"I see a lot of potential for the change that's needed in the food system globally and I'd like  to be part of that."

Thea Turnbull

Bachelor of Science (Regenerative Agriculture) student

As a part of the unit we have on-farm residentials and field-based studies that are part of the regenerative agriculture courses here at Southern Cross University and part of that is meeting with farmers and practitioners in their fields so students get to see firsthand these practices and principles of regenerative agriculture and best farming practices. So looking at farming systems, working out what's working well and what's not and there really is no substitute for these students to be able to actually get out there, meet their peers, meet people in the industry and key researchers here at the University.

Being able to put names to faces and like ask questions in person with our lecturer is especially good. This morning with the custard apple farm like just learning how he integrates both like conventional practices with best practice and regenerative things like it was really inspiring.

So the regenerative agriculture courses here at Southern Cross University are aimed at students who are interested in pursuing a career in this field and many are already working as practitioners and in some capacity as farmers or in industries that are connected with food – agriculture, broad acre, livestock, production systems.

So I was particularly interested in embracing low-energy means of farming and you know figuring out how to feed people without damaging the earth at the same time.

Just being able to get out there and speak to farmers directly and hear their problems to hear the complexity of the issues that are in that sort of thing. I think quite often a lot of people come to this we're coming from maybe a quite an environmental perspective all that sort of thing and they're quite simplistic models about how things function and maybe solutions seem quite simple to us but in reality they're a lot more complex and it's nice to be able to understand that complexity. And I think we've just been lucky to be exposed to some really innovative farmers.

That's a real strength that we have at the University particularly within this degree students are able to connect with these key farmers and learn core skills that are going to be valuable to them on their farming enterprises and also in achieving the jobs that they want to get in the future.

I see a lot of potential for the change that's needed in the food system globally to happen in the in the farming systems and I'd like to be a part of that. Just basically seeing how things are put together and how and how they work I think is massively important to a lot of people there's only so much you can learn from watching, getting in is really key.

Why study at Southern Cross University

Progressive, young and connected.
We believe in what is possible.

At Southern Cross University, we believe in your possibilities, your potential, and we offer a vibrant teaching, learning, research and cultural environment to help you achieve your goals. 

Relevance and resonance underpin everything we do. Our degree and research courses arise from today, but have their sights firmly on the future. We strive to create change that has a positive impact, from local to global.

 Video transcript

My name is Kane Sadjek. I am the co-founder and CEO of HomeGuardian AI and we're an artificial intelligence company. We were able to create an artificial intelligence driven behavioural analysis device. What we effectively do is analyse human behaviour and alert when there's abnormal and notable behaviour that occurs.

My name is Riley, I'm the technology support officer at HomeGuardian. The first time I met Kane, I hopped off my motorbike and walked inside to the office. I pretty much knocked on the door and the first thing I said was "can you guys give me experience in the industry".

He had a folded-up resume with no technical experience written on it at all. He said "you know I'm just started studying at university I'm willing to work for free to get some experience". We put him on and a week later we had to start paying him because he was doing better than half the employees that had 10 years experience on him. That's the kind of person that I wanted on my team.

I actually lived in a small town called Kyogle. I wanted a break from the rural life to sort of get involved with technology. So I started studying software development at Southern Cross University. I was going to start at Lismore campus but I decided to take a jump towards Gold Coast. That was an awesome change for me and it provided a lot of information and useful tools to get started in a job like this.

Southern Cross University is not only really strong in the technical aspects but at the same time they have a really strong nursing and medical arm as well. So you get somebody who has that multi-discipline exposure in how quickly things change in today's day and age you can't be too structured you have to be able to roll with the punches and that's what we get out of Southern Cross University graduates.

Southern Cross University by far creates the best graduates that are ready to hit the ground running on day one and That's Excellent.

People walking at Gold Coast campus on sunny day

The Southern Cross Model

The Southern Cross Model is what sets Southern Cross University apart from the rest.

This new academic model allows students to focus on just one or two subjects at once, over a six-week teaching term, before moving on. This enables deeper learning as well as more control over when you study allowing you to create the ideal life balance.

It's the future of study, with flexibility built in.

Find out how the Southern Cross Model can work for you

Locations

As a multi-campus university, the regions we call home have unique characteristics as study locations – from cosmopolitan cities, thriving industries and coastal lifestyles, to living laboratories of great natural beauty and ecological significance.

"A university that is helping our daughter achieve her dreams.

That's Excellent."

Kylie and Michael

Southern Cross parents

Hi I'm Mick and I'm Kylie and our daughter Candice is studying Occupational Therapy at Southern Cross University.

Candice is very hard working she's motivated and she's very goal driven so she knows exactly where she's going. She didn't want to sit behind a desk she wanted to be out helping people. When Candice was looking around for universities, she chose Southern Cross because she felt comfortable there and I think that's a really special thing to look for.

Southern Cross has provided Candice with opportunities and unique experiences that no other university can offer her. The campus on the gold coast is absolutely beautiful you've got the beach on one side you've got the airport on the other.

The facilities being state of the art she has hands-on experience using all the equipment that she will use in her career so it's a pretty special place to study.

Candice has academic lecturers, but she also has Occupational Therapists that are out in the field so when she's doing those subjects, they are talking about real life experiences, and I think that just broadens the horizon for them.

For Candice having a small class size has been beneficial because she gets to know all the students that are in her class and it's nice to know that her lecturers know her by name. It just takes the pressure off going into that subject having that relationship with knowing that they are there to support you and they've done the study as well which definitely makes a difference.

Candice's first placement was at a camp that ESA ran, and she was lucky enough to be offered a position with ESA from her first placement she now has a job from that she's working with Occupational Therapists she has her own clients and possibly have a position after she graduates.

I believe that she will go on and do great things in life and Southern Cross has assisted us with that.

A university that's helping my daughter achieve her dreams. That's Excellent.

Research, rankings and reputation

Southern Cross University has achieved world-class results in research, rankings, student satisfaction and overall reputation. Our success in these endeavours, combined with our fantastic locations, staff and support systems, is what makes us the perfect place to study.

Good Universities Guide logo

5-star Student Support *

5-star Graduate Salary ^

5-star Overall Experience ^

THE Rankings logo

Top 200 Young Universities †

Top 400 Life Sciences and Psychology 

Top 250 Physical Sciences

ERA 2018 logo

World Standard or Above in 23 Key Research Areas. **

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Top 4% of universities worldwide in Forestry and Agriculture.

*  The Good Universities Guide 2022 – Undergraduate and Postgraduate

The Good Universities Guide 2022 – Postgraduate

  Times Higher Education World University Rankings 2021

** Excellence in Research for Australia (ERA) 2018

 Top 350 universities (global) in Agriculture and Forestry (QS Rankings 2021)

Equity and Diversity

Diversity makes us bold, aware, compassionate and better. It pushes us to challenge the status quo. Southern Cross University is committed to being an inclusive and culturally safe work and study environment that values, supports, embraces and benefits from the diversity of its people and communities.

Find out more about inclusive university   

"I'm very proud of my university. I love that SCU stands for its community and openly supports and encourages diversity and inclusion. It's very forward-thinking."

Layla Buckley

Bachelor of Business/Bachelor of Law graduate

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Research students

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