University of New South Wales

The University of New South Wales (UNSW) is a public research university based in Sydney, New South Wales, Australia. It was established in 1949.

The university comprises seven faculties, through which it offers bachelor's, master's and doctoral degrees. Its main campus is in the Sydney eastern suburb of Kensington, from the Sydney central business district (CBD). Its creative arts school, UNSW Art & Design (in the faculty of Arts, Design and Architecture), is located in Paddington and it has subcampuses in the Sydney CBD and several other suburbs, including Randwick and Coogee. It has a campus at the Australian Defence Force military academy, ADFA in Canberra, Australian Capital Territory. It has research stations located throughout the state of New South Wales.

It is one of the founding members of Group of Eight, a coalition of Australian research-intensive universities and a member of Universitas 21, a global network of research universities. It has international exchange and research partnerships with over 200 universities around the world.

History

Foundation

thumb|University council's first meeting in 1949

The origins of the university can be traced to the Sydney Mechanics' School of Arts established in 1833 and the Sydney Technical College established in 1878. These institutions were established to meet the growing demand for capabilities in new technologies as the New South Wales economy shifted from its pastoral base to industries fuelled by the industrial age. The post-war Labor government of New South Wales recognised the increasing need to have a university specialised in training high-quality engineers and technology-related professionals in numbers beyond that of the capacity and characteristics of the existing University of Sydney.

Early years

In March 1948, classes commenced with a first intake of 46 students pursuing programs including civil engineering, mechanical engineering, mining engineering, and electrical engineering. At that time, the thesis programs were innovative. Each course embodied a specified and substantial period of practical training in the relevant industry. It was also unprecedented for tertiary institutions at that time to include compulsory instruction in humanities.

thumb|The Old Main Building is the first permanent building constructed on campus, officially opened on 16 April 1955

Initially, the university operated from the inner Sydney Technical College city campus in Ultimo as a separate institution from the college. However, in 1951, the Parliament of New South Wales passed the New South Wales University of Technology (Construction) Act 1951 (NSW) to provide funding and allow buildings to be erected at the Kensington site where the university is now located.

The lower campus area of the Kensington campus was vested in the university in two lots, in December 1952 and June 1954. The upper campus area was vested in the university in November 1959.

Expansion

In 1958, the university's name was changed to the "University of New South Wales" reflecting a transformation from a technology-based institution to a generalist university. In 1960, the faculties of arts and medicine were established, with the faculty of law coming into being in 1971.

The university's first director was Arthur Denning (1949–1952), who made important contributions to founding the university. In 1953, he was replaced by Philip Baxter, who continued as vice-chancellor when this position's title was changed in 1955. Baxter's dynamic, if authoritarian, management was central to the university's first 20 years. His visionary, but at times controversial, energies saw the university grow from a handful to 15,000 students by 1968. The new vice-chancellor, Rupert Myers (1969–1981), brought consolidation and an urbane management style to a period of expanding student numbers, demand for change in university style, and challenges of student unrest.

In 1962, the academic book publishing company University of New South Wales Press was launched. Now an ACNC not-for-profit entity, it has three divisions: NewSouth Publishing (the publishing arm of the company), NewSouth Books (the sales, marketing and distribution part of the company), and the UNSW Bookshop, situated at the Kensington campus.

The stabilising techniques of the 1980s managed by the vice-chancellor, Michael Birt (1981–1992), provided a firm base for the energetic corporatism and campus enhancements pursued by the subsequent vice-chancellor, John Niland (1992–2002). The 1990s had the addition of fine arts to the university. The university established colleges in Newcastle (1951) and Wollongong (1961), which eventually became the University of Newcastle and the University of Wollongong in 1965 and 1975, respectively.

The former St George Institute of Education (part of the short-lived Sydney College of Advanced Education) amalgamated with the university from 1 January 1990, resulting in the formation of a School of Teacher Education at the former SGIE campus at Oatley. A School of Sports and Leisure Studies and a School of Arts and Music Education were also subsequently based at St George. The campus was closed in 1999.

Recent history

In 2012, private sources contributed 45% of the university's annual funding.

In 2010, the Lowy Cancer Research Centre, Australia's first facility to bring together researchers in childhood and adult cancer, costing $127 million, opened.

In 2003, the university was invited by Singapore's Economic Development Board to consider opening a campus there. Following a 2004 decision to proceed, the first phase of a planned $200 m campus opened in 2007. Students and staff were sent home and the campus closed after one semester following substantial financial losses.

In 2008, it collaborated with two other universities in forming The Centre for Social Impact. In 2019, the university moved to a trimester timetable as part of UNSW's 2025 Strategy. Under the trimester timetable, the study load changed from offering four subjects per 13-week semester, to three subjects per 10-week term. The change to trimesters has been widely criticised by staff and students as a money-making move, with little consideration as to the well-being of students.

