Winner. University of the Year 2021

The University of Melbourne

Motto: May I grow in the esteem of future generations
Type: Public
Established: 1853

Vice-Chancellor: Prof. Dr. Duncan Maskell
Academic staff: 4631
Administrative staff: 3369
Students: 48088
Address: 1-100 Grattan St, Parkville, Victoria 3010 Australia
Website: www.unimelb.edu.au

The University of Melbourne was established following a proposal by Hugh Childers, the Auditor-General and Finance Minister, who set aside a sum of £10,000 for the establishment of a university. The university was established by the Act of Incorporation on 22 January 1853, with the power to confer degrees in arts, medicine, laws, and music. Classes commenced in 1855 with three professors and sixteen students; only four graduated from this body of students.

The university's inauguration was made possible by the wealth resulting from Victoria's gold rush. The institution was designed to be a "civilizing influence" at a time of rapid settlement and commercial growth. In 1881, the admission of women was seen as a victory over the more conservative ruling council.

In 1901 the number of students enrolled at the University of Melbourne exceeded 500 students for the first time. The university established the Diploma of Education in 1903, following negotiations with the Victorian Education Department. The university continued to expand, and this growth included the construction of several buildings between 1900 and 1906. During this period, the university became a notable site for research, emerging as a leader in Australia. Following World War II, the demand for higher education increased rapidly and, as a result, became a transformative period for the university.

Expansion of the university increased significantly during the 1980s and 1990s, as the university amalgamated with a number of tertiary colleges. The university had expanded its student population to beyond 35,000 students.

A significant change in the curriculum was established in 2008. The newly created model for education was developed, known at the university as The Melbourne Model. In this curriculum model, students firstly undertake a general bachelor's degree before specializing in either a professional or research graduate course.

Nowadays, the University of Melbourne has nearly 20 graduate schools, including the Melbourne Business School, the Melbourne Medical School, and the Melbourne Conservatorium of Music. It possesses seven campuses located across Melbourne and other areas of Victoria, Australia.

The University of Melbourne is a leading Australian research university with the largest cohort of research students in Australia. The university is connected to more than 100 research centers and institutes. Its research expenditure is second only to the Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organization (CSIRO).

The University of Melbourne has a national and international reputation for excellence. It is consistently ranked as one of the leading universities around the world for research and teaching. Its platform technologies range from advanced microscopy to cultural informatics, and metabolomics to health economics. Enabling researchers to discover solutions to critical problems facing the world, the University’s research infrastructure network supports innovation in Australia and internationally.

The university has five Melbourne Research Institutes that encourage collaboration between university researchers, as well as involvement from industry, government, and nonprofit organizations. The institutes focus on neuroscience, sustainable society, networked society, energy, and social equity.

As a public-spirited, globally-connected research institution, the University of Melbourne has a responsibility to lead and act on the critical challenges of global sustainability in a changing climate.

Following the results of the Performance Ranking of Scientific Papers for World Universities (NTU Ranking) and the ranking of the Center for World University Rankings (CWUR), the University of Melbourne was highly evaluated in terms of the performance of scientific papers, the quantity and quality of published scientific works, research output and citations.

In 2021, the U.S. News ranked the University of Melbourne as #25 in Best Global Universities and as #1 in Best Universities in Australia/New Zealand. The university is #1 in Regional research reputation, #12 in Books, and #25 in the Number of publications that are among the 10% most cited.