| academic_affiliation =
| endowment = 432.5 million (2023)
| type = Public research university
| chancellor = Peter Varghese
| vice_chancellor = Deborah Terry
| address = Sir Fred Schonell Drive
| city = Brisbane
| state = Queensland
| total_staff = 7,504 (FTE, 2023)
| campus = Metropolitan and regional with multiple sites
| colours = <span style="background:#592985; border:1px solid #000; color:#fff; padding:2px 14px;">Purple</span>
| sporting_affiliations =
| sports_nickname =
| mascot = Various
| accreditation = TEQSA
| affiliation = Group of Eight (Go8)
| website = uq.edu.au
| footnotes =
| logo = Logo of the University of Queensland.svg
| postalcode = 4072
| country = Australia
| coor =
The University of Queensland is a public research university located primarily in Brisbane, the capital city of the Australian state of Queensland. Founded in 1909 by the Queensland parliament, UQ is one of the six sandstone universities, an informal designation of the oldest university in each state.
The main St Lucia campus occupies much of the riverside inner suburb of St Lucia, southwest of the Brisbane central business district. Other UQ campuses and facilities are located throughout Queensland, the largest of which are the Gatton campus and the Herston campus, notably including the Mayne Medical School. UQ's overseas establishments include UQ North America office in Washington D.C., and the UQ-Ochsner Clinical School in Louisiana, United States.
The university offers associate, bachelor, master, doctoral, and higher doctorate degrees through a college, a graduate school, and six faculties. UQ incorporates over one hundred research institutes and centres offering research programs, such as the Institute for Molecular Bioscience, Boeing Research and Technology Australia Centre, the Australian Institute for Bioengineering and Nanotechnology, and the UQ Dow Centre for Sustainable Engineering Innovation. Recent notable research of the university include pioneering the invention of the HPV vaccine that prevents cervical cancer, developing a COVID-19 vaccine that was in human trials, and the development of high-performance superconducting MRI magnets for portable scanning of human limbs.
UQ counts two Nobel laureates (Peter C. Doherty and John Harsanyi), over a hundred Olympians winning numerous gold medals, and 117 Rhodes Scholars among its alumni and former staff. UQ's alumni also include University of California, San Francisco Chancellor Sam Hawgood, the first female Governor-General of Australia Dame Quentin Bryce, former President of King's College London Ed Byrne, member of United Kingdom's Prime Minister Council for Science and Technology Max Lu, Oscar and Emmy awards winner Geoffrey Rush, triple Grammy Award winner Tim Munro, former CEO and chairman of Dow Chemical Andrew N. Liveris, and current director of multiple organisations including IBM.
History
Foundation of the university
thumb|The University of Queensland's former main campus
According to the Queensland Government's Heritage Register's History section:
<blockquote>
Proposals for a university in Queensland began in the 1870s. A Royal Commission in 1874, chaired by Sir Charles Lilley, recommended the immediate establishment of a university. Those against a university argued that technical rather than academic education was more important in an economy dominated by primary industry. Those in favour of the university, in the face of this opposition, distanced themselves from Oxford and Cambridge and proposed instead a model derived from the mid-western states of the U.S.A. A second Royal Commission in 1891 recommended the inclusion of five faculties in a new university; Arts, Law, Medicine, Science, and Applied Science. Education generally was given a low priority in Queensland's budgets, and in a colony with a literacy rate of 57% in 1861, primary education was the first concern well ahead of secondary and technical education. The government, despite the findings of the Royal Commissions, was unwilling to commit funds to the establishment of a university.
1920s to 1990s
thumb|Construction of the Forgan Smith Building began in 1938.
The development of the university was delayed by World War I, but after the first world war the university enrolments for education and research took flight as demand for higher education increased in Australia. Thus, in the early 1920s the growing university had to look for a more spacious campus as its original site in George Street, Brisbane, had limited room for expansion. Lack of finance delayed development of the St Lucia campus. Hence, the construction of the university's first building in St Lucia only began in 1938. It was later named the Forgan Smith Building, after the premier of the day and it was completed in 1939. During World War II, the Forgan Smith Building was used as a military base and it served first as advanced headquarters for the Allied Land Forces in the South West Pacific.]]
The first Doctor of Science was awarded in 1942. The first PhD was awarded in 1952.
1990s to present day
In 1990, Australia reorganised its higher education system by abolishing the binary system of universities and colleges of advanced education. Under this transition, the university merged with Queensland Agricultural College, to establish the new UQ Gatton campus. In 1999, UQ Ipswich began operation as one of the completely web-enabled campuses in Australia.
