The University of Divinity is an Australian collegiate university of specialisation in

divinity Divinity or the divine are things that are either related to, devoted to, or proceeding from a deity.divine< ...

. It is constituted by eleven

theological college A seminary, school of theology, theological seminary, or divinity school is an educational institution for educating students (sometimes called ''seminarians'') in scripture, theology, generally to prepare them for ordination to serve as clerg ...

s from eight denominations. The University of Divinity is the direct successor of the second oldest degree-granting authority in the

State of Victoria Victoria is a state in southeastern Australia. It is the second-smallest state with a land area of , the second most populated state (after New South Wales) with a population of over 6.5 million, and the most densely populated state in ...

, the Melbourne College of Divinity. The university's chancery and administration are located in Kew, a suburb of Melbourne in the state of Victoria. The Melbourne College of Divinity was constituted in 1910 by an act of the

Parliament of Victoria The Parliament of Victoria is the bicameral legislature of the Australian state of Victoria (Australia), Victoria that follows a Westminster System, Westminster-derived parliamentary system. It consists of the Monarchy in Australia, King, repres ...

. The act was amended in 1956, 1972, 1979, 1990, 2005 and 2016 and is now known as the ''University of Divinity Act 1910'' (previously the ''Melbourne College of Divinity Act 1910''). From its beginnings the college was a self-accrediting issuer of degrees, while not becoming a university until 2011. Representatives appointed by several churches formed the college to provide tertiary level theological education. The first president was the Right Reverend

Henry Lowther Clarke Henry Lowther Clarke (23 November 1850 – 23 June 1926) was the fourth Anglican bishop and first archbishop of Melbourne, Australia. Early life Clarke was born at Firbank Vicarage, Westmorland, England, the son of the Revd William Clarke and ...

, Anglican Archbishop of Melbourne, and the first registrar was the Reverend John Mathew, Moderator of the Presbyterian Church of Victoria. In 2010, the Melbourne College of Divinity applied to the Victorian Regulation and Qualifications Authority for approval to operate as a self-accrediting "Australian University of Specialisation" (a category of higher education provider). The Victorian government announced on 30 August 2011 that the application had been approved and on 1 January 2012 the college began operating as a university. Peter Sherlock was appointed the inaugural vice-chancellor in April 2012. In May 2019 TEQSA extended the seven-year licence to operate as a university for an additional three years to the maximum possible of ten years before a review. In the 2019 Student Experience Survey, the University of Divinity recorded the highest student satisfaction rating out of every Australian university, with an overall satisfaction rating of 92.8.

Accreditations and affiliations

The University of Divinity offers awards in

theology Theology is the systematic study of the nature of the divine and, more broadly, of religious belief. It is taught as an academic discipline, typically in universities and seminaries. It occupies itself with the unique content of analyzing th ...

, philosophy, counselling and ministry. In 2001 the institution was listed as a Schedule 1 Higher Education Institution by the Australian Government Department of Education, Science and Training. It receives federal funding for research, Australian Postgraduate Research Awards and International Postgraduate Research Scholarships. The Higher Education Support Act (2003) (HESA 2003) listed the institution as a Table B (Private, Self-regulating) Higher Education Provider, which allowed its students to access federally funded loans under the FEE-HELP scheme. The University of Divinity is the only Australian University of Specialisation listed on the National Register of Higher Education Providers maintained by TEQSA.

Publications

*'' Pacifica'', an academic journal (1988-2017)

Colleges

The colleges of the University of Divinity are: *

Australian Lutheran College Australian Lutheran College (ALC), formerly Luther Seminary and Lutheran Teachers College, is a higher education institution serving the Lutheran Church of Australia and a registered teaching institution of University of Divinity. It is locat ...

