Metadata
Title
Study Abroad and Exchange Student-Athletes
Category
courses
UUID
da73f6f5883243e38ef29720ec40f3a3
Source URL
https://sport.unimelb.edu.au/programs/elite-athlete-program/saex
Parent URL
https://sport.unimelb.edu.au/programs/elite-athlete-program
Crawl Time
2026-03-23T06:57:48+00:00
Rendered Raw Markdown

Study Abroad and Exchange Student-Athletes

Source: https://sport.unimelb.edu.au/programs/elite-athlete-program/saex Parent: https://sport.unimelb.edu.au/programs/elite-athlete-program

Gain an international perspective whilst playing sport and studying overseas.

Study Abroad and Exchange Student Athletes

Make sports part of your experience while studying at the University of Melbourne for a semester or year as a visiting study abroad and exchange (SAEX) students. Choose from more than 40 sports, extend your playing season, and benefit from the University’s Elite Athlete Program.

Discover the sports played at Melbourne, their level of play, the semesters of play and more in the Melbourne University Sports guide.\

Play Your Sport Year-Round

The seasons are opposite in Australia and so are the playing seasons for most sports at the University of Melbourne. Play your sport at UniMelb during what is likely to be the off season in your country and extend your playing season. This helps to maintain and even advance your skills, specific conditioning and level of play.

Sports played mostly in the Northern Hemisphere Fall Semester and played Semester 1 (February to June) at UniMelb Sports played mostly in the Northern Hemisphere Spring Semester and played Semester 2 (July to November) at UniMelb
Cross country Golf
Field hockey Rugby 7s
Rugby 15s Sailing
Soccer Tennis
Ultimate Frisbee Volleyball
Volleyball Water polo
Water Polo Athletics (Track and Field)

Sports played in both semesters at UniMelb

Badminton / Basketball / Cycling / DanceSport / Fencing / Golf / Judo\ Kendo / Karate / Squash / Taekwondo / Tennis / Touch Football / Volleyball

Sports renowned in Australia

Australian Rules Football (AFL) / Cricket / Netball / Surfing / Rugby / Underwater (Scuba diving)

Eligibility to play

Join a Melbourne sports program or team, even for just a semester and even if it’s already mid-season in Australia. With many levels of play, there’s a team or competition available to you at UniMelb.

Check your country or university’s eligibility to play your sport abroad. For student athletes from the US:

NCAA Division Eligibility to play your sport abroad Reference
Division 1 No sports eligible 2024 - 2025 NCAA Division l Manual
Division 2 All sports except basketball 2024 - 2025 NCAA Division ll Manual
Division 3 All sports 2024 - 2025 NCAA Division lll Manual
Non-NCAA conference sport All sports

How to join a team

Sports at Australian universities are organized as clubs, with multiple teams in each club. The University's Elite Athlete Coordinator can assist you to connect with a University of Melbourne club and answer any questions you may have. You can make contact either in the lead up to your arrival to Melbourne or during orientation. The club will assist you to find the right level.

If you choose a residential college as your campus student accommodation, you could also play in intercollegiate sports. (Residential colleges are dormitory style housing with a meal plan). You can also participate in campus sports, intramurals for social fun.

Elite Athlete Program (EAP)

The Elite Athlete Program offers customised strength training, conditioning, mentoring and physical therapy. It also offers support for flexible study arrangements for student athletes in any national and international competitions while at the University of Melbourne. Our EAP staff work with you, your coaches and trainers back home to continue your existing programming or tailor something to your specific needs.

Any athlete playing a sport at the national or international level for their home university, club or country is eligible for the Elite Athlete Program. Eligible student athletes can access the program’s daily training environment support even if they do not play their sport while studying at Melbourne.

You can apply to the EAP either in the lead up to your arrival to Melbourne or once you are on campus by emailing us directly here.

Country-specific guaranteed access to the Elite Athlete Program

Country Eligibility
Canada Students who have played in U Sports Championships
UK Students who have played at the BUCS level
United States All NCAA D1, D2, and D3 and NAIA athletes

\ \

For more information regarding the Elite Athlete Program contact:\ Brendan Parnell, Elite Athlete Program Coordinator\ bparnell@unimelb.edu.au; +61 3 9035 3626

Student Experiences!

1

Why study at the University of Melbourne?

Hear from our study abroad and exchange students on why they chose the University of Melbourne!

/3

Other unique sports opportunities

\

UniSport Nationals provides an opportunity for students from 42 Australian universities (including Melbourne) to compete head-to-head in 32 sports for a week of national standard sporting competitions. UniSport Nationals takes place in late September to early October, during Semester 2 at the University of Melbourne.

Sports Facilities at the University of Melbourne

\ Our facilities are considered some of the best in Melbourne and provide a wide range of fitness and sport options.

Highlights of the fitness facilities include:

The sports precinct also includes:

Study sports at UniMelb

Enhance your experience as an athlete with these sports-focused classes.

Study in Australia’s Sporting Capital

Study in the heart of Melbourne’s, renowned as Australia’s sporting capital because of the city’s passion for sport and hosting renowned sporting events.

Melbourne is home to ten of the eighteen Australian Football League (AFL) teams, a sport that originated in the city. The city is also home to rugby and cricket matches, the Australian Open Tennis, the Australian Grand Prix and more. The city’s two major sports stadiums are both in the city centre within 15 minutes of the main Parkville campus by public transport.

Contact

Send an email to saex-sports@unimelb.edu.au with any questions about the sports program at the University of Melbourne for visiting study abroad or exchange students.