HASM 205/305 Cultural Study Tour
Broaden Your Education
 In Winter Term 2008, the Faculty of Life and Social Sciences (FLSS) will be offering students
the opportunity to gain valuable experience working in a foreign culture by
undertaking the HASM 205/305 Cultural Study Tour. Under expert instruction, students
will be introduced to key concepts in intercultural communications and ethnography,
which will benefit them regardless of their chosen career paths. The overseas part
of the program will be hosted at Swinburne's Sarawak Campus, in the city of
Kuching.
Interested students and their parents are invited to attend an information evening on Tuesday 4 March at 6pm in EW 301. The event will be hosted by Dr. Paula Geldens and Dr. Mark Finn, who will be teaching the study tour in 2008.
The information evening is designed to give interested parties an overview of the program and will cover topics such as:
 Costs |
Location Details |
| Scholarships |
Unit Structure |
| Benefits of Intercultural Experience |
Proposed Assessment |
For more information, please email Dr. Finn at mfinn@swin.edu.au
LATEST NEWS: We are happy to announce that we will be offering eight A$1000
scholarships to go towards the cost of the study tour, with four being allocated to FLSS
students and 4 open to students from across the University (including FLSS). Half the
scholarships will be provided on the basis of academic merit and the other half will
be allocated on the basis of financial need.
About HASM 205/305
HASM 205/305 will engage students in the formal study of culture, from within. Student learning will be supported by, and facilitated though, the complementary frameworks established within intercultural communication studies and ethnography. Students will learn how to understand cultures through ethnography; at the same time they will also learn how to interact with them through a course of instruction in intercultural communications. The acquisition of these skills will be of significant benefit to students as a tool for understanding the various cultural domains they are likely to encounter as members of the global marketplace.
The program is designed around a six-week intensive mode of teaching, divided into three teaching blocks.
The first two weeks will be conducted at Swinburne's Hawthorn campus and is designed to help prepare
students for the cultural experience that is to come. This will be followed by 18 days (including travel) overseas, basing
ourselves at Swinburne's Sarawak Campus in Malaysia, where students will be exposed to a wider variety of cultural
experiences. Upon their return to Australia the students will engage in a further two weeks of classes in
which they will be able to reflect on the experiences they have shared.
The overseas component will take the form of lectures and workshops, interspersed with cultural activities. A tentative outline of the schedule is as follows:
Proposed Itinerary
Travel Dates
23 June - 11 July 2008
(Actual travel dates may vary slightly)
Program Fees
Program fees have not yet been set for 2008, however it is expected that the cost will be approximately $2500. Package price includes:
- Return economy flights (Melbourne-Kuala Lumpur-Kuching return)
- Travel insurance
- All accommodation
- Guided City Tour
- River Cruise
- Sarawak Cultural Village
- Bumbu Cooking Class
- Day trip to Bako National Park
- One day at Rainforest Music Festival
- Overnight trip to Long House
- 5 Group dinners and 1 Group breakfast
- Journal and reading package
Not included:
Passport costs; Vaccinations; Other meals: allow A$150 - A$300; Public transport costs (A$5 return campus to city per taxi); personal spending money.
Students pay HECS-HELP fees for units taken (or up-front tuition fees for International or non-Commonwealth supported students). All Commonwealth supported students can study Winter Term units on HECS-HELP — no up-front fees.
Application Process
Applications for the Cultural Study Tour must be made through the Faculty of Life and Social Sciences Administration Office. Application forms are available for download below and in hard copy from the Faculty Administration Office (AS202).
Applications open: Monday 25th February 2008
Applications close: Friday 14th March 2008
Applications will require the submission of a 400-word piece detailing "what students hope to get out of the unit".
Offers made: Monday 24th March 2008.
Acceptances required: Thursday 27th March 2008. A deposit of A$1500 is to be paid at this time.
Balance of payment: Remaining A$1000 to be received by Friday 11th April. 2008.
Contact the FLSS Office: lssinfo@swin.edu.au
Application Forms
Cultural Study Tour Merit Scholarship Form 2008 (PDF 71 kb)
Cultural Study Tour Financial Need Scholarship Form 2008 (PDF 104kb)
Cultural Study Tour Application for Enrolment Form 2008 (PDF 65kb)
About Sarawak and Our Campus
 On the island of Borneo, Sarawak is Malaysia's largest state. With 29 ethnic groups speaking 45 languages and dialects, it is also Malaysia's most diverse state. The friendliness and hospitality of its people are well known. Its rainforest, among the oldest in the world, houses the world's most diverse ecosystem. Its national parks, such as Mulu and Bako, are renowned for their beautiful natural wonders.
Kuching, the capital of Sarawak, offers entertainment to suit most tastes and eating out is a favourite pastime among city folk. Restaurants offer a variety of traditional Chinese, Indian, Malay to contemporary Japanese and Western cuisines. Only minutes away are sandy beaches and lush, untouched, tropical rainforests.
 Swinburne University of Technology Sarawak Campus is the only international branch campus of Swinburne, Australia. Established in the city of Kuching in 2000, the campus is equipped with state-of-the-art facilities and offers undergraduate degrees in engineering, business, IT and multimedia, as well as postgraduate research programs. The campus is only 15 minutes from the city centre.
Wondering where Sarawak is? Download Sarawak Map (JPG 75KB) or check out Google Maps .
Further Information
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