, Adelaide, South Australia *Eva Burrows College, in Parkville, Victoria; Sydney and Central Coast, New South Wales. Training college of the

Salvation Army Salvation (from Latin: ''salvatio'', from ''salva'', 'safe, saved') is the state of being saved or protected from harm or a dire situation. In religion and theology, ''salvation'' generally refers to the deliverance of the soul from sin and its ...

in Australia * Catholic Theological College, East Melbourne, Victoria. A federation of autonomous seminaries: ** Corpus Christi College **St Mary's Seminary **Salesian Theological College **St Joseph of Cupertino Friary ( Conventual Franciscan) **St Dominic's Priory ( Dominican) * Morling College, Macquarie Park, New South Wales. The

Baptist Baptists form a major branch of Protestantism distinguished by baptizing professing Christianity, Christian believers only (believer's baptism), and doing so by complete Immersion baptism, immersion. Baptist churches also generally subscribe ...

theological college of New South Wales. *

Pilgrim Theological College Pilgrim Theological College is an Australian theological college and a member college of the University of Divinity. It is part of the Uniting Church in Australia Synod of Victoria and Tasmania's Centre for Theology & Ministry. Overview and hi ...

Uniting Church The Uniting Church in Australia (UCA) was founded on 22 June 1977, when most congregations of the Methodist Church of Australasia, about two-thirds of the Presbyterian Church of Australia and almost all the churches of the Congregational Union ...

*St Athanasius College, Donvale and Melbourne, Victoria *

Stirling Theological College Stirling Theological College is a former Australian Christian theological college located in Mulgrave, a south eastern suburb of Melbourne Melbourne ( ; Boonwurrung/ Woiwurrung: ''Narrm'' or ''Naarm'') is the capital and most populous c ...

, Mulgrave, Victoria. The Churches of Christ national theological college. * Trinity College Theological School ( Anglican) ** Wollaston College, Mount Claremont, Western Australia. Currently affiliated through a partnership agreement with Trinity College and the University of Divinity *

Whitley College Whitley College is a Baptist theological institute in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia. The college is associated with the Baptist Union of Victoria (Australian Baptist Ministries) and is one of the theological schools of the University of Divin ...

, Parkville, Victoria. The

theological college of Victoria. *Yarra Theological Union, Box Hill, Victoria. Comprises the following

religious institute A religious institute is a type of institute of consecrated life in the Catholic Church whose members take religious vows and lead a life in community with fellow members. Religious institutes are one of the two types of institutes of consecra ...

s: **Blessed Sacrament Congregation **

Divine Word Missionaries The Society of the Divine Word ( la, Societas Verbi Divini), abbreviated SVD and popularly called the Verbites or the Divine Word Missionaries, and sometimes the Steyler Missionaries, is a Catholic clerical religious congregation of Pontifical Ri ...

Discalced Carmelites The Discalced Carmelites, known officially as the Order of the Discalced Carmelites of the Blessed Virgin Mary of Mount Carmel ( la, Ordo Fratrum Carmelitarum Discalceatorum Beatae Mariae Virginis de Monte Carmelo) or the Order of Discalced Carme ...

Franciscans , image = FrancescoCoA PioM.svg , image_size = 200px , caption = A cross, Christ's arm and Saint Francis's arm, a universal symbol of the Franciscans , abbreviation = OFM , predecessor = , ...

(OFM) **

Missionaries of the Sacred Heart The Missionaries of the Sacred Heart of Jesus (MSC; la, Missionarii Sacratissimi Cordis; french: Missionnaires du Sacré-Coeur) are a missionary congregation in the Catholic Church. It was founded in 1854 by Servant of God Jules Chevalier (182 ...

Pallottines The Pallottines officially named the Society of the Catholic Apostolate ( la, Societas Apostolatus Catholici), abbreviated SAC is a Society of Apostolic Life of Pontifical Right for men in the Roman Catholic Church, founded in 1835 by the Roman C ...

Passionists The Passionists, officially named Congregation of the Passion of Jesus Christ (), abbreviated CP, is a Catholic clerical religious congregation of Pontifical Right for men, founded by Paul of the Cross in 1720 with a special emphasis on and d ...

Redemptorists The Redemptorists officially named the Congregation of the Most Holy Redeemer ( la, links=no, Congregatio Sanctissimi Redemptoris), abbreviated CSsR,is a Catholic clerical religious congregation of pontifical right for men (priests and brothe ...

