What is the Dookie Semester?
Did you know that our Dookie campus has a farm, winery and bushland reserve right on campus? Bachelor of Agriculture students can now complete up to three consecutive semesters at Dookie. Make the most out of living on campus and gain valuable personal and vocational experiences through intensive courses not offered anywhere else, and have an amazing time while you're doing it!
Find out more about our Dookie campus, or read on to find out more about our exciting Dookie Semester.
Why should you take the Dookie Semester?
Enhanced employability
Employers want graduates who understand the rural context because they have lived and worked immersed in a rural region.
Exposure to new and unique experiences
Apply your studies in a dynamic farming context on the largest agricultural educational farm in the southern hemisphere plus study two Dookie-specific subjects: AGRI20040 Enterprise Management and AGRI20035 Applied Crop Production and Horticulture.
Social and personal development
Live with a cohort of like-minded agriculture students.
Accommodation in the centre of campus
On-site dorm-style accommodation is available and includes dinners.
- Building 547, own bedroom and ensuite: $414 per week (includes four dinners Monday-Thursday)
- A Dormitory, own bedroom with shared bathrooms: $296 per week (includes four dinners Monday - Thursday)
Vocational experience and networking opportunities
Undertake a Certificate III in Agriculture program alongside your BAg studies and visit a vast range of enterprises as part of the enterprise management subject including:
- Rabobank
- Kelly Brothers Vegetable Farm
- Agribio Research
- Barenbrug Seeds
- Broadacre cereal/oil seed/pulse cropping
- Henty Field Day
- Fonterra Milk Processing Plant Stanhope
- Stanton and Killeen Winery Rutherglen
Mentoring
A mentoring program has also been developed as part of the Dookie semester and further enhances your studies and builds important skills and networks for future success.
How do I sign up?
Make our 2,440 hectare farm your classroom for up to three semesters between Semester 2 of your second year until the end of third year!
Second year students
To secure your spot, please ensure that your second year study plan reflects your intention to study at Dookie. This means enrolling in the following Dookie semester subjects, with Dookie selected as the location.
- AGRI20035 Applied Crop Production and Horticulture
- AGRI20036 Ecology & Grazing Management
- AGRI20038 Principles of Soil Science
- AGRI20040 Enterprise Management (with weekly visits to surrounding enterprises)
Third year students
To secure your spot, please ensure that your third year study plan reflects your intention to study at Dookie. This means enrolling in the following Dookie semester subjects, with Dookie selected as the location.
Semester 1
- AGRI30042 Plant Pathology
- AGRI30037 Soil Management
- AGRI30040 Agribusiness Marketing and Value Chains
- AGRI30041 Industry Internship
Semester 2
- AGRI30045 Applications in Precision Agriculture
- AGRI30033 Farm Management Economics
- AGRI30038 Professional Practice for Agriculture
- AGRI30046 Agronomy
- ANSC30004 Applied Animal Reproduction and Genetics
- ANSC30008 Production Animal Physiology
- AGRI30041 Industry Internship
- AGRI30006 Industry Project (25 point subject) - this can be completed in either semester or
- AGRI30005 Industry Project (25 point subject) - run over both semester 1 and semester 2)
If you have failed a subject or your current study plan does not allow you to select the above subjects, please contact Ros Gall to discuss your options.
Funding your stay
Scholarships and bursaries are available to cover some of the costs that are associated with staying up at Dookie. Please visit Dookie Scholarship applications for more information.
Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)
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Initially, only the Agricultural Economics and Plant and Soil Major will be available to complete at Dookie. If you wish to complete the Production Animal Science major across 3 semesters at Dookie, please discuss your options with the Major Coordinator, as flexible arrangements may be able to be facilitated.
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The content and outcomes of the subjects offered at both Parkville and Dookie are the same. The key difference is the environment in which they are offered. Some subjects currently available at Parkville will not initially be offered at the Dookie campus; however, the Dookie subject list may expand over time in response to demand.
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No, you do not need to complete all three semesters at Dookie and are able to select which semesters (if any) you prefer to undertake at Dookie.
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Yes, as long as you have accomodation options in Melbourne and we can adjust your subject enrolments, you will be able to transfer back to Parkville midway through a semester. Also note that you can choose to study one or two semesters at Dookie and the remainder at Parkville.
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While it is recommended that you have access to a car to travel around the region, for those without a car, there is a bus service from Dookie campus to Shepparton Railway Station on Fridays for students travelling to Melbourne for the weekend. The bus then colletcs students from the station on Sunday evenings and returns them to Dookie campus.
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The campus has both indoor and outdoor gyms, tennis and netball courts, and a swimming pool that is open during warmer months. Some students have also joined the local football and netball teams in the Dookie township. The student committee also organises social activities for students throughout the year.
More information
We hope that you now have enough information to decide if Dookie Semester is right for you, but our team are available to answer any other questions you may have.
- Ros Gall | Director (Dookie): rosgall@unimelb.edu.au
- Karen Edwards | Dookie Student Experience Coordinator: karen.edwards@unimelb.edu.au
- Sarah Frankland | Director, Teaching and Learning: sarah.frankland@unimelb.edu.au
We are very much looking forward to your arrival and the opportunity to showcase our Dookie campus and farm.