The Sydney Internship program combines coursework with professional work experience in or near the vibrant and bustling city of Sydney. During the fall semester, hospitality students have the opportunity to participate in a 12-credit program featuring increased internship hours. Students who choose this option will gain valuable professional experience in the field of hospitality, completing a 400-hour internship. Boston University students will fulfill the Work Experience II requirement (SHA HF 240) and the International Experience requirement (SHA HF 440).
BU Abroad: A Sydney Perspective
BU Abroad: A Sydney Perspective
Requirements & Considerations
- All students must enroll according to, and remain in compliance with, the Boston University Study Abroad Course Load Policy.
- Non-US citizens please review this summary of visa requirements taken from the Australian Government Department of Home Affairs prior to applying.
- Admissions requirements for all programs
Curriculum
Week 1-Week 7
Students enroll in one required course and begin their internship placement.
Required Course
- CAS AN 368 Australian Culture & Society (4 credits)
- This course fulfills a single unit in each of the following BU Hub areas:
- Historical Consciousness
- Global Citizenship and Intercultural Literacy
- Research and Information Literacy
- An analysis of Australia from historical, geographical, political, economic, and socio-cultural perspectives, with a major focus on Australia’s global and domestic development as a multicultural nation with European roots, traditional Western alliances, and a growing involvement in the Asia-Pacific region. This course requires each student to complete an extensive ethnographic research project.
- Syllabus
- This course fulfills a single unit in each of the following BU Hub areas:
Internship Placement
Hospitality Administration
Students participate in an internship placement, working in organizations in and around Sydney four days per week for the entire duration of the program. Students gain experience in the hospitality industry in the areas of hotel administration, events, restaurants/catering, marketing, HR, or finance. Past internship placements have included Intercontinental Hotels Group (IHG), Flave, Livelo, and The Old Clare Hotel. Placements are contingent upon the student's past experiences, professional interest, and available opportunities in any given semester; flexibility is essential.
Week 8 (Mid-semester Break)
Week 9-Week 15
In session two students will continue with their internship and choose from one of the following elective courses. They also continue with their internship placement.
Elective Courses
- COM FT 345 Australian Cinema (4)
- This course fulfills a single unit in each of the following BU Hub areas:
- Philosophical Inquiry & Life's Meaning
- Aesthetic Exploration
- Australia produced The Story of the Kelly Gang (1906), the world’s first full-length feature film. This course follows the local industry from a national to international identity, highlighting distinctly Australian characters alongside themes of city, bush, and the outback.
- Syllabus
- This course fulfills a single unit in each of the following BU Hub areas:
- CAS AH 374 Australian Art & Architecture (4)
- This course fulfills a single unit in each of the following BU Hub areas:
- Aesthetic Exploration
- Global Citizenship and Intercultural Literacy
- Australia owns the world’s oldest continuing art tradition (indigenous Australian art) and the youngest tradition. This course focuses on key artists, in a historical and international context, against themes of landscape, urbanism, abstraction, realism, the noble savage, and modernism.
- Syllabus
- This course fulfills a single unit in each of the following BU Hub areas:
- COM CO 350 Mass Media in Australia (4)
- Contemporary issues associated with Australian mass media and film. Key areas of film, television, print, advertising, and radio, plus media ownership and government legislation in Australia. The emphasis of the course will be on current Australian media and film production.
- Syllabus
- CAS EE 328 Australian Points of View Toward Global Environmental Challenges (4) Effective Fall '23
- This course fulfills a single unit in each of the following BU Hub areas:
- Ethical Reasoning
- Social Inquiry II
- The course explores the way people form viewpoints toward the environment and how this thinking manifests in practice. The current, urgent challenges that face our environmental systems require the exploration of these attitudes through the lens of the individual, community, corporate, non-government organizations, and government levels as well as through Indigenous perspectives.
- Syllabus
- This course fulfills a single unit in each of the following BU Hub areas:
- CAS HI 356 Empires and Soft Power: A History of International Relations and Sport in the Pacific Rim (4)
- This course fulfills a single unit in the following BU Hub area:
- Global Citizenship and Intercultural Literacy
- This course explores the cultural, economic, diplomatic, and legal developments in sport in the region as a background to building management skills. While the course has a focus on understanding these elements with a view to informing sport management, it will also interest those who want to understand the interplay of the myriad nations of the region through cultural, diplomatic, legal, political, and other areas using the sport industry as a lens.
- Syllabus
- This course fulfills a single unit in the following BU Hub area:
- QST MK 467 International Marketing Management (4)
- Fall only. Course also offered on the summer Sydney Internship Program. Prerequisite: QST MK 323 Marketing Management.
- Develops a critical appreciation of both the opportunities and challenges associated with the increasing globalization of markets. Students learn about the key environmental forces shaping the needs and preferences of the global consumer and the impact of foreign, political, and economic factors on the marketing mix.
- Syllabus
- CAS CS 411 Software Engineering (4)
- Undergraduate Prerequisites: CASCS112
- This course fulfills a single unit in the following BU Hub area:
- Teamwork/Collaboration
- Introduction to the construction of reliable software. Topics may include software tools, software testing methodologies, retrofitting, regression testing, structured design, and structured programming, software characteristics and quality, complexity, entropy, deadlock, fault tolerance, formal proofs of program correctness, chief program teams, and structured walk-throughs.
- Syllabus
Internship Course
Study Abroad will enroll students in a non-credit Hub co-curricular and a four-credit internship course, which includes a classroom component. Upon successful completion of the internship experience, students will receive a Hub unit in the area Individual in Community from the co-curricular HUB SA 330.
- Non-credit Hub Co-curricular: HUB SA 330 Study Abroad Internship
- This course fulfills a single unit in the following BU Hub area:
- Individual in Community
- Syllabus
- This course fulfills a single unit in the following BU Hub area:
- SHA HF 390Field Placement in Hospitality Administration (4 credits)
Students continue their internship placement while taking the internship course.
Housing & Student Services
Program Residence
- Students have single, furnished rooms, in 3–4 person suites with a shared kitchen, 1.5 bathrooms, and common area with a television. They are provided with bedding, a bath towel, and wash cloth. There is a microwave in the kitchen which can also be used to bake. There is a mall a short walk away where students can purchase kitchen supplies, home goods, and groceries.
- Board is not included/no stipend
- No dining hall availability
- 24 hr. security, a roof deck for students to hang out, a fully stocked library with computers, and classrooms in the same building
Program Dates
- Fall Semester: mid-August to early December
Application Timeline
This program follows rolling admissions and may fill before the official deadline.
Fall Semester
- Applications Open December 15
- Applications Deadline March 15
Spring Semester
- Applications Open June 1*
- Applications Deadline September 15
This program is rolling admissions; applications are reviewed once all application materials are received, prior to all deadlines. It is the student’s responsibility to ensure that all required materials are received by the BU Study Abroad office. Students are encouraged to apply as early as possible as some programs and internship tracks have limited space and may fill up before the deadline. Submitting a complete application prior to the application deadline, does not guarantee acceptance. Students will be emailed an admissions decision within three weeks of a completed application.
Information for BU Students Awaiting an Admissions Decision and exceptions to the standard admission calendar for all students can be found here.
Cost & Financial Considerations
- 2025/2026 Tuition & Fees: $28,082 per semester
Cost includes tuition, housing, program related activities, administrative fee, overseas medical insurance and emergency evacuation coverage. - Budget sheet, including cost of living expenses.
- Grants and Scholarships available
