Perth
Perth is the list of Australian capital cities, capital and largest city of the Australian states and territories of Australia, state of Western Australia. It is the list of cities in Australia by population, fourth most populous city in Aust ...
, Western Australia, with campuses also in
Singapore
Singapore (), officially the Republic of Singapore, is a sovereign island country and city-state in maritime Southeast Asia. It lies about one degree of latitude () north of the equator, off the southern tip of the Malay Peninsula, borde ...
and
Dubai
Dubai (, ; ar, دبي, translit=Dubayy, , ) is the most populous city in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) and the capital of the Emirate of Dubai, the most populated of the 7 emirates of the United Arab Emirates.The Government and Politics ...
. It began operations as the state's second university on 25 July 1973, and accepted its first undergraduate students in 1975. Its name is taken from Sir Walter Murdoch (1874–1970), the Founding Professor of English and former Chancellor of the
University of Western Australia
The University of Western Australia (UWA) is a public research university in the Australian state of Western Australia. The university's main campus is in Perth, the state capital, with a secondary campus in Albany, Western Australia, Albany an ...
.
Murdoch is a verdant university and a member of the Innovative Research Universities. In 2018, Murdoch University was recognised as producing the most employable graduates of all Australian universities after 3 years of graduating from their courses. In 2019, the university ranked third in overall student satisfaction amongst all public universities in Western Australia.
History
In 1962, the
Government of Western Australia
The Government of Western Australia, formally referred to as His Majesty's Government of Western Australia, is the States and territories of Australia, Australian state democratic administrative authority of Western Australia. It is also common ...
earmarked an area of land in Bull Creek to be the site of a future, second, state university. Integral to the planning of the creation of Western Australia's second university was the planning for the School of Veterinary Science, which was to be the first professional faculty of the new university. It was decided that the new university would be named after Sir Walter Murdoch, a prominent local author, philosopher, and an Emeritus Professor at the University of Western Australia. When asked if he minded a new university in Western Australia being named in his honour, he was quoted as saying, "No, but it had better be a good one."
Murdoch University was formally constituted on 25 July 1973. It was opened with an inauguration ceremony on 17 September 1974. This date was chosen as it was Sir Walter Murdoch's 100th birthday. The
Governor-General of Australia
The governor-general of Australia is the representative of the monarch, currently King Charles III, in Australia.Sir John Kerr, attended the ceremony as the guest of honour. Lectures began in 1975, with 510 students initially enrolled for undergraduate programs. At the time, the young university was notable for its admissions policy of taking into consideration eligibility factors other than the school leaving exam results of students. Other universities later came to adopt this more holistic perspective of student eligibility for entrance into university education.
Since 2015, Murdoch University has become more teaching-focused.
In late 2018, the university faced scandal subsequent to an enrolment surge of international students, many said to be “lacking English language and computing skills”. In 2019, a ''
Four Corners
The Four Corners is a region of the Southwestern United States consisting of the southwestern corner of Colorado, southeastern corner of Utah, northeastern corner of Arizona, and northwestern corner of New Mexico. The Four Corners area ...
'' investigation by the ABC found further deterioration of standards with allegations of foreign students being recruited as "cash cows".
In May 2021, the university unveiled a new brand, replacing the traditional
banksia
''Banksia'' is a genus of around 170 species in the plant family Proteaceae. These Australian wildflowers and popular garden plants are easily recognised by their characteristic flower spikes, and fruiting "cones" and heads. ''Banksias'' rang ...
logo with a simplified "MU" logo intended to be "modern and future-focused", as well as signifying the university's commitment to being a "progressive", " free thinking" university.
Campuses
Murdoch University has three Australian campuses : South Street Campus and Rockingham Campus in Perth, and Mandurah Campus.
South Street
The main campus is on South Street, Perth, in the suburb of Murdoch, near the
Kwinana Freeway
The Kwinana Freeway is a freeway in and beyond the southern suburbs of Perth, Western Australia, linking central Perth with Mandurah to the south. It is the central section of State Route 2, which continues north as Mitchell Freeway to ...
(). South Street campus is Australia's geographically largest campus at , large enough to accommodate the
veterinary
Veterinary medicine is the branch of medicine that deals with the prevention, management, diagnosis, and treatment of disease, disorder, and injury in animals. Along with this, it deals with animal rearing, husbandry, breeding, research on nutri ...
school and its animal stocks—the only such school in Western Australia. Most of the southern part of the university consists of paddocks of livestock, farms and renewable energy facilities.
