International students are paying up to almost $450,000 for a degree in Western Australia, with 16 courses across the state’s five universities costing more than a quarter-of-a-million dollars.
It is a situation that has been slammed as a threat to higher education by some, but touted as the “true cost” of a degree by others.
The fees paid by international students are up to seven-times that of domestic students, Commonwealth government data obtained by this masthead shows.
That data also shows that nationally, combined postgraduate medical degrees from the Group of Eight universities, which comprises Australia’s leading research-intensive universities and includes UWA, were the most expensive.
But in WA, the most expensive course was a Bachelor of Medicine and Bachelor of Surgery at Curtin University – an undergraduate course charging $444,756.
That amount is far higher than for domestic students, who pay an estimated $63,000 for the five-year course, which is also the only undergraduate entry medical degree program in the state.
Medicine and dental degrees dominate the highest-fee courses list, with engineering, law and other prestigious degrees close behind.
The most expensive non-medical degree is Edith Cowan University’s combined Bachelors of Law and Bachelor of Philosophy, costing just over $300,000.
The prices, while steep, are far lower than in the eastern states where the most expensive degree will rack up a bill of more than $850,000.
There are 583 courses nationally that will cost international students more than a quarter of a million, largely concentrated in Sydney.
Group of Eight chief executive Vicki Thomson said international student fees reflected the “true cost” of degrees.
“These costs have risen substantially in recent years due to global inflation, increased operational expenses, and the need to maintain cutting-edge facilities and research capability,” she said.
“Funding constraints … and policy changes limiting international student numbers has meant universities must recover cost through fewer students while maintaining quality.”
Immigration expert Dr Abul Rizvi said fees for international students had been increasing “much faster than inflation”.
Noise around limiting places for international students, creating the perception of a smaller supply, may have emboldened universities to increase pricing, Rizvi said, despite the federal government failing to pass legislation capping the number of international students in its first term.
The International Students Representative Council of Australia voiced concerns over the cost of degrees in a submission to the NSW parliamentary inquiry into universities.
“Public universities, legally and purposively not-for-profit, have become structurally dependent on large net surpluses from a single cohort,” it reads.
“There has been a quiet drift … toward using international tuition as a quasi-tax base.
“This shift distorts governance: it intensifies recruitment pressure … and sustains cross-subsidies only loosely connected to the teaching and student experience of those who provide the revenue.”
Holly Thompson is a journalist with WAtoday, specialising in education and the environment.Connect via X or email.