* Wollaston College, Mt Claremont, Perth. Until December 2014, the

United Faculty of Theology The United Faculty of Theology (UFT) was a recognised teaching institution of the University of Divinity in Melbourne, Australia. It was founded in 1969 as an informal association of theological colleges and ceased operating in December 2014. The U ...

, Parkville. Victoria. A co-operative venture of the Anglican, Jesuit and Uniting theological colleges.

Associated churches

In 1910

Church of England The Church of England (C of E) is the established Christian church in England and the mother church of the international Anglican Communion. It traces its history to the Christian church recorded as existing in the Roman province of Britai ...

Congregational Congregational churches (also Congregationalist churches or Congregationalism) are Protestant churches in the Calvinist tradition practising congregationalist church governance, in which each congregation independently and autonomously runs it ...

Methodist Methodism, also called the Methodist movement, is a group of historically related Christian denomination, denominations of Protestantism, Protestant Christianity whose origins, doctrine and practice derive from the life and teachings of John W ...

Presbyterian Presbyterianism is a part of the Reformed tradition within Protestantism that broke from the Roman Catholic Church in Scotland by John Knox, who was a priest at St. Giles Cathedral (Church of Scotland). Presbyterian churches derive their na ...

Present

* Anglican *

* Churches of Christ *

Coptic Orthodox The Coptic Orthodox Church ( cop, Ϯⲉⲕ̀ⲕⲗⲏⲥⲓⲁ ⲛ̀ⲣⲉⲙⲛ̀ⲭⲏⲙⲓ ⲛ̀ⲟⲣⲑⲟⲇⲟⲝⲟⲥ, translit=Ti.eklyseya en.remenkimi en.orthodoxos, lit=the Egyptian Orthodox Church; ar, الكنيسة القبطي� ...

Lutheran Lutheranism is one of the largest branches of Protestantism, identifying primarily with the theology of Martin Luther, the 16th-century German monk and Protestant Reformers, reformer whose efforts to reform the theology and practice of the Cathol ...

Roman Catholic Roman or Romans most often refers to: *Rome, the capital city of Italy *Ancient Rome, Roman civilization from 8th century BC to 5th century AD *Roman people, the people of ancient Rome *''Epistle to the Romans'', shortened to ''Romans'', a letter ...

Uniting Church in Australia The Uniting Church in Australia (UCA) was founded on 22 June 1977, when most congregations of the Methodist Church of Australasia, about two-thirds of the Presbyterian Church of Australia and almost all the churches of the Congregational Union ...

Libraries

Students at the University have access and borrowing rights to a number of library collections including the Mannix Library at Catholic Theological College, the Campbell Edwards Library at

, Geoffery Blackburn Library at

, The Gilbert Wright Library at Morling College, the Leeper and Mollison Libraries at Trinity College Theological School, as well as the Patrick Murphy Memorial Library, the Redemptorist Seminary Library, the Dominican Studium Library, the St Pashcal Library and the Sugden Collection at Queen's College.

Notable alumni and faculty

* Andrew McGowan * Anne Elvey * Barbara Thiering * Cathy Ross *

Charles Sherlock Charles Henry Sherlock (born 1945) is an Australian theologian who previously taught at Ridley College and Trinity College in Melbourne. He is a former registrar of the Melbourne College of Divinity (now the University of Divinity). He is author ...

Claire Renkin Claire Renkin is an Australian art historian and academic who has had a distinguished career as a scholar specialising in the areas of art history and spirituality. Education Renkin studied English and a little art history at university ...

* Colleen O'Reilly * Dorothy Ann Lee *

Edith Amelia Kerr Edith Amelia Kerr (June 6, 1893 – April 2, 1975) was an Australian teacher, headmistress and Presbyterian missionary. Early and family life Edith Amelia Kerr was born at Patyah near Edenhope, Victoria. She was the ninth of ten children bo ...

Elizabeth Boase Elizabeth Boase (born 1963) is an Australian biblical scholar and the inaugural Dean of the School of Graduate Research at the University of Divinity in Melbourne. Boase uses a range of hermeneutical approaches in her work but is particularly k ...