The master plan for the campus included an open quadrangle of grass and trees, known as "Bush Court", in the northern part of Murdoch campus, which rises to the highest altitude on campus. The library and first academic buildings flanking this court were designed by R. J. Ferguson, who also designed several buildings on the
University of Western Australia
The University of Western Australia (UWA) is a public research university in the Australian state of Western Australia. The university's main campus is in Perth, the state capital, with a secondary campus in Albany, Western Australia, Albany an ...
campus. According to the foundation ethos of Murdoch University, there were to be no imposing buildings like the University of Western Australia's grand, Mediterranean-style Winthrop Hall, with its imposing clock tower. Rather, the architecture adopts a low-slung form redolent of a homestead, with covered walkways suggesting a hybrid veranda or cloister around the bush court. In the smaller courtyards exotic gardens, including a Chinese garden of rocks and stones, contrast with the bush court. The planting and landscaping were the work of Marion Blackwell.
Features of the campus include the Joglo Rahayu (Peace Pavilion), a semi-enclosed pavilion near the Education and Humanities building. A monument to the ongoing association between Murdoch University and Indonesian academic institutions in Java, it acts as storage for the Western Australian
Gamelan
Gamelan () ( jv, ꦒꦩꦼꦭꦤ꧀, su, ᮌᮙᮨᮜᮔ᮪, ban, ᬕᬫᭂᬮᬦ᭄) is the traditional ensemble music of the Javanese, Sundanese, and Balinese peoples of Indonesia, made up predominantly of percussive instruments. ...
Orchestra.
The university recently established three "myMurdoch Advice" locations across campus, to assist with academic support, general advice about study, wellbeing and specialist advice for international students. A newly renovated Student Hub is located off Bush Court, including a variety of food chains and seating. The university also has a
tavern
A tavern is a place of business where people gather to drink alcoholic beverages and be served food such as different types of roast meats and cheese, and (mostly historically) where travelers would receive lodging. An inn is a tavern that h ...
and a restaurant named Sir Walter's. A range of food trucks are also available via the Pop-Up Ref on the east side of the campus.
File:Chancellery Building.jpg, Chancellery Building
File:Bush Court and original campus buildings.jpg, Bush Court and original campus buildings
File:View of Bush Court from Broadwalk.jpg, View of Bush Court from Broadwalk
File:Murdoch Building 440 Bower Court 2014 iwelam.jpg, Bower Court in the Social Sciences building
File:Peace Pavilion.jpg, Joglo Rahayu or Peace Pavilion
File:Economics and commerce Building.jpg, Economics and commerce Building
Rockingham Campus
The Rockingham Campus is located south of central Perth in the suburb of Rockingham (). Opened in 1996, it is co-located with Rockingham Challenger Institute of Technology campus, and features an arts and commerce building.
The campus ceased offering undergraduate classes at the end of 2014 due to not enough students attending the campus.
Rockingham Regional Campus Community Library
Rockingham Regional Campus Community Library, located at the Rockingham Campus, is a joint venture between the university, the City of Rockingham and Challenger Institute of Technology. Members of all of these groups have free access to library membership.
Membership entitles all patrons to access to Challenger Institute of Technology, university and public library resources at Rockingham.
Mandurah Campus
The Mandurah Campus is located south of central Perth in the suburb of Greenfields, near the regional centre of Mandurah (). Opened in 2004, it is home to the School of Health Professions' Bachelor of Nursing (formally Nursing and Midwifery). In Semester 2, 2015, this degree also became available for study at the South Street Campus. Murdoch University shares the campus with Challenger Institute and John Tonkin College (formerly Mandurah Senior College).
Organisation
Schools
There are nine schools at Murdoch University:
*School of Arts
*School of Business and Governance
*School of Education
*School of Engineering and Information Technology
*School of Health Professions
*School of Law
*School of Psychology and Exercise Science
*Sir Walter Murdoch School of Public Policy and International Affairs
*School of Veterinary and Life Sciences
Asia Research Centre
The Asia Research Centre, founded in 1991, produces multi-disciplinary research in politics, political economy, modes of governance, social change, and policy making. Its distinctive contribution to the research debate is based on the proposition that these factors have their roots in broader processes of conflict and change in society that are connected to the advance of market economies.Asia Research Centre , Murdoch University
The centre encompasses researchers from across Murdoch University. It also regularly engages in collaboration with researchers from other universities around the world.
As of 2019, the centre's director was Rikki Kersten.
Student demographics
Murdoch University has more than 23,000 registered students, of which 37% are international students.