In 2010, The University of Queensland was a recipient of the Queensland Greats Awards.
In May 2013, UQ joined edX, an international consortium of massive open online courses (MOOCs). From May 2014, the initial four UQx courses cover hypersonics, tropical coastal ecosystems, biomedical imaging and the science of everyday thinking.
Campuses and buildings
The University of Queensland maintains a number of campuses and facilities throughout Queensland. UQ has its main campus in the suburb of St Lucia in Brisbane, bordered by a meander in the Brisbane River to the north, east, and south. UQ's main campus has been recognised for its beauty by a number of sources. Its other campuses include Gatton, Herston and Dutton Park (formerly the Pharmacy Australia Centre of Excellence).
St Lucia campus
thumb|220px|UQ St Lucia
thumb|Sunset over the University of Queensland's St Lucia Campus
In 1927, the land on which the St Lucia campus is built was resumed by the Brisbane City Council using money donated by James O'Neil Mayne and his sister Mary Emelia Mayne to replace the less spacious city campus. The city campus is now home to the Gardens Point campus of the Queensland University of Technology. Construction of the new university at St Lucia began in 1937. This central semi-circular quadrangle features a connected arcade so students could reach any section under cover. The Great Court was added to the Queensland Heritage Register in 2002.
Museums
thumb|left|250px|UQ Art Museum – James and Mary Emelia Mayne Centre
[[File:Architectural details of buildings surrounding the Great Court, St Lucia Campus University of Queensland 11.jpg|thumb|UQ St Lucia
]]
The University of Queensland Art Museum is located in the James and Mary Emelia Mayne Centre on the St Lucia campus. The Art Museum was established in the Forgan Smith Tower in 1976 to house the artworks collected by The University of Queensland since the 1940s, relocating to its present site in 2004. Today, with more than 4,400 artworks, the university's Art Collection is Queensland's second largest public art collection.
The university also houses the R.D. Milns Antiquities Museum in the Michie building (bldg 9, level 2) which contains Queensland's only publicly accessible collection of antiquities from ancient Rome, Greece, Egypt and the Near East. The museum supports research and teaching at the university. The UQ Anthropology Museum (also in the Michie Building on level 1) contains a significant collection of ethnographic material. It is also open to the public.
Gatton campus
The UQ Gatton Campus covers 1068 ha at Lawes, near the town of Gatton, Queensland, about west of Brisbane on the Warrego Highway. The campus was opened in 1897 next to the site of the Queensland Agricultural College which was then amalgamated with UQ in 1990.
In 2008 the Centre for Advanced Animal Science (CAAS) was opened at the Gatton campus – a collaborative venture between UQ and the Queensland Government.
Herston campus
thumb|right|220px|[[University of Queensland Mayne Medical School|UQ Mayne Medical School, Herston campus]]
UQ Mayne Medical School and the Queensland Institute of Medical Research is the core campus for clinical health teaching and research. The campus is situated in Herston and operates within Queensland Health system of the Royal Brisbane Hospital, Royal Children's Hospital, Royal Women's Hospital and the Queensland Institute of Medical Research.
It is home to the Faculty of Medicine, the School of Public Health, the Herston Health Sciences Library, the Centre for Clinical Research and clinical research and learning activities of the School of Nursing and Midwifery.
The Herston campus also houses other key facilities such as the Oral Health Centre and the purpose-built Herston Imaging Research Facility. The medical school building was added to the Queensland Heritage Register in 1999.
The Marks-Hirschfeld Museum of Medical History is in the Mayne Medical School at the Herston campus. Operated by volunteers and supported by The University of Queensland Alumni, it has a collection of over 7,000 items of medical memorabilia, medical and surgical instruments. The focus is on the study of medical history in Queensland, but the collection includes items with broader significance to Australia and internationally.
;Overseas clinical schools
- Louisiana, United States – the UQ-Ochsner Clinical School operates at Ochsner Medical Center, New Orleans and Baton Rouge, allowing medical school students from the UQ-Ochsner program to receive two years of overseas clinical experience, contributing towards their UQ Doctor of Medicine (MD) degree.
Dutton Park campus
UQ's Dutton Park campus was officially announced by Professor Deborah Terry AC in 2023, rebranding the site of the pre-existing Pharmacy Australia Centre of Excellence [PACE]. The campus contains the Susan Tett Building (formerly the PACE building), home to the School of Pharmacy and Pharmaceutical Sciences, the Queensland Alliance for Environmental Health Sciences, Dutton Park Health Sciences Library (UQ Library), and the Cornwall Street Medical Center (UQ Health Care).
