Cost and Financial Assistance

Program Costs 2024

The program fee includes all entrance fees to parks, museums, tours, as well as all housing and camping, many meals, transportation by coach to and from locations, public transportation in NSW, all airport transfers and pickups in Australia, local guides, classroom rental and support, and 24-hour logistical support by CCE.  The above total is billable by Duke.

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The following additional costs will vary from student to student depending on flight costs to and from Los Angeles airport, meal and food preferences, and how much you wish to spend on extracurricular activities during your free time.

¹The airfare is an estimate based on prices quoted to us as of November 2023.  It includes all international flights, as well domestic flights within Australia, and the US (if necessary, see below).  We are currently working with Student Universe to get accurate figures for the international and Australian domestic flights.  Your final airfare will depend on how you are connecting to Los Angeles,  and whether you decide to do additional travel after the course is over.

²This is a very high estimate number based on State Department per diem rates.  I dined and ate well in previous years, also made several trips to the grocery store for lunch items, and avoided the high-end restaurants.  My overall meal expenses were around $1000 for the meals not already covered by the course fee.  

³Final costs will vary depending on your own purchasing preferences.  You will be asked to purchase a field notebook ($10-$15), hand lens ($6-$25), snorkel and mask ($25-$50), course textbook ($15-$40), outlet adapter ($5-$30), AND, if you don’t already have a pair, you will also be required to purchase ankle-covering hiking boots ($50-$100) for our nature hikes, and a wide-rimmed sunhat ($10-$40) – see discussion under Luggage and Packing.

⁴Personal expenses depend entirely on how many extracurricular activities you will spend money on during your free time and days in Australia.  It also of course depends on how many shirts with Koalas, mugs with silly Australianisms, cane toad wallets, and other souvenirs you wish to buy.  If you are planning on doing any large-scale adventure activities on your free days, this number will also be significantly higher (see note below)

Extracurricular Activities

You will have several free days and afternoons throughout our stay in Australia. You may book your own extracurricular activities for those days but Duke in Australia, or Duke University and any of its affiliates are not liable for any activities you do in your off time.  We also cannot legally provide you with aid, suggestions, or reviews of any such activities. Remember that entrance and participation fees in Australia will be higher (often significantly) than for the same activities in the United States, especially in Sydney where you will have most of your free time.  Ticket costs for museums, exhibits, and tours typically run between $15-$50, and zoos between $25-$46.  Performances at the Sydney Opera house can vary from as low as $50 to hundreds of dollars per show.   Key is to plan ahead and make any and all of your personal reservations early.

Financial Aid

The Duke Global Education program has made a financial aid package available that covers all or most of the costs listed above.  Contact your financial aid officer to learn whether you are eligible.

Grants and Scholarships

Duke University has a list of programs for scholarships and aid to do study abroad here.

Another good place to look for additional scholarships is here.  As this is a third party we cannot speak to, judge the merit of, or guarantee bascially ANYTHING about the award opportunities and organizations listed there.