James Cook University | Ritsumeikan Asia Pacific University

James Cook University’s (JCU) campuses are in Townsville and Cairns.
Townsville is small enough to escape the hustle and bustle of big city life, but large enough to boast a range of facilities. Students can make the most of the great outdoors through rainforest hikes, mountain biking and snorkelling or scuba diving on the Great Barrier Reef. Studying in Cairns provides access to two World Heritage-listed natural environments – the Great Barrier Reef Marine Park and the Wet Tropics ancient rainforests. Students can develop specialised skills during field trips and expeditions to distinctive research locations.

Ranked in the top 300 universities in the world, JCU provides world-class facilities, career-focused courses, and leading research excellence. JCU produces research of excellence and high impact, particularly on issues of importance to the Tropics. JCU is rated as world-class or better in 38 areas of research, including No.1 in the world for Marine Biology, No.2 in the world for Biodiversity Conservation Research, No.25 in the world for Ecology, and in the top 75 in the world for Geography and Mining and Mineral Engineering. JCU’s research centres, including the Australian Institute of Tropical Health and Medicine, ARC Centre of Excellence for Coral Reef Studies, and the Cairns Institute, conduct internationally recognised research in fields including ecology and environment, plant and animal science, geosciences, coral reef science, tropical health and medicine, and tourism.