In 2012, UNSW Press celebrated its 50th anniversary and launched the UNSW Bragg Prize for Science Writing. The annual Best Australian Science Writing anthology contains the winning and shortlisted entries among a collection of the year's writing from Australian authors, journalists and scientists and is published annually in the NewSouth imprint under a different editorship. The UNSW Press Bragg Student Prize is for science writing by Australian high school students and is supported by the Copyright Agency Cultural Fund and UNSW Science.

In the 2019 Student Experience Survey, the University of New South Wales recorded the lowest student satisfaction rating out of all Australian universities, with an overall satisfaction rating of 62.9, which was lower than the overall national average of 78.4. UNSW's low student satisfaction numbers for 2019 was attributed to the university's switch to a trimester system. In the 2021 Student Experience Survey, the University of New South Wales recorded the lowest student satisfaction rating out of all New South Wales universities, and the second lowest nationwide behind the University of Melbourne, with an overall satisfaction rating of 66.9, which was lower than the overall national average of 73.

On 16 December 2019, the Kensington campus was equipped with Light Rail service upon the opening of the UNSW High Street stop on the L2 Randwick Line Randwick.

On 15 July 2020, the university announced 493 job cuts and a 25 percent reduction in management due to the effects of COVID-19 and a $370 million budget shortfall.

In October 2021, UNSW established Mentem by UNSW to help organisations upskill and reskill their workforces. Mentem helps organisation achieve strategic goals and measures completion and success rates through their bespoke insights platform. In September 2022 Mentem won Best in Class at the Australian Good Design awards for the work with Department of regional NSW government, creating a learning program to uplift staff in digital literacy.

In May 2022, UNSW announced the university had received a $4.7 million in funding in order to pursue health prevention research. The funding aims to fund research on infectious diseases, drug and alcohol use and primary health care. Announced as part of NSW Health's Prevention Research Support Program (PRSP), the research is designed to support NWS research organisations conducting prevention and early intervention research.

Campuses and buildings

thumb|right|Quadrangle Building

thumb|right|Library Lawn, upper campus

thumb|Main Walkway, lower campus

thumb|right|Lower campus

The main UNSW campus, where most faculties are situated, is located on a site in Kensington, Sydney. UNSW Art & Design is located in the inner suburb of Paddington.

The university also has additional campuses and field stations in Randwick, Coogee, Botany, Dee Why, Cowan, Manly Vale, Fowlers Gap, Port Macquarie, Wagga Wagga, Albury, Coffs Harbour, Griffith, and Bankstown Airport.

Main Campus

The main UNSW campus in Kensington is divided geographically into two areas: upper campus and lower campus, which were vested to the university in three separate lots. During the pilot phase, students and staff have access to areas supporting flexible, collaborative learning.

Randwick Campus

The Randwick campus is located at 22-32 King Street, Randwick, New South Wales. It also houses the UNSW Medicine's National Drug and Alcohol Research Centre.

Manly Vale Northern Beaches Campus

The Manly Value campus is located at 110 King St, Manly Vale, New South Wales in the Northern Beaches and hosts the School of Civil and Environmental Engineering's Water Research Laboratory.

Canberra Campus

UNSW Canberra at ADFA (formerly known as UNSW at ADFA), abbreviated to UNSW Canberra, is situated in Canberra. Its students are from the military academy known as ADFA, who are in training for the Australian Defence Force, and as such has an integrated defence focus, with particular strengths in defence-related, security and engineering research.

thumb|UNSW Flying Operations Unit is based at [[Bankstown Airport]]

Venues and other facilities

thumb|The Roundhouse, constructed in 1961, is one of the venues for concerts, conferences, and seminars

A number of theatre and music venues are at the university, many of which are available for hire to the general public. The UNSW Fitness and Aquatic Centre provides health and fitness facilities and services to both students and the general public.

Governance and structure

University Council

thumb|left|The Chancellery

The university is governed by the university council, which is responsible for acting on the university's behalf to promote its objectives and interests. The council comprises 15 members, including the chancellor, vice-chancellor, president of the academic board, two members appointed by the minister for education, five members appointed by the council, three members elected by university staff and two student-elected members.

The principal academic body is the Academic Board, which receives advice on academic matters from the faculties, college (Australian Defence Force Academy), and the boards of studies. It is responsible for academic policy setting, academic strategy via its eight standing committees, approval and delivery of programs, and academic standards. The board advises the vice-chancellor and council on matters relating to teaching, scholarship and research and takes decisions on delegation from the council.

Chancellor and Vice-Chancellor

The chief executive officer of the university is the president and vice-chancellor, currently Attila Brungs. The deputy vice-chancellors and pro-vice-chancellors form part of an executive team that are responsible for academic operations, research policy, research management, quality assurance and external relations, including philanthropy and advancement.