In November 2008 H.E. Sheikh Nahayan Bin Murbarak Al Nahayan (Minister of Higher Education and Research) opened the Murdoch International Study Centre in Dubai, United Arab Emirates.
Academic profile
Rankings
The 2021 Times Higher Education World University Rankings has listed Murdoch University in the top 501-600 universities in the world, slipping down from 401 to 500 in previous years, placing the lowest of the four Western Australian universities. The
QS World University Rankings
''QS World University Rankings'' is an annual publication of university rankings by Quacquarelli Symonds (QS). The QS system comprises three parts: the global overall ranking, the subject rankings (which name the world's top universities for th ...
placed Murdoch University in the top 571–580 universities in 2021. Webometrics ranked Murdoch University at No. 590 worldwide.
The university has dropped in international university league tables, notably the ‘World's Top 100 universities under 50’, having entered at 57th in 2013 and dropped to 68th position in 2017. However, the 2018 Graduate Outcomes Survey (GOS) identified that Murdoch University graduates had the highest employability level of all Australian universities after three years of graduating, at 96.7%. In the most recent 2019 Student Experience Survey, Murdoch University received an overall student satisfaction rating of 79.8 and a teaching quality rating of 82.3, comparable to most other universities in Western Australia, as well as receiving the second highest rating for student support of all public universities in Western Australia.
Reputation
Murdoch University is a research-intensive institution and a member of
Innovative Research Universities Australia
Innovative Research Universities (IRU), formerly Innovative Research Universities Australia, is a network of eight comprehensive universities in Australia.
The main purpose of the group is to undertake advocacy on issues related to higher educ ...
(IRU Australia).
According to ''
The Australian
''The Australian'', with its Saturday edition, ''The Weekend Australian'', is a broadsheet newspaper published by News Corp Australia since 14 July 1964.Bruns, Axel. "3.1. The active audience: Transforming journalism from gatekeeping to gatewat ...
'', The Graduate Careers Council of Australia found that Murdoch journalism graduates rated satisfaction with their course at a level within the top five nationally.
Murdoch University is the founder of the ACICIS (Australian Consortium for 'In-Country' Indonesian Studies) Study Indonesia program, a non-profit consortium of Australian universities that was established in 1994 to coordinate semester-long study programs at partner universities in
Yogyakarta
Yogyakarta (; jv, ꦔꦪꦺꦴꦒꦾꦏꦂꦠ ; pey, Jogjakarta) is the capital city of Special Region of Yogyakarta in Indonesia, in the south-central part of the island of Java. As the only Indonesian royal city still ruled by a monarchy, ...
and Malang in Indonesia, for Australian university students.
The
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 ...
programme at Murdoch was, until its controversial closure in 2021, the most integrated of any Australian University and included a full complement of staff working on-site.
The university is one of the partners in the Western Australian Pregnancy Cohort (Raine) Study, one of the largest
cohorts
Cohort or cohortes may refer to:
* Cohort (educational group), a group of students working together through the same academic curriculum
* Cohort (floating point), a set of different encodings of the same numerical value
* Cohort (military unit), ...
of pregnancy, childhood, adolescence and early adulthood to be carried out anywhere in the world.
The ''Australian National Phenome Centre (ANPC)'', led by Murdoch University, is a world-leading research institute in metabolic phenotyping, as well as the only facility of its kind in the southern hemisphere. The ANPC is led by Professor Jeremy K. Nicholson, one of the most renowned academic in the areas of
metabolomics
Metabolomics is the scientific study of chemical processes involving metabolites, the small molecule substrates, intermediates, and products of cell metabolism. Specifically, metabolomics is the "systematic study of the unique chemical fingerprin ...
. During the
COVID-19 pandemic
The COVID-19 pandemic, also known as the coronavirus pandemic, is an ongoing global pandemic of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The novel virus was first identified ...
, researchers at Murdoch University were at the forefront of studying the long-term biochemistry and symptomatology of the coronavirus, including the discovery of distinct blood signatures of patients who contracted the virus.
The university's work with conservation management has including the protection of
dugong
The dugong (; ''Dugong dugon'') is a marine mammal. It is one of four living species of the order Sirenia, which also includes three species of manatees. It is the only living representative of the once-diverse family Dugongidae; its close ...
s through drone-tracking devices, and the use of space technology to track movement patterns of vulnerable
whale shark
The whale shark (''Rhincodon typus'') is a slow-moving, filter-feeding carpet shark and the largest known extant fish species. The largest confirmed individual had a length of .McClain CR, Balk MA, Benfield MC, Branch TA, Chen C, Cosgrove J, ...
s. Murdoch researchers also work to protect the endangered native black cockatoos.
