University of Melbourne
The University of Melbourne (informally Melbourne University or simply Melbourne) is an Australian public research university located in Melbourne, Victoria. Founded in 1853, it is Australia's second oldest university and the oldest in Victoria. Times Higher Education ranks Melbourne as 33rd in the world, while the QS World University Rankings places Melbourne 31st in the world. According to QS World University Subject Rankings 2015, the University of Melbourne is ranked 5th in the world for education, 8th in law, 13th in computer science and IT, 13th in arts and humanities, 14th in accounting and finance, 14th in dentistry and 18th in medicine.
Melbourne's main campus is located in Parkville, an inner suburb north of the Melbourne central business district, with several other campuses located across Victoria. Melbourne is a sandstone university and a member of the Group of Eight, Universitas 21 and the Association of Pacific Rim Universities. Since 1872 various residential colleges have become affiliated with the university. There are 12 colleges located on the main campus and in nearby suburbs offering academic, sporting and cultural programs alongside accommodation for Melbourne students and faculty.
Melbourne comprises 11 separate academic units and is associated with numerous institutes and research centres, including the Walter and Eliza Hall Institute of Medical Research, Florey Institute of Neuroscience and Mental Health, the Melbourne Institute of Applied Economic and Social Research and the Grattan Institute. Amongst Melbourne's 15 graduate schools the Melbourne Business School, the Melbourne Law School and the Melbourne Medical School are particularly well regarded.
Four Australian prime ministers and five governors-general have graduated from Melbourne. Seven Nobel laureates have been students or faculty, the most of any Australian university.
This is the home of the Tremere Chantry.
Contents
Coat of Arms
The university's coat of arms is a blue shield on which a depiction of "Victory" in white colour holds her laurel wreath over the stars of the Southern Cross. The motto, Postera crescam laude ("Later I shall grow by praise" or, more freely, "We shall grow in the esteem of future generations"), is written on a scroll beneath the shield. The Latin is from a line in Horace's Odes: ego postera crescam laude recens.
History of the University
The University of Melbourne was established by Hugh Childers, the Auditor-General and Finance Minister, in his first Budget Speech on 4 November 1852, who set aside a sum of £10,000 for the establishment of a university. The university was established by Act of Incorporation on 22 January 1853, with power to confer degrees in arts, medicine, laws and music. The act provided for an annual endowment of £9,000, while a special grant of £20.000 was made for buildings that year. The foundation stone was laid on 3 July 1854, and on the same day the foundation stone for the State Library. Classes commenced in 1855 with three professors and sixteen students; of this body of students, only four graduated. The original buildings were officially opened by the Lieutenant Governor of the Colony of Victoria, Sir Charles Hotham, on 3 October 1855. The first chancellor, Redmond Barry (later Sir Redmond), held the position until his death in 1880.
The inauguration of the university was made possible by the wealth resulting from Victoria's gold rush. The institution was designed to be a "civilising influence" at a time of rapid settlement and commercial growth.
In 1881, the admission of women was a seen as victory over the more conservative ruling council.
The university's 150th anniversary was celebrated in 2003.
Governance
Governance of the university is grounded in an act of parliament, the University of Melbourne Act 2009. The peak governing body is the "Council" the key responsibilities of which include appointing the Vice Chancellor and Principal, approving the strategic direction and annual budget, establishing operational policies and procedures and overseeing academic and commercial activities as well as risk management. The chair of the council is the "Chancellor". The "Academic Board" oversees learning, teaching and research activities and provides advice to the council on these matters. The "Committee of Convocation" represents graduates and its members are elected in proportion to the number of graduates in each faculty.
2008 Endowment
The University of Melbourne has an endowment of approximately $1.335 billion, the largest of any Australian tertiary institution. However, Australian endowments are relatively small compared with those of the wealthiest US universities. This was after a recovery period of the University's hardship following the 2008 Great Recession, where it shrank by 22%. This required restructuring of the university including cutting of some staff.
Academia
The university has 11 academic units, some of which incorporate a graduate school. The overall attrition and retention rates at the university are the lowest and highest respectively in Australia. The university has one of the highest admission requirements in the country, with the median ATAR of its undergraduates being 94.05 (2009). Furthermore, The university continued to attract outstanding students; for example, 50% of the Premier's VCE Top All-Round High Achievers enrolled at the University of Melbourne.
According to the 2009 Times Higher Education–QS World University Rankings, Melbourne was then the only Australian university to rank in the top 30 in all five core subject areas with three subject areas ranked in the top 20.
Researchers at the University of Melbourne have published a paper, ‘Vocational education's variable links to vocations’, that "considers the roles that tertiary education qualifications, in particular mid-level qualifications, play in assisting their graduates to gain entry to and progression in work and how they may be strengthened".
Research
Melbourne University claims that its research expenditure is second only to that of the Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation (CSIRO). In 2010 the university spent $813 million on research. In the same year the university had the highest numbers of federal government Australian Postgraduate Awards (APA) and International Postgraduate Research Scholarships (IPRS), as well as the largest totals of Research Higher Degree (RHD) student load (3,222 students) and RHD completions (715).
The University Campus
Residential colleges
Melbourne University has 12 residential colleges in total, seven of which are located in an arc around the cricket oval at the northern edge of the campus, known as College Crescent. The other five are located outside of university grounds.
The residential colleges aim to provide accommodation and holistic education experience to university students.
Most of the university's residential colleges also admit students from RMIT University and Monash University, Parkville campus, with selected colleges also accepting students from the Australian Catholic University and Victoria University.