The campus is located in Woolloongabba, adjoining the PA Hospital and the Translational Research Institute, within the Boggo Road Innovation Junction.
Former Ipswich campus
In 2014, UQ sold the Ipswich Campus to the University of Southern Queensland, believing that this regional teaching campus would be better used by USQ.
The campus was made up of nearly 20 buildings and more than 5001 students on nearly . Courses offered included: arts, business, medicine and social sciences as well as Interaction design. It is located near central Ipswich, Queensland, just south of the CBD. Nearby landmarks include Limestone Park, Workshops Rail Museum and RAAF Base Amberley.
The site dates back to 1878 with the opening of the Ipswich branch of the Woogaroo Lunatic Asylum. Operations continued until 1910 when it became the Ipswich Hospital for the Insane. The UQ Business School Downtown is an inner-city corporate education, meeting and dining venue and facility which is on Level 19 of Central Plaza One in the Brisbane central business district.
;Indooroopilly
Indooroopilly is the site of the Julius Kruttschnitt Mineral Research Centre and the Queensland University Regiment Logistics Company. The Julius Kruttschnitt Mineral Research Centre (JKMRC) of The University of Queensland Sustainable Minerals Institute is at a former silver and lead mine at Finney's Hill in Indooroopilly. Acquired in 1951 by the School of Mining Engineering under the leadership of Frank T. M. White, Foundation Professor (appointed 1950), this mine (formerly Finney's Hill United Silver Mines Limited) then became known as the Queensland University Experimental Mine. It promptly became an integral part of the teaching and research capacity of the School, which in 1952 expanded to become the Department of Mining and Metallurgical Engineering.
JKMRC, incorporating the Experimental Mine, was officially established as a University Centre in 1970, with a goal to develop practical technical solutions for large-scale mining and minerals industry challenges. It is named after Julius Kruttschnitt, the chairman of Mount Isa Mines and a board member of the university's Faculty of Engineering.
The Queensland University Regiment Logistics Company is housed in the Witton Barracks, Indooroopilly.
Other locations
thumb|UQ has a research station at [[Heron Island (Queensland)|Heron Island.]]
- Pinjarra Hills – the Pinjarra Hills Research Station, the Veterinary Science Farm and the Pinjarra Aquatic Research Station are located in Pinjarra Hills, Brisbane. The Aquatic Research Station investigates aquaculture and inland ecology.
- Heron Island – the Heron Island Research Station is situated on Heron Island, north-east of Gladstone. Its primary use is for coral reef ecology research and teaching and is an integral component of the Great Barrier Reef Ocean Observations System and the national Integrated Marine Observing System. It consists of more than 30 buildings on a two hectare lease.
- Moreton Bay – the Moreton Bay Research Station and Study Centre is in Dunwich on North Stradbroke Island and researches the ecosystems.
- Mt Nebo – The University of Queensland operates an International Seismograph Station on Mt Nebo.
- Charters Towers – The University of Queensland operates an International Seismograph Station at Charters Towers.
- Dayboro – the Dayboro Veterinary Surgery was bought by the university in 1987 as a teaching clinic for fifth year veterinary students in their dairy cattle medicine rotation. Later, separate brick accommodation was built for student accommodation. Research projects into practical aspects of dairy production are frequently carried out by clinic staff. There is a full range of veterinary services and pet care for dogs, cats, horses, cows, alpacas, goats, and all manner of other small and large animals.
Governance and structure
thumb|[[TC Beirne School of Law]]
thumb|Steele Building, St Lucia campus
The University of Queensland is organised into a number of divisions for academic, administrative and logistical purposes.
University Senate
The senate is the governing body of The University of Queensland and consists of 22 members from the university and community. The senate is led by the chancellor and deputy chancellor, elected by the senate. The University of Queensland Act 1998 grants the senate wide powers to appoint staff, manage and control university affairs and property and manage and control finances to promote the university's interests.
- Vice-Chancellor and President
- Provost
- Deputy Vice-Chancellor (Academic)
- Deputy Vice-Chancellor (External Engagement)
- Deputy Vice-Chancellor (Research)
- Pro-Vice-Chancellor
- Pro-Vice-Chancellor (Advancement)
- Pro-Vice-Chancellor (Indigenous Engagement)
- Pro-Vice-Chancellor (Research)
- Pro-Vice-Chancellor (Research Infrastructure)
- Pro-Vice-Chancellor (Research Training)
- Pro-Vice-Chancellor (Teaching and Learning)
- Chief Operating Officer
- President of the Academic Board
The academic board is the university's senior academic advisory body. It formulates policy on academic matters including new programs, teaching, learning and assessment, research, promotions, student academic matters, prizes and scholarships. An academic board member is elected annually as its president. The president is assisted by a half-time deputy president.