Mudoch was the subject of an ABC Four Corners report on selling of placements and the associated student visas to seemingly unqualified people including those who had been previously rejected for Australian visas. Subsequently, the Department of Home Affairs increased Murdoch's risk rating.
Murdoch University International Study Centres
Murdoch University Dubai
Murdoch University Dubai is a branch campus, established in 2008 in Dubai International Academic City to cater for the expanding Dubai media and financial sectors, and support Dubai's ambitions in providing an ongoing reserve of regional graduates connected to the demands of the region's booming industries.
The campus in Dubai offers degree programs in Commerce, Information Technology and Media and postgraduate programs in Business, Human Resource Management and Education. The Degree programs are fully compatible with those offered in Perth and carry full Australian accreditation as well as being certified by the Knowledge and Human Development Authority, Government of
Dubai
Dubai (, ; ar, دبي, translit=Dubayy, , ) is the most populous city in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) and the capital of the Emirate of Dubai, the most populated of the 7 emirates of the United Arab Emirates.The Government and Politics ...
.
Murdoch University International Study Centre Singapore
The Murdoch University International Study Centre (MUISC) in
Singapore
Singapore (), officially the Republic of Singapore, is a sovereign island country and city-state in maritime Southeast Asia. It lies about one degree of latitude () north of the equator, off the southern tip of the Malay Peninsula, borde ...
was officially opened in June 2008 by Australian High Commissioner Mr Miles Kupa.
Notable faculty and alumni
*
Glenn Albrecht
Glenn A. Albrecht, born in 1953, was Professor of Sustainability at Murdoch University in Western Australia until his retirement in 2014. He is an honorary fellow in the School of Geosciences of the University of Sydney.
In 2008, Albrecht fin ...
– sustainability expert and coined the term
solastalgia
Solastalgia () is a neologism, formed by the combination of the Latin words ''sōlācium'' (comfort) and the Greek root ''-algia'' (pain, suffering, grief), that describes a form of emotional or existential distress caused by environmental change ...
Australian Greens
The Australian Greens, commonly known as The Greens, are a confederation of Green state and territory political parties in Australia. As of the 2022 federal election, the Greens are the third largest political party in Australia by vote and ...
and MP for
Melbourne
Melbourne ( ; Boonwurrung/ Woiwurrung: ''Narrm'' or ''Naarm'') is the capital and most populous city of the Australian state of Victoria, and the second-most populous city in both Australia and Oceania. Its name generally refers to a me ...
*
Sarah Bell
Sarah Jayne Bell is the City of Melbourne Chair in Urban Resilience and Innovation at the University of Melbourne, Australia, and Honorary Professor of Environmental Engineering at The Bartlett School in University College London ( UCL). She w ...
University of Western Australia
The University of Western Australia (UWA) is a public research university in the Australian state of Western Australia. The university's main campus is in Perth, the state capital, with a secondary campus in Albany, Western Australia, Albany an ...
Australian Catholic University
Australian Catholic University (ACU) is a public university in Australia. It has seven Australian campuses and also maintains a campus in Rome.
History
Australian Catholic University was opened on 1 January 1991 following the amalgamati ...
High Court of Australia
The High Court of Australia is Australia's apex court. It exercises original and appellate jurisdiction on matters specified within Australia's Constitution.
The High Court was established following passage of the ''Judiciary Act 1903''. It ...
and former justice of the
Supreme Court of Western Australia
The Supreme Court of Western Australia is the highest state court in the Australian State of Western Australia. It has unlimited jurisdiction within the state in civil matters (although it usually only hears matters involving sums of A$750,0 ...
and
Federal Court of Australia
The Federal Court of Australia is an Australian superior court of record which has jurisdiction to deal with most civil disputes governed by federal law (with the exception of family law matters), along with some summary (less serious) and indic ...
*
Alan Eggleston
Alan Eggleston (born 30 December 1941) is an Australian former politician who served as a Liberal member of the Australian Senate from 1996 to 2014 representing Western Australia.
Career
Early career
He was born in Busselton, Western Aust ...
– Australian politician, former Senator for Western Australia, representing the
Liberal Party
The Liberal Party is any of many political parties around the world. The meaning of ''liberal'' varies around the world, ranging from liberal conservatism on the right to social liberalism on the left.
__TOC__ Active liberal parties
This is a l ...
