The short answer
Tuition in Australia depends most on the subject. Among courses you can apply to through Craydel, first-year fees run from about AUD 30,148 for art and design to over AUD 53,000 for lab sciences. Medicine is about AUD 47,086, nursing AUD 44,966, business AUD 37,363 and IT AUD 36,177 a year. Fees are set per course.
What you pay to study in Australia depends less on the university than on the subject. Across the courses you can apply to through Craydel, first-year tuition ranges from about AUD 23,800 for the cheapest fields to over AUD 53,000 for lab-heavy sciences — a gap of more than double. Your field is the single biggest driver of what you’ll pay.
This guide breaks the cost down by field of study — including medicine, nursing, business, IT and engineering — so you can budget for the course you actually want, not a headline average. It covers undergraduate (bachelor’s) fees; postgraduate courses are covered separately.
How much does each subject cost to study in Australia?
Field of study is the single biggest lever on tuition. Practical and business-facing subjects sit at the lower end; laboratory sciences, health and environmental degrees at the top. The table below shows the median first-year bachelor’s fee by field, net of discounts.
| Field of study | Bachelor’s (median/yr) |
|---|---|
| Art, Design & Creative Industries | AUD 30,148 |
| Finance, Accounting & Tax | AUD 33,847 |
| Information Technology & Systems | AUD 36,177 |
| Business Administration | AUD 37,363 |
| Teaching & Education | AUD 38,528 |
| Law & Legal Studies | AUD 39,218 |
| Psychology & Behavioural Science | AUD 41,747 |
| Computer Science | AUD 42,922 |
| Nursing & Midwifery | AUD 44,966 |
| Civil Engineering | AUD 46,105 |
| Medicine & Medical Studies | AUD 47,086 |
| Biomedical & Health Sciences | AUD 47,270 |
| Environmental Studies & Ecology | AUD 53,141 |
Median first-year bachelor’s fee by field, net of discounts, across Australian courses in our data. Convert at ≈ KES 92 / NGN 963 per AUD (indicative, Aug 2026).
Zoe Craydel, Senior counsellor, Craydel Australia
Cost of studying medicine, nursing and health
Health is the priciest cluster. Among the courses you can apply to through Craydel, medicine and medical studies run a median of about AUD 47,086 for a bachelor’s, and nursing and midwifery about AUD 44,966 a year. Biomedical and health sciences (AUD 47,270) and public health (AUD 49,601) sit alongside them.
Median first-year bachelor’s fee by health field; naira and shilling equivalents move with the rate.
A note on clinical medicine. Entry to a full clinical medicine degree (MBBS/MD) is highly competitive and international places are limited, and those programmes are often priced above the health-field median shown here. The figure above reflects the medicine and health-science courses in our data; if a clinical MBBS is your goal, treat it as a specialist, higher-cost route and plan for a longer, more selective application.
Cost of business, IT and engineering
These popular fields are where most African students study, and they span the middle of the price range. Business administration runs about AUD 37,363 a bachelor’s year and IT and systems about AUD 36,177, both among the more affordable fields — while engineering sits higher because of its laboratory and workshop costs.
| Field | Bachelor’s (median/yr) |
|---|---|
| Information Technology & Systems | AUD 36,177 |
| Business Administration | AUD 37,363 |
| Computer Science | AUD 42,922 |
| Civil Engineering | AUD 46,105 |
| General Engineering | AUD 48,042 |
Median first-year bachelor’s fee net of discounts.
Want the real fee for the exact course you want?
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What drives the difference?
Three things move the fee more than the university’s name.
Teaching cost of the field
Sciences, health and environmental degrees need labs, equipment and clinical placements, which pushes fees up; business, IT and humanities are cheaper to run.
Bachelor’s or pathway
Foundation and diploma pathways cost less than a full bachelor’s year and articulate into the degree — plan for the whole programme, not just year one.
Where you study
The same field varies by institution and city. Pair a lower-fee university with a lower-cost city — see our cheapest-universities guide — to cut the total.
Whatever the field, remember tuition is only part of the budget: add living costs of about AUD 8,041 to AUD 18,849 a year depending on the city, and the visa’s separate proof-of-funds requirement. Our cost of studying in Australia guide puts the whole first-year budget together, and cheapest universities in Australia ranks the lowest-fee options.
Frequently asked questions
How much does it cost to study medicine in Australia?
Among the courses you can apply to through Craydel, medicine and medical studies run a median first-year fee of about AUD 47,086 for a bachelor’s. Entry to a full clinical medicine degree (MBBS/MD) is highly competitive with limited international places and is often priced above that median, so treat it as a specialist, higher-cost route.
How much does it cost to study nursing in Australia?
Nursing and midwifery courses run a median first-year fee of about AUD 44,966 — roughly KES 4.1m or NGN 43m at today’s indicative rate. Nursing sits just below the broader health-sciences fields, which reach about AUD 49,601 for public health.
Which subject is the cheapest to study?
Creative and practical fields are the most affordable — art and design (about AUD 30,148 a bachelor’s year), finance and accounting, IT and business all sit at the more affordable end. Lab-heavy sciences, health and environmental degrees are the most expensive, up to about AUD 53,141.
Why do some courses cost so much more than others?
Teaching cost drives it: sciences, health and environmental degrees need labs, equipment and placements, while business, IT and humanities are cheaper to run. Level (foundation, bachelor’s) and the city and university also move the fee.
Is tuition the only cost?
No. On top of tuition, budget for living costs of about AUD 8,041 to AUD 18,849 a year depending on the city, health cover (OSHC), and the visa’s separate requirement to prove living funds of AUD 29,710. See our cost of studying in Australia guide for the full first-year budget.
Sources
- Craydel course, campus and admissions data (2026) — median first-year fees by field of study and level, net of discounts, and living costs by city.
- Exchange rates for USD→AUD/KES/NGN conversion (2026); rates move daily and are indicative only.
- Australian Department of Home Affairs — Student visa (Subclass 500) financial requirement. immi.homeaffairs.gov.au
- Study Australia — official guidance on the cost of studying in Australia. studyaustralia.gov.au
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