One of the world's leading institutions focusing on the tropics, Australia's James Cook University is surrounded by the spectacular ecosystems of the rainforests of the Wet tropics, the dry savannahs, and the iconic Great Barrier Reef.

This unique location enables students from Australia and overseas to study in a diverse physical environment unparalleled by any university in the world.

Over 4,000 students study at JCU Cairns, including about 380 international students. The campus location is spectacular – surrounded on three sides by rainforest-covered mountains. Located near the northern beaches in the suburb of Smithfield, the campus is 15 kilometres (9 miles) north of the city centre.

Townsville is Australia’s largest tropical city with a population of around 175,000. It’s a thriving coastal city and port, and a stepping-off point for visiting the Great Barrier Reef. The resort regions of the Whitsunday Islands and Mission Beach are within easy reach, as are historic outback towns such as Charters Towers.

A wide variety of courses are offered at JCU.  We suggest taking advantage of this program if your are studying Ecology or Environmental Sciences as this campus is surrounded by spectacular ecosystems.  Students on this program will take a full course load earning a maximum of 12 credit hours.  These hours can transfer back to TDU as pass/fail credits.

The University conducts nationally significant and internationally recognized research in areas such as marine sciences, biodiversity, tropical ecology and environments, global warming, tourism, and tropical medicine and public health care in under-served populations.

Students can choose to stay in an off-campus apartment or in an on-campus dormitory.  Both housing options offer the choice of a single or double room.  All international students studying at JCU will be matched with Australian roommates unless a different preference is indicated.

The international student office at JCU offers many excursions for international students.  There is a short excursion offered every other weekend and one 10-day excursion that is offered at the end of each semester.  Each excursion must be paid for individually by the student, excursions are not included in the cost of tuition.

All students are encouraged to participate in the excursions not only because they are a wonderful learning experience but also because they are a great time to meet the other international students at JCU.