Academics

Academic Objective

The academic objective of the Australia program is to increase students’ understanding of these key global ecosystems, while emphasizing the challenges of human co-habitation and industry. Students’ research skills will be enhanced by the hands-on nature of fieldwork.

Course Credit

Coursework in the Australia program is offered in collaboration with the the School of the Environment at The University of Queensland. The curriculum is pre-arranged, with all students enrolling in the same set of classes and traveling to different research locations for on-site instruction. All courses count toward Stanford graduation and in addition, individual courses have been approved for credit in the departments of Biological Sciences, Earth Systems, Civil Engineering, and Human Biology. For a list of all BOSP courses offered in the current academic year and planned for the next, and for information on which courses earn departmental credit or fulfill General Education Requirements, please refer to the BOSP course database. For information on courses scheduled for the current academic year and for enrollment, please refer to Axess.

Required Modules

The program is organized around four required academic modules, to be taught in a variety of locations along the northeastern coast of Australia. The four modules are:

• Coral Reef Ecology
• Terrestrial Ecology and Conservation
• Coastal Ecosystems
• Australian Studies

In addition, students will complete Individual Research Projects, under the supervision of University of Queensland instructors, on topics related to particular course modules.