Eligibility

The cultural experience was amazing.

I had never been overseas before, to experience another culture and see how other people live.

This was probably the best part of the trip.

Fiji Marine Biology Program, 2008.

Students must comply with the eligibility criteria outlined in the Student Exchange Policy.

Minimum Eligibility Criteria

• a GPA of 2.0
• completion of at least 18cp at Macquarie (excluding SIBT, credit for previous study and non-award study)
• provision of one academic reference as part of the application process.

Some exceptions to the above rules include:

• Postgraduate students in Master degrees may participate after one full semester of study at Macquarie on the provision that they complete at least half of the units studied during that first semester. This condition is restricted to students from particular degrees (especially MCOM and MIB) to participate in specific programs (such as the GACC In-Country units – BUS870)
  
  Example: A postgraduate student is commencing a Masters of International Business in semester 1. They can apply for an International Short Course program for the July vacation of the same year and will proceed through the application process without having any official results at Macquarie. They will be allowed to go on the program assuming that they successfully complete half of their units in that first semester before the program in July.
  
• Diploma of Languages students may participate in an international in-country language unit after they have completed 12cp at Macquarie.
  
  Example: A Diploma of Languages student has completed 9 credit points by the start of semester 1. At the beginning of semester 1 they apply for a short program for the July vacation, whilst also enrolling in the additional 3cp required to take them up to the 12cp needed. They will be allowed to proceed through the process and go on the program assuming that they successfully complete the additional unit to bring them up to the required 12cp.
  
  
• Language students in their first year may participate in an in-country unit without having fulfilled the 18cp requirement on the following conditions:
  a. They are enrolled in a Bachelor degree program at Macquarie.
  b. They are enrolled in both semester 1 and semester 2 units for their chosen language.
  c. They obtain a recommendation from the Department of European Languages.
  d. The short program they are participating in is one that has been specifically designed for students going between 1st and 2nd semester language units (such as the Berlin School of Economics German course for students studying German).
  
• The program offered is specifically established for a group of students that do not comply with the regular policy. If this is the case, it will be clearly advised in documentation about the program.

Application assessment

The MQ Student Exchange Committee is responsible for assessing participants' eligibility for an intensive program.

The Committee will consider the following aspects of the students' applications:

• Academic Record: GPA, field of study, year of study, if student will complete, subjects studied etc.
• References: With focus being on the academic reference
• Personal statement: Content and style of the personal statement
• Other aspects of the application: Does the student have another opportunity to participate on an intensive program? Is there a more appropriate program?