RMIT journalism students who applied for the University of Maryland are being told to find alternative exchange partners.
For second-year journalism student Rachael Hocking, the news is devastating.
“Maryland was my first preference,” she said.
“I was looking for a university that would challenge me because I wanted to get the best out of my time away.
“It was highly recommended by lecturers and the journalism alumni.”
Maryland University’s Philip Merrill College of Journalism is one of the top three journalism schools in America.
It has close ties with RMIT, which is considered to have one of the best journalism degrees in Australia.
Rachael worked on her application for two months and was never told during the application process that Maryland wasn’t accepting RMIT students this year.
“There was a real lack of communication,” she said.
In the end Rachael had to go to RMIT’s Education Abroad Office in person to find out what happened to her application to Maryland.
“I got an email saying I had an offer from the university that was my second preference.
“This didn’t make sense because my second preference hadn’t been approved by my course coordinators.”
However Kate Rintoul from the Education Abroad Office says Maryland will still take RMIT students.
“Our bi-lateral agreement is up for renewal and some areas could not take students,” she said.
“This is pretty normal – particular areas could be limited for a whole range of reasons such as staff numbers or access to funding.
“The most important thing is that we provide students with alternative opportunities.”
The RMIT website has not been updated to reflect the expiration of our bi-lateral agreement with Maryland University. Instead it says places are highly competitive and students should submit a second study plan for another institution.
Rachael is no longer planning to go on exchange because the Education Abroad Office gave her one week to find another university.
“It was the first week back and everything was pretty hectic.
“If I was doing my application in one week as opposed to the two months I originally had it obviously wasn’t going to be up to scratch.”
Journalism students are advised to go on exchange in the second semester of their second year.
Generally, students have two options: Maryland or the Danish School of Journalism. This is because their journalism programs are the most similar to RMIT’s.
Journalism students are still able to study at different institutions, but it will often result in adding more time to their degree.
Although disappointed, Rachael remains positive and plans to use the money she has saved to complete an internship overseas.
One opportunity available to her is the Journalism Professional Practicum in Jakarta.
RMIT Exchange Partners versus those recommended to journalism students
