History of Australian National University, infrasturcture and international Affilations, admission to Australian National University, programms, Study Cost at Australian National University, application deadlines and other facts.
Canberra was built because Australia needed a capital that was neither Sydney nor Melbourne, and the Australian National University was created there by federal Parliament in 1946[1]. Its 143-hectare Acton campus[2] sits on the edge of a city whose main industry is government: the departments and agencies a policy or science graduate might work for are a few kilometres from the lecture theatre. Just over half of ANU's students come from outside Australia[3], so the international cohort here is the majority, not an add-on.
Location
Canberra, Australia
Establishment year
1946
Students
17,358
International students
7,620
Female students
52%
Place in ratings
There's not enough data to display the dynamics of this rating.
Subclass 485: 2 years, 3 after a research degree[10]
Acceptance rate
Not published by ANU
Where ANU is genuinely strong
🔬 Subject standing carries the argument here, not the overall rank
ANU led Australia in 11 disciplines in the QS World University Rankings by Subject 2026[11].
🌏 Australia's only member of the International Alliance of Research Universities
IARU puts ANU alongside Cambridge, Oxford, Berkeley and Yale; exchange runs to 180 partners in 39 countries[12].
💼 Employability outruns the world rank
First in Australia, 30th globally in the THE Global Employability University Ranking 2025[11].
🏠 First-year international undergraduates are guaranteed a campus room
Accept, apply by the housing deadline and enrol full time: the place is guaranteed, the hall is not.
ANU's weak spots
📉 QS and THE disagree about ANU by more than forty places
29th in QS 2027[13] against =73rd in THE 2026[3]: the two weight reputation and research income differently. Buy the subject, not the rank.
🏗️ The university is midway through hard cost-cutting
ANU Council set Renew ANU a target of cutting a quarter of a billion Australian dollars from the recurring cost base by the end of 2025[14]; colleges and schools were reorganised around it.
🎯 International places are capped nationally, not set by ANU
The government sets a planning level — 295000 international places for 2026 — and allocates each university a share, so applying late is riskier.
🏙️ Canberra is small, quiet and expensive
The casual job market is thinner than Sydney's or Melbourne's, rents are not cheap, and there is no student-city nightlife to fall back on.
Colleges, campus and the academic year
On 1 January 2025 ANU merged seven academic colleges into six[15]: Health and Medicine folded into a renamed College of Science and Medicine, and the Crawford School of Public Policy into a renamed College of Law, Governance and Policy. No degree closed, though older guides still describe seven. The six:
Arts and Social Sciences
Asia and the Pacific
Business and Economics
Engineering, Computing and Cybernetics
Law, Governance and Policy
Science and Medicine
Six Nobel laureates have worked on the Acton site[16], and Oxford Economics ranked Canberra first in the world for quality of life in 2025[11].
Campus Type
Suburban
Library
Yes
Undergraduates choose from 599 single and double-degree combinations, and ANU teaches 28 languages[12]. Two semesters run February to June and July to November[17]; a full-time year is 48 units, the basis of every fee below.
Add 971-1,012 USD a year for textbooks[6]. Campus rooms run from about 195 USD/week self-catered to 357-369 USD/week catered, with 1,393-1,962 USD due on move-in[19]. The subclass 500 charge rose to 1,586 USD on 1 July 2026[20], and a single applicant must evidence 18,850 USD in funds[9] — below ANU's own living estimate, so budget to the university's figure.
Academic calendar
Semesters
Scholarships
Yes
Financial Aid
Yes
Bachelor
Foreign25,290USD/year
Master
Local16,923USD/year
Foreign21,267USD/year
Doctorate
Local2,467USD/year
Foreign26,495USD/year
Applying to ANU, step by step
Meeting the published minimum does not secure a place: several programs select competitively above it, and applications go straight to the university rather than through a state admissions centre[7].
From school results to an ANU entrance rank
Convert your results into an ANU entrance rank on the indicative entry requirement index[21].
Check the rank each program expects and any portfolio, audition or interview.
Sit the English test early — the certificate must exist when you apply.
Shortlist up to three programs: that is the cap, and each carries a fee.
Apply with transcripts, certificates, passport and English results; scholarship assessment is automatic.
Accept by the date below, pay the deposit, collect the Confirmation of Enrolment, then lodge the visa with health cover.