Faculties and departments
The university has five faculties to support both research and teaching activities.
Faculty of Business, Economics and Law
- School of Business
- School of Economics
- School of Law
Faculty of Engineering, Architecture and Information Technology
- School of Architecture, Design and Planning
- School of Chemical Engineering
- School of Civil Engineering
- School of Electrical Engineering and Computer Science
- School of Mechanical and Mining Engineering
Faculty of Health, Medicine and Behavioural Sciences
- School of Biomedical Sciences
- School of Dentistry
- School of Health and Rehabilitation Sciences
- School of Human Movement and Nutrition Sciences
- Medical School
- School of Nursing, Midwifery and Social Work
- School of Pharmacy and Pharmaceutical Sciences
- School of Psychology
- School of Public Health
Faculty of Humanities and Social Sciences
- School of Communication and Arts
- School of Education
- School of Historical and Philosophical Inquiry
- School of Languages and Cultures
- School of Music
- School of Political Science and International Studies
- School of Social Science
Faculty of Science
- School of Agriculture and Food Sciences
- School of Chemistry and Molecular Biosciences
- School of the Environment
- School of Mathematics and Physics
- School of Veterinary Science
UQ has a semester-based modular system for conducting academic courses. The Australian higher education model features a combination of the British system, such as small group teaching (tutorials) and the American system (course credits).
Academic affiliations
UQ is a partner of McDonnell International Scholars Academy - an international network of research universities and scholars comprising 28 university partners, including Boğaziçi University, Fudan University, Hong Kong University of Science and Technology, Indian Institute of Science, Indian Institute of Technology Bombay, Indian Institute of Technology Delhi, Keio University, Korea University, Makerere University, Middle East Technical University, National Taiwan University, National University of Singapore, National Yang Ming Chiao Tung University, Peking University, Reichman University, Seoul National University, State University of Campinas, Tata Institute of Social Sciences, Technion – Israel Institute of Technology, Tecnológico de Monterrey, The Chinese University of Hong Kong, Tsinghua University, University of Chile, University of Ghana, University of Hong Kong, University of Indonesia, Gadjah Mada University, University of Tokyo, Utrecht University and Yonsei University.
Academic profile
Research and publications
UQ has a strong research focus in science, medicine and technology. The university's research advancement includes pioneering the development of the cervical cancer vaccines, Gardasil and Cervarix, by UQ Professor Ian Frazer.
In 2009, the Australian Cancer Research Foundation reported that UQ had taken the lead in numerous areas of cancer research.
In the Commonwealth Government's Excellence in Research for Australia 2012 National Report, UQ's research is rated above world standard in more broad fields than at any other Australian university (in 22 broad fields), and more UQ researchers are working in research fields that ERA has assessed as above world standard than at any other Australian university. UQ research in biomedical and clinical health sciences, technology, engineering, biological sciences, chemical sciences, environmental sciences, and physical sciences was ranked above world standard (rating 5).
In 2015, UQ is ranked by Nature Index as the research institution with the highest volume of research output in both interdisciplinary journals Nature and Science within the southern hemisphere, with approximately twofold more output than the global average.
In 2020 Clarivate named 34 UQ professors to its list of Highly Cited Researchers.
Aside from disciplinary-focused teaching and research within the academic faculties, the university maintains a number of interdisciplinary research institutes and centres at the national, state and university levels. For example, the Asia-Pacific Centre for the Responsibility to Protect, the University of Queensland Seismology Station, Heron Island Research Station and the Institute of Modern Languages.
The University of Queensland plays a key role in Brisbane Diamantina Health Partners, Queensland's first academic health science system. This partnership currently comprises Children's Health Queensland, Mater Health Services, Metro North Hospital and Health Service, Metro South Health, QIMR Berghofer Medical Research Institute, Queensland University of Technology, and the Translational Research Institute.
