International and interdisciplinary approach to curriculum : the Melbourne model

‘The Melbourne Model’ is a new approach to university curriculum that has been adopted recently by the University of Melbourne, Australia. It incorporates elements of the 3+2+3 or three cycle structure identified in the Bologna Process, and of the objectives of ‘liberal education’ evident in undergraduate education in North America. The Melbourne curriculum model is internationally aligned, while simultaneously responsive to the particular context of Australian higher education policy. The new curriculum also incorporates interdisciplinarity of several variants in order that all students are exposed to and learn about alternative knowledge domains, methods of investigation and enquiry, and different ways of knowing. Interdisciplinary study in the Melbourne Model is ensured through a requirement that students study one quarter of their subjects outside their core curriculum, a requirement known as ‘breadth’. This paper examines two aspects of the Melbourne Model curriculum: its international nature and interdisciplinary character.