Study Tours, Internships and Field Schools Return in 2022

Study Tours and Field Schools offer our students amazing opportunities to experience hands on learning around Australia and the world. Students are able to work with leading talent and institutions, make a difference to real world issues and to communities, all while working with peers who share their interests and passion.

After the disruption of 2020 brought about by the COVID-19 pandemic, that saw fieldwork and travel largely restricted into early 2022, we are excited that these valuable opportunities are once again returning from mid-2022.

What does fieldwork and experiential study give to our students?

It gives students greater freedom, to experience the topics they’re studying in a real world setting, and to experiment with ideas so much more than in the classroom. Students often feel freer in their own work and their collaborations with teachers and peers. Research shows the positive effect field study provides for learning outcomes and how students engage with the learning experience.

Those that lead study tours, internships and field schools see the difference it makes for students, how much students gain from it, and how much of a difference students can make through it. Mary Spiers Williams and Dr Yasmine Musharbash lead the First Peoples Social Justice Initiative, held in conjunction with the Australian National Internships Program (ANIP) based at ANU. Mary says…

“We’re creating unique opportunities for our students to have in-place experiences across Australia working with and for First Peoples, experiences that also allow them to work with our researchers. This experience has challenged our students and given them a unique perspective on and insight into the impact that legal processes can have on First Nations and other Indigenous people”

In 2022, Indigenous Knowledges and Ways of Knowing (an advanced course in Australian Indigenous Studies), and Environment Studio: field based research and studio practice in visual arts are among the field courses available for students to engage with First Nations culture, communities and issues.

Belinda Terry graduated from ANU in 2021, in her second year she undertook the Anzac Battlefields and Beyond Course, a study tour that took a group of students to historic sites and leading institutions across Australia, the United Kingdom and Europe. Reflecting on the experience upon graduating, she said…

"It was by far, the best academic experience I could have had at the ANU. You can’t compare how valuable it is to be in the field."

In 2022, a successor to that course, Remembering Anzac is open for applications, taking students across Australia and New Zealand.

The chance to go outside the classroom, and even once again overseas is an exciting one for students and one that adds to the rich tapestry of the University experience. That was the case for recent student Eleanor Armstrong. Recipient of the prestigious Tillyard Prize in her time at ANU, she made the most of a range of opportunities including working on a sociology research project involving the study of the socio-cultural significance of snakes to Australia, researching cyber-bullying while undertaking ANIP with a Commonwealth Department, and studying abroad through ANU Global Programs for a semester in Europe. Eleanor reflected on her experience studying overseas when graduating in 2020 and hopes many others get to again enjoy the opportunities she did…

“I applied in 2018, got accepted and went in my first semester 2019, which was my fourth year… In retrospect I was so lucky and it was definitely something. I think everyone kind of took for granted at the time that if you could, you would go on exchange… I hope that a lot of students get to do it soon.”

The ANU College of Arts and Social Sciences believes that every student should have the opportunity to participate in these experiences, and offers support for eligible students through the CASS Study Tour and Field Trip Travel Grant. 

Explore all the opportunities currently on offer.