Academic Skills for University Success

Build Learning Skills to Excel at University

Learn to solve problems, think critically, and communicate effectively in your university courses.

About This Specialization

Develop skills in information & digital literacy, problem-solving, critical thinking and communication. This Specialization is a high-level academic skills course designed to increase your level of academic preparedness prior to commencement of your studies in an English-medium university. The course equips you for full participation and engagement with your studies by building awareness and understanding of the core values and expectations of academic culture.

Created by:

5 courses

Follow the suggested order or choose your own.

Projects

Designed to help you practice and apply the skills you learn.

Certificates

Highlight your new skills on your resume or LinkedIn.

Courses

Beginner Specialization.: No prior experience required.

COURSE 1
Information & Digital Literacy for University Success
Upcoming session: Sep 25 — Nov 13.
Commitment
6 weeks of study, 2-4 hours/week
Subtitles
English
About the Course
This Specialization is aimed at preparing students for undergraduate study in an English-speaking university. The course equips you for full participation and engagement with your studies by building awareness and understanding of the core values and expectations of academic culture, and providing you with practical strategies to apply to your studies. In this course, you will learn how to develop your Information & Digital Literacy Skills to help you achieve success in your university studies. After completing this course, you will be able to: 1. Access and search for information efficiently and effectively using a variety of digital tools. 2. Critically evaluate the reliability of sources for an academic context. 3. Filter, manage and organize information from a wide variety of sources for use in academic study. 4. Demonstrate awareness of ethical issues related to academic integrity surrounding the access and use of information. 5. Understand how to use digital tools for referencing and attribution in order to avoid plagiarism. 6. Understand how to disseminate and communicate information in a professional way, including managing digital identity and building networks for learning and research.
You can choose to take this course only. Learn more.
COURSE 2
Problem-Solving Skills for University Success
Upcoming session: Sep 25 — Nov 13.
Commitment
6 weeks of study, 2 - 4 hours per week
Subtitles
English
About the Course
In this course, you will learn how to develop your Problem Solving and Creativity Skills to help you achieve success in your university studies. After completing this course, you will be able to: 1. Recognise the importance and function of problem solving and creative thought within academic study and the role of critical thought in creative ideation. 2. Develop a toolkit to be able to identify real problems and goals within ill-defined problems 3. Recognize and apply analytical problem solving techniques 4. Recognise and apply creative problem solving techniques 5. Identify the use of creativity within and types of problems most common to your field 6. Apply learnt problem solving and creative ideation skills to a real-life context and reflect on personal learning processes
You can choose to take this course only. Learn more.
COURSE 3
Critical Thinking Skills for University Success
Current session: Sep 18 — Nov 6.
Commitment
6 weeks of study, 2-4 hours/week
Subtitles
English
About the Course
In this course, you will learn how to develop your Critical Thinking Skills to help you achieve success in your university studies. After completing this course, you will be able to: 1. Use critical thinking and argumentation in university contexts to improve academic results 2. Understand the importance and function of critical thinking in academic culture 3. Use a variety of thinking tools to improve critical thinking 4. Identify types of argument, and bias within arguments, in order to better evaluate the strength of arguments 5. Use evidence to support claims in arguments 6. Apply critical thinking and argumentation to real world problems and issues
You can choose to take this course only. Learn more.
COURSE 4
Communication Skills for University Success
Upcoming session: Sep 25 — Nov 13.
Commitment
6 weeks of study, 2-4 hours/week
Subtitles
English
About the Course
This Specialization is aimed at preparing students for undergraduate study in an English-speaking university. The course equips you for full participation and engagement with your studies by building awareness and understanding of the core values and expectations of academic culture, and providing you with practical strategies to apply to your studies. In this course, you will learn how to develop your Communication Skills to help you achieve success in your university studies. After completing this course, you will be able to: 1. Recognise the importance of communication in communities of practice at university 2. Understand contexts of communication at university and associated expectations 3. Communicate clearly across a variety of different contexts and to a wide range of audiences by adapting communicative styles appropriately 4. Demonstrate, negotiate, and further understanding through spoken, written, visual, and conversational modes 5. Effectively formulate arguments and communicate research findings through the process of researching, composing, and editing 6. Confidently engage in constructive and critical dialogue with respect and professionalism
You can choose to take this course only. Learn more.
COURSE 5
Academic Skills for University Success: Capstone
Upcoming session: Nov 20 — Jan 15.
Commitment
6 weeks of study, 2-4 hours/week
Subtitles
English
About the Capstone Project
This Specialization is aimed at preparing students for undergraduate study in an English-speaking university. The course equips you for full participation and engagement with your studies by building awareness and understanding of the core values and expectations of academic culture, and providing you with practical strategies to apply to your studies. In the Capstone Project, you will apply the academic knowledge and skills you have learnt throughout courses 1-4 to research, write and present a project proposal that addresses a complex, real-world problem related to your field of interest and/or future study. After completing this course, you will be able to: 1. Apply a range of idea generation techniques 2. Apply research strategies to search, collect, select, process, and cite information 3. Use the research process to develop and critically analyse ideas 4. Apply critical thinking skills to evaluate and analyse ideas and evidence 5. Use problem-solving skills to identify gaps in knowledge and define issues 6. Develop creative and innovative solutions to real-world problems 7. Use appropriate academic genres for written texts and multi-media presentations 8. Use written and oral skills to communicate ideas effectively for academic contexts
You can choose to take this course only. Learn more.

Creators

The University of Sydney Centre for English Teaching aims to connect the best and brightest global citizens to the University of Sydney; to empower our students and teachers through innovative pedagogies and transform people's lives through education.
The University of Sydney is one of the world’s leading comprehensive research and teaching universities, consistently ranked in the top 1 percent of universities in the world. In 2015, we were ranked 45 in the QS World University Rankings, and 100 percent of our research was rated at above, or well above, world standard in the Excellence in Research for Australia report.