Research divisions
With the support from the Queensland Government, the Australian Government and major donor The Atlantic Philanthropies, The University of Queensland dedicates basic, translational and applied research via the following research-focused institutes:
- Institute for Molecular Bioscience – within the Queensland Bioscience Precinct which houses scientists from the Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation and the Community for Open Antimicrobial Drug Discovery
- Translational Research Institute, which houses The University of Queensland's Diamantina Institute, School of Medicine and the Mater Medical Research Institute
- Australian Institute for Bioengineering and Nanotechnology
- Institute for Social Science Research
- Sustainable Minerals Institute
- Global Change Institute
- Queensland Alliance for Environmental Health Science
- Queensland Alliance for Agriculture and Food Innovation
- Queensland Brain Institute
- Centre for Advanced Imaging
- Boeing Research and Technology Australia Centre
- UQ Dow Centre
Commercialisation and entrepreneurship
UniQuest is the main commercialisation company of The University of Queensland and specialises in global technology transfer and facilitates access for all business. UniQuest has created over 100 startups from its intellectual property portfolio, and since 2000 UniQuest and its start-ups have raised more than $700 million to take university technologies to market. UQ technologies licensed by UniQuest include UQ's cervical cancer vaccine technology, image correction technology in magnetic resonance imaging machines, and the Triple P Positive Parenting Program.
Libraries and databases
thumb|[[University of Queensland Library]]
The University of Queensland Library was founded in 1910. It developed from a small provincial university library into a major research library.
It consists of 11 branches.
- Architecture and Music Library (ARMUS)
- Biological Sciences Library
- Central Library
- Dorothy Hill Engineering and Sciences Library (DHESL)
- Duhig Tower
- Fryer Library
- Gatton Library (J.K. Murray Library)
- Herston Health Sciences Library
- Dutton Park Health Sciences Library (formerly 'Pharmacy Australia Centre of Excellence Health Sciences Library')
- Rural Clinical School Library (RCS)
- Walter Harrison Law Library
Journals and publications
Publishing house
University of Queensland Press publishes academic works, as well as, non-fiction works and has launched the careers of noted authors.
Academic journals
The university publishes several academic journals through its various schools and faculties and in association with publishers:
- Australian Journal of Indigenous Education
- Australian Journal of Politics and History
- Crossroads: an Interdisciplinary Journal for the Study of History, Philosophy, Religion and Classics
- Hecate Journal
- LAWASIA Journal
- npj Science of Learning (in partnership with Springer Nature)
- Queensland Archaeological Research (1984–2011, now published by JCU)
- Queensland Historical Atlas
- TEMPUS: Archaeology and Material Culture Studies in Anthropology, monograph series.
- The University of Queensland Law Journal
Academic reputation
{| class="wikitable collapsible collapsed floatright" "text-align:center"
|-
! colspan="2" style="" |QS Global Subject Rankings
|-
! Program
! Ranking
|-
| Accounting & Finance || 48
|-
| Agriculture & Forestry || 26
|-
| Anthropology || 51–100
|-
| Biological Sciences || 50
|-
| Business & Management || 61
|-
| Chemical Engineering || 45
|-
| Earth & Marine Sciences || 51–100
|-
| Economics & Econometrics || 72
|-
| English Language and Literature || 50
|-
| Environmental Sciences || 17
|-
| Education|| 30
|-
| Hospitality & Leisure Management|| 31
|-
| Law || 43
|-
| Life Sciences and Medicine || 32
|-
| Mathematics || 92
|-
| Mineral & Mining Engineering || 3
|-
| Nursing || =38
|-
| Pharmacy & Pharmacology || 31
|-
| Physics & Astronomy || 137
|-
| Politics & International Studies || 51–100
|-
| Psychology || 26
|-
| Sociology || 46
|-
| Sports-Related Subjects ||2
|-
| Veterinary Science ||=26
|}
{| class="wikitable collapsible collapsed floatright" "text-align:center"
|-
! colspan=4 style="" |THE Global Subject Rankings
|-
! Program
! Ranking
|-
| Clinical, Pre-Clinical and Health || 56
|-
| Life Sciences || 32
|-
| Physical Sciences || 70
|-
| Psychology || 28
|-
| Business and Economics || 51
|-
| Education || 40
|-
| Law || 72
|-
| Social Sciences || 77
|-
| Engineering and Technology || 54
|-
| Computer Science || 114
|-
| Arts and Humanities || 91
|-
|}
In the 2024 Aggregate Ranking of Top Universities, which measures aggregate performance across the QS, THE and ARWU rankings, the university attained a position of #53 (4th nationally).
; 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 tied position of #42 (6th nationally).
In the Times Higher Education World University Rankings 2026 (published 2025), the university attained a tied position of #80 (6th nationally).
In the 2025 Academic Ranking of World Universities, the university attained a position of #65 (2nd nationally).
In the 2025–2026 U.S. News & World Report Best Global Universities, the university attained a position of #43 (5th nationally).
In the CWTS Leiden Ranking 2024, the university attained a position of #58 (5th nationally).
Student outcomes
The Australian Government's QILT