Kevin Hewison
Kevin Hewison is an Australian social and political scientist, formerly the Weldon E. Thornton Distinguished Professor at University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill (UNC) and director of the Carolina Asia Center. He is now Weldon E. Thornton Di ...
– Asian Studies professor
*
Frederic Jevons
Frederic Raphael Jevons (born 19 September 1929 in Austria as Frederic Raphael Bettelheim, died 30 September 2012 in Melbourne) was a British Professor of biochemistry and later an Australian educator. He was informally known as Fred Jevons and ...
– biochemist and educator
* Michael Keenan – Australian politician, member for
Stirling
Stirling (; sco, Stirlin; gd, Sruighlea ) is a city in central Scotland, northeast of Glasgow and north-west of Edinburgh. The market town, surrounded by rich farmland, grew up connecting the royal citadel, the medieval old town with its me ...
, representing the Liberal Party
* Raeesah Khan – Singaporean activist and politician
* Bill Loader – Emeritus Professor of
New Testament
The New Testament grc, Ἡ Καινὴ Διαθήκη, transl. ; la, Novum Testamentum. (NT) is the second division of the Christian biblical canon. It discusses the teachings and person of Jesus, as well as events in first-century Christ ...
* Scott Ludlam – Former Senator for Western Australia and federal co-leader of the
Australian Greens
The Australian Greens, commonly known as The Greens, are a confederation of Green state and territory political parties in Australia. As of the 2022 federal election, the Greens are the third largest political party in Australia by vote and ...
Chandrika Ravi
Chandrika Ravi is an Australian actress, model and dancer of Indian origin. She was born and raised in Australia before moving to Los Angeles for her acting and modelling career. She became known for her role in the 2018 Indian film '' Iruttu ...
– Indian-Australian model, dancer and actress
*
Kim Scott
Kim Scott (born 18 February 1957) is an Australian novelist of Aboriginal Australian ancestry. He is a descendant of the Noongar people of Western Australia.
Biography
Scott was born in Perth in 1957 and is the eldest of four siblings with ...
– author
*
Sally Talbot
Sally Elizabeth Talbot (born 22 March 1953) is an Australian politician. She has been a Australian Labor Party (Western Australian Branch), Labor Party member of the Western Australian Legislative Council since 2005, representing the region of ...
Australian Labor Party (Western Australian Branch)
The Australian Labor Party (Western Australian Branch), commonly known as WA Labor, is the Western Australian branch of the Australian Labor Party. It is the current governing party of Western Australia since winning the 2017 election under M ...
*
Jan Thomas
Jan Thomas (born September 18, 1958) is an American writer and illustrator of children's books. She lives in Socorro, New Mexico and has published three books with Harcourt Trade Publishers: '' What Will Fat Cat Sit On?'', ''A Birthday for Cow' ...
- Vice-chancellor of
Massey University
Massey University ( mi, Te Kunenga ki Pūrehuroa) is a university based in Palmerston North, New Zealand, with significant campuses in Albany and Wellington. Massey University has approximately 30,883 students, 13,796 of whom are extramural o ...
Mixed Martial Artist
Mixed martial arts (MMA), sometimes referred to as cage fighting, no holds barred (NHB), and ultimate fighting, and originally referred to as Vale Tudo is a full-contact combat sport based on striking, grappling and ground fighting, incorpo ...
Barbara Wienecke
Barbara Wienecke is a senior research scientist with the Australian Antarctic Division. She is a seabird ecologist who uses satellite tracking to investigate seabird population dynamics and ecology. Wienecke has played a key role in enhancing ...
– Antarctic researcher, seabird ecologist
* Grant Woodhams – Australian politician representing the Nationals
* Alison Xamon – Australian politician in the Legislative Council, Parliamentary leader of the Greens WA
*
Edmund Yeo
Edmund Yeo (born 6 March 1984, in Singapore) is a Malaysian film director, screenwriter and film producer. He first received international acclaim in 2009 when his Japanese-language short film, Kingyo, premiered at the Venice Film Festival.
Sinc ...
– Malaysian filmmaker
* Basil Zempilas – Broadcaster and
Lord Mayor of Perth
__TOC__
The history of the City of Perth, a local government area of Western Australia is defined over three distinct periods:
*From 1829 to 1838 — controlled by the Governor of Western Australia
*From 1838 to 1858 — controlled by the ''P ...
See also
*
List of universities in Australia
There are 43 universities in Australia: 40 Australian universities (36 public and 4 private) and 3 international private universities. The Commonwealth Higher Education Support Act 2003 sets out three groups of Australian higher education prov ...