Most Expensive Degrees by Field — Australian Universities
Across PlainStudentAid's database of 252 representative Commonwealth Supported Place degree programs spanning 8 fields of study, the most expensive field by average indicative HECS-HELP cost is engineering ($67,968 averaged across 39 programs of 4.0 years), while the cheapest field on average is health nursing ($13,881 averaged across 39 programs). This ranking is computed live from the 2026 Job-ready Graduates schedule applied to the Department of Education's higher-education enrolment dataset.
The full ranking
| Field | Avg indicative cost | Avg duration | Programs | Range |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| engineering | $67,968 | 4.0 yrs | 39 | $67,968 – $67,968 |
| law | $67,968 | 4.0 yrs | 39 | $67,968 – $67,968 |
| business | $50,976 | 3.0 yrs | 39 | $50,976 – $50,976 |
| humanities | $50,976 | 3.0 yrs | 19 | $50,976 – $50,976 |
| it computing | $50,976 | 3.0 yrs | 39 | $50,976 – $50,976 |
| health allied | $38,160 | 3.0 yrs | 19 | $38,160 – $38,160 |
| education | $18,508 | 4.0 yrs | 19 | $18,508 – $18,508 |
| health nursing | $13,881 | 3.0 yrs | 39 | $13,881 – $13,881 |
Average indicative cost by field
Average indicative HECS-HELP cost — full Bachelor degree
By field of study, averaged across all listed universities
Top 10 most expensive specific programs
| Rank | Program | University | Indicative cost |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Bachelor of Engineering (Honours) | Australian National University | $67,968 |
| 2 | Bachelor of Laws | Australian National University | $67,968 |
| 3 | Bachelor of Engineering (Honours) | University of Melbourne | $67,968 |
| 4 | Bachelor of Laws | University of Melbourne | $67,968 |
| 5 | Bachelor of Engineering (Honours) | University of Sydney | $67,968 |
| 6 | Bachelor of Laws | University of Sydney | $67,968 |
| 7 | Bachelor of Engineering (Honours) | University of New South Wales | $67,968 |
| 8 | Bachelor of Laws | University of New South Wales | $67,968 |
| 9 | Bachelor of Engineering (Honours) | Monash University | $67,968 |
| 10 | Bachelor of Laws | Monash University | $67,968 |
How to interpret these numbers
All figures are indicative student contributions only — what you would borrow via HECS-HELP for a standard-duration Commonwealth Supported Place at a public Australian university. The Commonwealth subsidises the rest of the tuition cost. Honours years, accelerated programs, double degrees, and postgraduate continuation can change the figure substantially.
Cost variation across fields is driven primarily by the 2021 Job-ready Graduates package cluster a degree sits in: cluster 1 (teaching, nursing, agriculture, STEM) at $4,627/year, cluster 2 (allied health) at $8,948/year, cluster 3 (engineering, science, IT) at $12,720/year, and cluster 4 (humanities, business, law) at $16,992/year. The cluster reflects political priorities about which fields to incentivise rather than the actual teaching cost of each program.
Limitations
These figures use a representative degree per university and the standard course duration. Joint and integrated programs, professional doctorates (architecture, medicine, law), and postgraduate-only fields are not in the current dataset and will be expanded in future PlainStudentAid releases. Some niche fields (theology, indigenous studies, performing arts) are also under-represented. Always confirm the specific student contribution amount with your provider's published fee schedule.
Methodology
We populate the degrees table with a representative set of Bachelor programs at each institution. The annual cost is taken from the 2026 Job-ready Graduates schedule; total cost is annual cost multiplied by standard course duration. The ranking computes at request time from the live database — no number on this page is hardcoded. See our methodology page for full sourcing.
Source: Australian Government StudyAssist 2026 Job-ready Graduates student contribution schedule · 2026
Source: data.gov.au — Department of Education Higher education statistics · 2023