Each of the faculties has its respective board, which are responsible for the teaching and examining of subjects within their scope.

Faculties and departments

<!---UNSW Art & Design and UNSW Faculty of Arts, Design & Architecture redirect to this section--->

the university has six faculties:

• Arts, Design & Architecture (includes six schools and six research centres)
• Schools: Art & Design; Arts & Media; Built Environment; Education; Humanities & Languages; and Social Sciences
• Engineering
• Law and Justice
• Medicine & Health
• Science
• UNSW Canberra, which includes the new (since late 2024) UNSW Canberra City campus as well as the long-established UNSW at ADFA campus (since 1967, as official education provider for Australian Defence Force)

The university also has an association with the National Institute of Dramatic Art.

<gallery>

File:UNSW School of Built Environment - Anita B. Lawrence Centre 2025-01-05.jpg|Anita B. Lawrence Centre, housing Built Environment

File:UNSW Business School.jpg|UNSW Business School

File:Electrical Engineering Building, UNSW.jpg|Electrical Engineering Building

File:(1)Faculty of Law UNSW 060.jpg|Law Building

File:Wallace Wurth Building and Michael Birt Lawn.jpg|Wallace Wurth Building, housing Medicine & Health

File:Hilmer Building and Science & Engineering Building UNSW 2025-01-05.jpg|Hilmer Building and Science & Engineering Building

</gallery>

Insignia

Coat of arms

The grant of arms was made by the College of Arms on 3 March 1952. The grant reads:

:Argent on a Cross Gules a Lion passant guardant between four Mullets of eight points Or a Chief Sable charged with an open Book proper thereon the word "SCIENTIA" in letters also sable.

The lion and the four stars of the Southern Cross on the St George's Cross have reference to the State of New South Wales which established the university; the open book with scientia ("knowledge") across its pages is a reminder of its purpose. The placement of scientia on the book was inspired by its appearance on the arms of Imperial College London, formed in 1907. Beneath the shield are the Latin words within a scroll: "Corde Manu et Mente" ("heart, hand and mind"), which when combined with scientia forms the Latin motto of the university: Scientia Corde Manu et Mente or 'Knowledge by heart, hand and mind'.

The original motto of the university, from 1952 was Scientia Manu et Mente ("Knowledge by hand and mind"), which used the earlier motto of the Sydney Technical College (Manu et Mente or 'by hand and mind') from which the university developed. In 2021, the motto was changed, with approval from the College of Arms, to its current form to reflect the university's brand concept of 'collective difference'. Following the rules of English heraldry, the motto does not form part of the arms and consequently the alteration did not formally require approval of the College of Arms.

An update of the design and colours of the arms was undertaken in 1970, which provided a more contemporary design, yet retained all the arms' heraldic associations. In 1994, the university title was added to the arms, as was the abbreviation "UNSW", to create the UNSW symbol that is used for everyday and marketing purposes. On 24 June 2016 the university registered and the business name "UNSW Sydney" which it adopted in January 2017 for branding and marketing of its Sydney campus and similarly registered and adopted the business name "UNSW Canberra" for its Australian Defence Force Academy campus in Campbell, ACT.

Mace

The ceremonial mace of the university is made of stainless steel with silver facings and a shaft of eumung timber. On the head are mounted four silver shields, two engraved with the arms of the State of New South Wales and two with the original-design arms of the university. A silver Waratah, NSW's floral emblem, surmounts the head. The mace was donated to the university by BHP and was presented by the company's chairman, Colin Syme, on 6 December 1962. A former NSW Government Architect, Cobden Parkes, was appointed as the first official mace-bearer.

Academic profile

Research divisions

thumb|Lowy Cancer Research Centre

thumb|The [[Australian Research Council Centre of Excellence in Quantum Computation and Communication Technology (CQC2T) is located in the Newton Building]]

The university has a number of purpose-built research facilities, including:

• UNSW Lowy Cancer Research Centre is Australia's first facility bringing together researchers in childhood and adult cancers, as well as one of the country's largest cancer-research facilities, housing up to 400 researchers.

; National publications

In the Australian Financial Review Best Universities Ranking 2025, the university was tied #2 amongst Australian universities.

; Global publications

In the 2026 Quacquarelli Symonds World University Rankings (published 2025), the university attained a position of #20 (2nd nationally).

In the Times Higher Education World University Rankings 2026 (published 2025), the university attained a =position of #79 (5th nationally).

In the 2025 Academic Ranking of World Universities, the university attained a position of #80 (5th nationally).

In the 2025–2026 U.S. News & World Report Best Global Universities, the university attained a position of #34 (3rd nationally).

In the CWTS Leiden Ranking 2024, the university attained a position of #38 (2nd nationally).

Student outcomes

The Australian Government's QILT