College of Liberal Arts
skip to content The University of Texas at Austin

Great Barrier Reef May Term

Twenty-four days in Queensland, Australia. May 11 to June 3, 2027. Open to undergraduates in any major. Applications close November 1, 2026.

Apply through Texas Global  |  Attend an information session

Videos from earlier years can be viewed on the Clark Center’s YouTube channel.

College of Liberal Arts

Townsville, Australia.

In 2016, Outside magazine published an obituary for the Great Barrier Reef. It was premature. Whether it remains so is a political question, and that question gets settled at the state, federal, and local levels in Australia. This course takes you to Queensland to see how that happens: who makes the decisions, what pressures they’re under, and why protecting something everyone claims to value turns out to be so hard.

Understanding the politics of protecting the reef takes a working knowledge of the reef itself and of the region around it. The course builds that knowledge through excursions and meetings with scientists, industry, public officials, Traditional Owners, and the people who live and work along the coast. This course is designed to give you the tools to engage seriously with real-world policymaking.

What you’ll do

  • Travel to Brisbane, Townsville, Magnetic Island, and Port Douglas.
  • Experience two UNESCO World Heritage sites, the Great Barrier Reef and the Wet Tropics.
  • Visit the Queensland Parliament and talk with sitting members.
  • In Brisbane, meet with state government officials and representatives from the Canegrowers association and the seafood industry.
  • Visit the world’s largest koala sanctuary and see koalas, platypus, wombats, and kangaroos up close.
  • Tour the Port of Townsville, the largest general cargo and container port in northern Australia, operating inside the World Heritage Area.
  • Learn about North Queensland’s dangerous animals, and what to do if you meet one, at Hands on Wildlife in Townsville.
  • Visit a sugarcane farm and hear from cane growers how farming and the reef are connected.
  • Talk with Magnetic Island residents about the pressures the island faces from its proximity to the Port of Townsville, and watch the rock wallabies come out at Geoffrey Bay.
  • Go on a hike where you can see koalas in the wild.
  • Snorkel the Great Barrier Reef and learn to recognize the difference between a healthy and an unhealthy reef.
  • Conduct a marine-debris survey at Alva Beach and add your data to the Australian Marine Debris Database.
  • Spend a day at Mossman Gorge and experience the Daintree Rainforest with Kuku Yalanji guides.
  • Visit the Living Coral Biobank at Port Douglas, the world’s largest collection of hard corals.

The day-by-day plan is on the 2027 Planned Itinerary page.

College of Liberal Arts

The Port of Townsville. Image: Port of Townsville Limited.

Quick facts

  • Open to undergraduates in any major. You don’t need any background in Australia or in science.
  • May 11 to June 3, 2027, departing the US May 9.
  • 25 students.
  • Get course credit for GOV 355M, Topics in Political Science: The Politics of Protecting the Great Barrier Reef.
  • Also counts toward Sustainability Studies and International Relations and Global Studies.
  • Counts as a Social Science strand course in the Environment and Sustainability Bridging Disciplines Program.
  • Required spring seminar: LA 119, one credit hour, Wednesdays 3–4 p.m. It covers the reef, the threats to it, Australian and Queensland politics, and the people you’ll be meeting.

Paying for it

  • Program fee. Texas Global’s current estimate for 2027 is $6,510. It covers housing, excursions, some meals, and orientation. It does not include airfare (about $2,400), insurance, or personal spending; Texas Global’s full estimated budget, airfare included, comes to about $10,400.
  • Tuition. The May Term is part of the spring semester. If your spring registration, including this course, comes to at least 12 credit hours, the tuition is covered by your spring flat-rate tuition and you pay nothing extra for it.
  • Financial aid. You can use your financial aid package for the program. May Term aid is disbursed with your spring aid.
  • First-generation college student scholarship. Offered through the Clark Center; applications are due November 1. Apply on the Scholarships and Academic Credit page.
  • College of Liberal Arts scholarships. The college has set aside $18,000 in scholarship money for this program. Apply through LASSO; details on the Scholarships and Academic Credit page.
  • Gilman International Scholarship. Pell Grant recipients are eligible, and UT students have a good record of winning it. Learn more and apply.
  • Visit the Scholarships and Academic Credit page for more details.

If cost is what’s stopping you from applying, talk to us before you decide.

Who teaches it

Rhonda Evans, J.D., Ph.D., is an Associate Professor of Instruction in the Department of Government and directs the Edward A. Clark Center for Australian and New Zealand Studies. She created this May Term program, and 2027 will be her fifth time leading it. She has been recognized for her teaching. Read her full biography, and learn more about her reasons for designing the program here, in “Snorkeling for Solutions.”

How to apply

Applications close November 1, 2026. Apply through Texas Global. If you have questions, come to an information session or email Rhonda Evans at revans@austin.utexas.edu.