

UNSW Sydney
Sydney, Australia

UNSW Sydney (The University of New South Wales) is one of Australia’s leading research and teaching universities. Established in 1949, it is ranked among the top 60 universities in the world, renowned for the quality of its graduates and its world class research.

UNSW is a founding member of the Group of Eight, a coalition of Australia’s leading research-intensive universities, and of the prestigious international network Universitas 21. With more than 50,000 students from over 120 countries, it is one of Australia’s most cosmopolitan universities.

The main UNSW campus is located on a 38-hectare site at Kensington, seven kilometres from the centre of Sydney. Other major campuses are the College of Fine Arts in the Sydney suburb of Paddington and UNSW Canberra at the Australia Defence Force Academy.

In addition to UNSW Canberra at ADFA, UNSW has eight Faculties – Arts and Social Sciences; Built Environment; Engineering; Law; Medicine; Science; the Australian School of Business; and the College of Fine Arts – which offer an extensive range of undergraduate, postgraduate and research programs.

Website: https://www.unsw.edu.au/

VSE Season 1, 2023-24: Courses offered by UNSW Sydney


Important - Read Before Applying

Before applying, please make sure you understand the following enrolment restrictions set by the course offering university:

Each student can apply and enroll in ONE academic course offered by UNSW Sydney at VSE Season 1, 2023-24 only. If you have submitted two applications to UNSW Sydney courses, the VSE Central Office will withdraw the SECOND application without prior notice. If you wish to change your course selection after making the first application, please make a request by emailing [email protected].



Application Deadline

Students must submit an application to the VSE Central Office before:
Jul 23, 2023 12:00 noon Hong Kong Time (UTC+8)




Academic Requirements

Before applying, please make sure you have fulfilled the course offering university's academic requirements listed below:

  • Equivalent to either a credit average or 3.0 GPA.
  • Students must have completed at least one semester at their home university at the time of application.

For more details, please contact the VSE coordinator at UNSW Sydney.




English Language Proficiency Requirements

Before applying, please make sure you have fulfilled the course offering university's English language proficiency requirements listed below:

If English is not your first language, you will need to provide proof of your English proficiency at time of application. You can do this by providing evidence that you meet one of UNSW’s approved criteria. This is currently 6.5 IELTS or 90 TOEFL (iBT) for Exchange students. You are only required to meet the overall score for IELTS and TOEFL, you do not need to meet each of the subtests. For prior study conditions and other acceptable criteria please see here.

It is important to check you meet our English requirements before applying. It is too late to sit a test after our application deadline if you don’t meet the UNSW entry requirements.

For more details, please contact the VSE coordinator at UNSW Sydney.



Course Information

Course information posted on this page are provided by the course offering university and may be changed or updated anytime without prior notice.

Click on the course titles to reveal full course details:

Number of Credits6
Offering DepartmentUNSW Business School
Course TeacherMr AM Hingston
Language of InstructionEnglish
First Day of ClassSep 11, 2023
Last Day of ClassDec 7, 2023
Course ComponentLecture
Mode of TeachingTBA
Meeting TimeTBA
Time ZoneUTC+10
Course Description

The course introduces students from a non-financial background to the principles of accumulating, managing and protecting wealth. The course covers the topics of tracking expenses and preparing budgets, savings, buying on credit, securing a good job, buying a home, paying off mortgages faster, protecting yourself through using insurance, building wealth using superannuation, paying appropriate levels of tax and avoiding investment mistakes. 

Course Outline

GENC3004

Course Prerequisites/Restrictions

This course is open to undergraduate students from any major.

Points to Note for Students

Term 3 2023 Virtual Exchange Orientation: 5 September 2023
Term 3 2023 Teaching Period: 12 September - 17 November 2023
Term 3 2023 Exam Period: 24 November - 7 December 2023

Fees to be Borne by Students

N/A

Number of Credits6
Offering DepartmentFaculty of Science
Course TeacherAssociate Professor Gab Abramowitz
Language of InstructionEnglish
First Day of ClassSep 11, 2023
Last Day of ClassDec 7, 2023
Course ComponentLecture
Mode of TeachingTBA
Meeting TimeTBA
Time ZoneUTC+10
Course Description

Why do people disagree so much about climate change? How can they tell fact from fiction in the debate? How do they know climate change is happening and what are the causes? Climate change is now an issue confronting many disciplines, from architecture, engineering and business through to environmental science, public health, law and economics. This online course will draw on a broad collection of UNSW experts to cover the basics of climate change science, as well as a selection of key related areas from psychology, law, politics, economics, energy supply, ethics and health. A range of perspectives on the nature of these challenges will be treated with a critical analysis approach, as well as hands-on engagement with the peer review process, highlighting its role in the scientific process.


This course is an online-only offering and therefore there are no physical attendance requirements. There are no pre-requisites and so this course suits students at any stage of their degree. Lectures are asynchronous. However, the course requires regular and consistent online participation including online group work with other students. Students are expected to familiarise themselves with the course documentation and spend around 6 hours per week on the course. This includes going through lesson content in a timely manner, participating in group work activities, contributing to online discussion forums, and submitting assessments.


Take a look at our short introduction video.

Course Outline

GENS0401

Course Prerequisites/Restrictions

This course is open to undergraduate students from any major.

Points to Note for Students

Term 3 2023 Virtual Exchange Orientation: 5 September 2023
Term 3 2023 Teaching Period: 12 September - 17 November 2023
Term 3 2023 Exam Period: 24 November - 7 December 2023

Fees to be Borne by Students

N/A

Number of Credits6
Offering DepartmentFaculty of Science
Course TeacherDr K Jackson
Language of InstructionEnglish
First Day of ClassSep 11, 2023
Last Day of ClassDec 7, 2023
Course ComponentLecture
Mode of TeachingAsynchronous
Meeting TimeN/A
Time ZoneUTC+10
Course Description

Is there life beyond the Earth? What do we learn from modern day telescopes and satellites? In this course, students will be introduced to the physics of the Universe from scales ranging from our Solar System and extrasolar planets to the origin and fate of the Universe, gaining an understanding and appreciation of what is known about the Universe and the techniques scientists use to make discoveries. Students will also gain experience in effectively communicating knowledge to different audiences and in how to separate science fact from science fiction.


Topics to be covered include: astronomical techniques, history of astronomy across cultures, beginnings of the Universe, formation and evolution of galaxies, origin of life on Earth and search for life elsewhere, stellar structure and evolution, planet formation, black holes, and compact objects.


This course has asynchronous lectures and no face-to-face classes. This course is intended primarily as a general education subject with no assumed prior knowledge. Students wishing to proceed on to PHYS2116 and PHYS3116, or with a good prior background in physics and astronomy, may instead wish to take PHYS1116 Astrophysics, which is a more technical version of the subject intended for physics majors and science students.

Course Outline

PHYS1160

Course Prerequisites/Restrictions

This course is open to undergraduate students from any major.

Points to Note for Students

Term 3 2023 Virtual Exchange Orientation: 5 September 2023
Term 3 2023 Teaching Period: 12 September - 17 November 2023
Term 3 2023 Exam Period: 24 November - 7 December 2023

Fees to be Borne by Students

N/A



Before Making an Application

Make sure you have thoroughly read the information on this page and the Academics page before making an application. If you have a question, email us at [email protected] or contact the VSE Coordinators at your home university or course offering university.