Apply for housing the same week; the guarantee has its own earlier deadline.
Master's and doctoral applications at ANU
Read the degree background and average the program page expects; ANU converts foreign averages through country tables, including one for the UAE[22].
For a research degree, secure a supervisor's interest first — admission turns on fit, not grades alone.
Assemble transcripts, degree certificate, CV, referees and, for research, a proposal.
Watch the early closers: the Crawford School shuts six weeks ahead.
Then accept, deposit and visa as above.
Deadlines for the 2027 intake
Stage
Semester 1, 2027
Semester 2, 2027
General application closes
15 December 2026
15 May 2027
Crawford School closes
31 October 2026
15 April 2027
Accept offer, from overseas
15 January 2027
30 June 2027
Applicants already in Australia get a later acceptance date; auditions and portfolios have earlier internal dates[7].
None of ANU's three headline international awards needs its own form or deadline: eligible candidates are assessed automatically on the admission application[23].
Chancellor's International Scholarship — 25% or 50% off tuition for the whole degree, up to 200 awards across regional categories, plus guaranteed first-year accommodation.
International Achievement Award — 20% generally, 25% for South East Asian citizens, 50% for Pacific citizens, up to 4 years[24].
Vice-Chancellor's International Achievement Award — 20% off first-year tuition, for residents of China, Hong Kong SAR Macau SAR Taiwan, Japan, Mongolia and the Korean peninsula; it wants a selection rank of 85 or an average of 5.5[25].
Statuses change mid-cycle, so re-check your award page before applying. Home-country funding runs separately; see our guide to scholarships for international students.
48 hours a fortnight, then the 485
Hours are unlimited during scheduled breaks, and research master's and doctoral students face no cap at all[9]. The CareerHub board carries casual shifts through to graduate programs, and internships run about 10 weeks[26]. On the subclass 485 the age limit is 35, under 50 for research degrees[10]; Indian nationals do better under the Australia-India trade agreement — 3 years after a master's, 4 after a doctorate. A research master's buys a year a coursework one does not.
ANU converts qualifications through its own country tables, so find your row first. CBSE and ISC results are read from the best four externally examined subjects plus English or Hindi[27]; the IB runs from an indicative 30.00 to 45.00[28]; A-levels are read on your best three or four subjects[29], the usual route for UAE and British-curriculum applicants. A US high school diploma and a Philippine Senior High School certificate count only with SAT or ACT scores, or AP results of 3 and above[30]. WAEC and NECO have no published table — write to admissions instead.
Documents. Order transcripts early and prepare a certified translation of your diploma where the originals are not in English. Apostille rules come from your own authorities, and they are what adds weeks.
English. ANU accepts IELTS, TOEFL, PTE Academic and Cambridge C1 Advanced, results under 2 years old[4]; Duolingo is not on the list. Clearing ANU's bar clears the visa's.
What Canberra-bound applicants ask
Are the 2027 tuition figures published yet?
Not as of August 2026 — the 2026 schedule is the latest, and the next usually appears around September.
Which English score table applies if I test in 2027?
From 1 January 2027: TOEFL iBT 81 overall, PTE Academic 64 with 60 per skill, Cambridge C1 Advanced 169[4].
Do any programs demand a higher English score?
Yes: clinical and professional psychology want IELTS 7.0 in every band, the Doctor of Medicine TOEFL iBT 100[4].
Can my partner and children come with me?
Yes, on the subclass 500 — but each raises the funds you must evidence: 6,595 USD for a partner, 2,823 USD per child[9].
What if my results fall short of the indicative rank?
Early Offer and adjustment factors are for Australian applicants only. Realistic options: another program in the same college, or one year of a recognised bachelor's at home, which ANU accepts as an alternative basis[7].
Choose ANU when your field is one it leads nationally, when policy, economics, the Asia-Pacific or research-track science is the point of the degree, and when one walkable campus with housing sorted in year one suits you.
Look elsewhere when the budget cannot absorb Canberra's living costs on top of band-priced tuition, or when your employers cluster around a bigger city — the University of Melbourne is the usual comparison.
Before you apply
Confirm the discipline band of every program on your shortlist.
Confirm your bank can move the deposit in one transfer.
Diarise the accommodation deadline separately.
Professional assistance in applying to a foreign university
