Verbyla says Flinders is a smart alternative to larger universities. "Adelaide has a growing reputation; it has the same or better quality than Sydney universities and is 10 to 15 percent cheaper for the basics."

Angela Tuffley, senior lecturer at the School of Information and Communication Technology School said Griffith University (Qld) offers a variety of IT postgrad courses. Students who undertake the Master of Software Engineering are taught by internationally recognized experts in software engineering from the Software Quality Institute (SQI), a not-for-profit center within Griffith University.

"At SQI we have a mission to transition world-class technology to Australian industry and the courses we deliver to the students are designed to meet industry demands.

"There is more to engineering software than cutting code, and our students learn to understand this, that is why Defence, telecommunications, finance and aerospace and other sectors snap them up." The Master of Software Engineering is three semesters, or one and a half years full time; students can also study part time. Griffith was the first partner of the Software Engineering Institute at US based Carnegie Mellon University.

Meanwhile, Deakin University specializes in online education. "Everything is online," said Professor Wanlei Zhou head of the School of Engineering and Information Technology.