International Students in Perth: The Complete Guide

Perth hosts two globally ranked universities — the University of Western Australia (UWA) and Curtin University — alongside Murdoch University and Edith Cowan University, creating a diverse higher education environment in a city that offers significant advantages over Sydney and Melbourne: lower cost of living, less competitive housing, and a lifestyle built around the Indian Ocean coastline that international students from Asia and South-East Asia find extremely appealing.

Universities — UWA (Crawley campus, on the Swan River) is Western Australia's flagship research university and consistently ranks in the global top 100, with strength in mining engineering, environmental science, and medicine. Curtin University (Bentley campus, 5km from CBD) is one of Australia's largest universities and provides strong engineering, computing, business, and health programmes with direct industry partnerships in the resources sector. Murdoch University (Murdoch) provides accessible programmes in veterinary science, business, and health.

Cost of living — Perth is among Australia's more affordable major cities for international students. Shared accommodation near Curtin (Bentley, East Victoria Park) costs $200-$340 per person per week. UWA accommodation at Currie Hall and University Hall ranges from $350-$550 per week. A realistic monthly budget excluding tuition is $1,900-$2,700 AUD. Perth's lower grocery costs and the ability to access beaches and outdoor activities for free compound the value advantage.

Resources sector employment — for engineering, geology, and mining students, Perth's proximity to Western Australia's resources sector (the Pilbara, the Goldfields, Karratha) creates graduate employment pathways of extraordinary value. Engineering graduates from UWA and Curtin enter one of the world's most demanding and highest-paying resources employment markets directly from Perth campus career services.

This article was compiled by AI and screened before publishing. See our editorial standards.