* Fiona Kumari Campbell *

Graham Hill Norman Graham Hill (15 February 1929 – 29 November 1975) was a British racing driver and team owner, who was the Formula One World Champion twice, winning in and as well as being runner up on three occasions (1963, 1964 and 1965). Despite ...

Greg Homeming Gregory Homeming O.C.D. (born 30 May 1958)"Sixth bishop of Lismore"
St

Hilda May Abba Hilda May Abba (30 May 1918 – 1 December 2005) was an Australian Christian minister and academic. She was the first woman in Australia to be ordained as a theological lecturer in 1952, by the Congregational church. Early life and education Hil ...

* Janette Gray *

Janina Hiebel Janina Hiebel (born 1979) is a German-born biblical scholar now residing in Australia who works at the University of Divinity in Melbourne, Australia. Her research interests are in the period of the Babylonian Exile, particularly the book o ...

Joan Nowotny Joan Nowotny IBVM (18 August 1925 - 29 June 2008) was an Australian academic and professor of philosophy. She became the first woman to lead a theological institution in Australia, when she was appointed the academic dean of Yarra Theological U ...

Anne Pattel-Gray Anne Pattel-Gray is an Aboriginal Australian theologian and author who is an expert on Black theology. She is a descendant of the Badjiri, Bidjara people of Queensland and was the first Aboriginal person to earn a PhD at the University of Sydn ...

Kate Prowd Catherine Jane Prowd (), known as Kate Prowd, is an Australian bishop in the Anglican Church of Australia. She has served as an assistant bishop in the Anglican Diocese of Melbourne, as the Bishop for the Oodthenong Episcopate (which serves the ...

* Katharine Massam * Kathleen Williams *

Kay Goldsworthy Kay Maree Goldsworthy (born 1956) is an Australian bishop of the Anglican Church of Australia. She is the current archbishop of Perth in the Province of Western Australia.ABC Online Upon her installation as archbishop, on 10 February 2018, s ...

* Lilian Scholes * Marita Munro *

Mark Stuart Edwards Mark Stuart Edwards (born 14 June 1959) is an Australian Roman Catholic prelate and professed member of the Missionary Oblates of Mary Immaculate appointed as the Bishop of Wagga Wagga. He has served in the past as a teacher and as a rector b ...

Mary L. Coloe Sister Mary Coloe (born 1949) is an Australian religious sister and New Testament biblical scholar who specializes in the Gospel of John. She is a member of the Sisters of the Presentation of the Virgin Mary, a Roman Catholic religious order ...

Maryanne Confoy Maryanne P. Confoy RSC (born 15 April 1944) is an Australian religious Sister of Charity who has also been a teacher and scholar, working primarily in the areas of ministry and spirituality. Early life and education Maryanne Confoy was b ...

Paul Oslington Paul Oslington (born 1965) is an Australian economist. Inaugural Dean of Business and Professor of Economics at Alphacrucis College in Sydney Australia. From 2008 to 2013 he was Professor of Economics at Australian Catholic University (ACU) ...

Richard Divall Richard Sydney Divall (9 September 1945 – 15 January 2017) was an Australian conductor and musicologist. After nine years as a music producer at the Australian Broadcasting Corporation, from 1972 on the invitation of Dame Joan Hammond he ...

* Ruth Redpath * Sarah Macneil * Wendy Mayer *

Winifred Kiek Winifred Kiek (; 1884-1975) was the first woman to be ordained in the Christian Ministry in Australia. She was ordained on 13 June 1927 in South Australia to the Congregational Union of Australia (now part of the Uniting Church in Australia). ...

References

External links

*
Australian Lutheran CollegeEva Burrows CollegeCatholic Theological CollegeMorling CollegePilgrim Theological CollegeJesuit College of SpiritualitySt Athanasius CollegeStirling Theological CollegeWhitley College: the Baptist College of VictoriaYarra Theological Union''Pacifica''''University of Divinity Act 1910''
{{authority control Education in Melbourne Educational institutions established in 1910 Seminaries and theological colleges in Australia Universities in Victoria (Australia) 1910 establishments in Australia D