- -- Trinity College -- 1872 to Present
- -- Ormond College -- 1881 to Present
- -- Janet Clarke Hall -- 1886 to Present
- -- Queen's College -- 1887 to Present -- {Location of Old Wyvern Hall the Tremere Chantry}
- -- Ridley College -- 1910 to Present
- -- Newman College -- 1918 to Present
- -- St Mary's College -- 1918 to Present
- -- University College -- 1937 to Present
- -- International House -- 1957 to Present
- -- Graduate House -- 1962 to Present
- -- St Hilda's College -- 1964 to Present
- -- Whitley College -- 1965 to Present
Architecture
Several of the earliest campus buildings, such as the Old Quadrangle and Baldwin Spencer buildings, feature period architecture.
The new Wilson Hall replaced the original building which was destroyed by fire.
Libraries
The Melbourne University Library has three million visitors performing 42 million loan transactions every year. The general collection comprises over 3.5 million items including books, DVDs, photographic slides, music scores and periodicals as well as rare maps, prints and other published materials.[37] The library also holds over 32,000 e-books, hundreds of databases and 63,000 general and specialist journals in digital form.
- The libraries include
- Baillieu Library (arts and humanities)
- Brownless Biomedical Library
- Eastern Resource Centre (ERC)
- Giblin Eunson Library (business, economics and education)
- Law Library
- Lenton Parr Music, Visual and Performing Arts Library (formerly VCA Library)
- Louise Hanson-Dyer Music Library
- Melbourne School of Land and Environment Library (Burnley, Creswick, Dookie)
- Veterinary Science Library
The Other Four Campuses
The university has four other campuses in metropolitan Melbourne at Burnley, Southbank, Hawthorn and Werribee.
The Burnley campus is where horticultural courses are taught. Performing arts courses are taught at the Southbank campus. Commerce courses are taught at the Hawthorn campus. Veterinary science is taught at the Werribee campus.
In regional Victoria, the Creswick and Dookie campuses are used for forestry and agriculture courses respectively. They previously housed several hundred residential students, but are now largely used for short courses and research. The Shepparton campus is home to the Rural Health Academic Centre for the Faculty of Medicine, Dentistry and Health Sciences.
The university is a part-owner of the Melbourne Business School, based at Parkville campus, which ranked 46th in the 2012 Financial Times global rankings.
Arts and Culture
The university is associated with several arts institutions in the wider community. These include: The Ian Potter Museum of Art, which houses the university's visual arts collection. Thirty-three cultural collections, embodying the history of many of the academic disciplines taught at the university. These include the Grainger Museum Collection of musical cultural artefacts; the Medical History Museum, covering the history of the medical profession in Victoria; and the Harry Brookes Allen Museum of Anatomy and Pathology, which contains more than 8,000 specimens relevant to the teaching of medicine and other health sciences.
Notable Graduates
The University of Melbourne has produced many notable alumni, with graduates having held the offices of Governor-General, Governor of Victoria, Prime Ministers of Australia, Justices of the High, Federal, Family and Victorian Supreme courts, Premiers of Victoria and elected leaders of other states and territories, Nobel Laureates, a First Lady of East Timor, ministers of foreign countries, Lord Mayors, academics, architects, historians, poets, philosophers, politicians, scientists, physicists, authors, industry leaders, defence force personnel, corporate leaders, community leaders, and artists.
Student Activities
"Prosh Week"
A celebrated tradition at Melbourne is usually held in late September in which teams of students engage in various non-academic activities including Go-Kart Races and a 24-hour scavenger hunt. – the winner claiming the "Prosh Week Trophy".
The week was nicknamed "Posh week" due to the number of times students would have to dress up in formal attire for a glut of University Student Balls hosted around the time. The effects of alcohol caused words to be slurred, and thus "posh" became "prosh".
Sports
The University has participated in various sports in its history and has 39 affiliated clubs. Sport is overseen by Melbourne University Sport.
The Melbourne University Sports Union was the predecessor to the current Melbourne University Sports Association. Since its inception, the aim of the Union and now the Association is to provide a collective voice for all affiliated sporting clubs on the University campus. In 2004, the Melbourne University Sports Association celebrated its centenary.
The Melbourne University Lacrosse Club (MULC) was established in 1883 and is the oldest continually operational lacrosse club in the world.
The Melbourne University Cycling Club (MUCyc) is associated with Cycling Australia and competes regularly at local and national races. In 2008 MUCyc won its seventh consecutive AUG championship (2002–2008).
The Melbourne University Tennis Club was one of the original five (5) clubs established for the students and staff of the University, with various tennis competitions and social tennis events held on campus as early as 1882.
Melbourne Accelerator Program (MAP)
Since its inception in 2012, MAP has evolved into a program that hosts a range of public events, workshops and feeder programs to help up-skill and connect entrepreneurs of all stages. The best startups on campus are awarded access to the MAP Startup Accelerator. In 2014, MAP was one of two Australian university accelerators that have been named in a global list of top 25 university incubators produced by University Business Incubator Index.
The first MAP cohort in 2012 includes Bluesky, 121 Cast, VenueMob and New Wave Power Systems. Notably, Bluesky managed to enter the finals of the StarTrack Online Retail Industry Awards 2014 for best mobile shopping app against large Australian e-commerce incumbents including The Iconic and 121Cast signed a large content partnership contract with Southern Cross Austereo.
MAP student founders have collectively raised over $5.6 million in funding, created more than 60 jobs and generated over $1.0 million in revenue. They tackle big problems across a range of industries, from medical devices and hardware, to financial technology, web solutions, e-commerce and software.
Student Societies
Arts and Music Societies
- -- Aussie Mates Events Clubs
- -- Beer Appreciation Club
