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The Royal Melbourne Institute of Technology (abbreviated as RMIT University) is a
public In public relations and communication science, publics are groups of individual people, and the public (a.k.a. the general public) is the totality of such groupings. This is a different concept to the sociology, sociological concept of the ''Öf ...
research university A research university or a research-intensive university is a university that is committed to research as a central part of its mission. They are "the key sites of Knowledge production modes, knowledge production", along with "intergenerational ...
located in the city of
Melbourne Melbourne ( , ; Boonwurrung language, Boonwurrung/ or ) is the List of Australian capital cities, capital and List of cities in Australia by population, most populous city of the States and territories of Australia, Australian state of Victori ...
in Victoria, Australia., section 4(b) Established in 1887 by Francis Ormond, it is the seventh-oldest institution of higher education in Australia, a founding member of the Australian Technology Network (ATN), and a member of Universities Australia (UA). RMIT began as a night school offering classes in art, science and technology in response to the
Industrial Revolution The Industrial Revolution, sometimes divided into the First Industrial Revolution and Second Industrial Revolution, was a transitional period of the global economy toward more widespread, efficient and stable manufacturing processes, succee ...
in Australia. It was a private college for more than a hundred years before merging with the Phillip Institute of Technology to become a
public university A public university, state university, or public college is a university or college that is State ownership, owned by the state or receives significant funding from a government. Whether a national university is considered public varies from o ...
in 1992. It has an enrolment of around 95,000 higher and
vocational education Vocational education is education that prepares people for a skilled craft. Vocational education can also be seen as that type of education given to an individual to prepare that individual to be gainfully employed or self employed with req ...
students. With an annual revenue of around A$1.5 billion. It is ranked 15th in the World for art and design subjects in the
QS World University Rankings The ''QS World University Rankings'' is a portfolio of comparative college and university rankings compiled by Quacquarelli Symonds, a higher education analytics firm. Its first and earliest edition was published in collaboration with '' Times ...
. The main campus of RMIT is situated on the northern edge of the historic Hoddle Grid in the city centre of Melbourne. It has two satellite campuses in the city's northern suburbs of Brunswick and Bundoora and a training site situated on the RAAF Williams base in the western suburb of Point Cook. It also has a training site at Bendigo Airport in the Victorian city of Bendigo and a research site in Hamilton near the Grampians National Park. In Asia, it has two branch campuses in
Ho Chi Minh City Ho Chi Minh City (HCMC) ('','' TP.HCM; ), commonly known as Saigon (; ), is the most populous city in Vietnam with a population of around 14 million in 2025. The city's geography is defined by rivers and canals, of which the largest is Saigo ...
and
Hanoi Hanoi ( ; ; ) is the Capital city, capital and List of cities in Vietnam, second-most populous city of Vietnam. The name "Hanoi" translates to "inside the river" (Hanoi is bordered by the Red River (Asia), Red and Black River (Asia), Black Riv ...
and a training centre in Da Nang in
Vietnam Vietnam, officially the Socialist Republic of Vietnam (SRV), is a country at the eastern edge of mainland Southeast Asia, with an area of about and a population of over 100 million, making it the world's List of countries and depende ...
as well as teaching partnerships in
Mainland China "Mainland China", also referred to as "the Chinese mainland", is a Geopolitics, geopolitical term defined as the territory under direct administration of the People's Republic of China (PRC) in the aftermath of the Chinese Civil War. In addit ...
,
Hong Kong Hong Kong)., Legally Hong Kong, China in international treaties and organizations. is a special administrative region of China. With 7.5 million residents in a territory, Hong Kong is the fourth most densely populated region in the wor ...
,
Indonesia Indonesia, officially the Republic of Indonesia, is a country in Southeast Asia and Oceania, between the Indian Ocean, Indian and Pacific Ocean, Pacific oceans. Comprising over List of islands of Indonesia, 17,000 islands, including Sumatra, ...
,
Singapore Singapore, officially the Republic of Singapore, is an island country and city-state in Southeast Asia. The country's territory comprises one main island, 63 satellite islands and islets, and one outlying islet. It is about one degree ...
and
Sri Lanka Sri Lanka, officially the Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka, also known historically as Ceylon, is an island country in South Asia. It lies in the Indian Ocean, southwest of the Bay of Bengal, separated from the Indian subcontinent, ...
. In Europe, it has a research and collaboration centre in the Spanish city of
Barcelona Barcelona ( ; ; ) is a city on the northeastern coast of Spain. It is the capital and largest city of the autonomous community of Catalonia, as well as the second-most populous municipality of Spain. With a population of 1.6 million within c ...
.


History


Early history (before 1887)

The antecedent of RMIT, the Working Men's College of Melbourne, was founded by the Scottish-born grazier and politician the Hon. Francis Ormond in the 1880s. Planning began in 1881, with Ormond basing his model for the college on the Birkbeck Literary and Scientific Institution (now a constituent college of the
University of London The University of London (UoL; abbreviated as Lond or more rarely Londin in Post-nominal letters, post-nominals) is a collegiate university, federal Public university, public research university located in London, England, United Kingdom. The ...
), Brighton College of Art (now the University of Brighton),
Royal College of Art The Royal College of Art (RCA) is a public university, public research university in London, United Kingdom, with campuses in South Kensington, Battersea and White City, London, White City. It is the only entirely postgraduate art and design uni ...
and the Working Men's College of London. Ormond donated the sum of £5,000 toward the foundation of the college. He was supported in the Victorian Parliament by Charles Pearson and in the
Melbourne Trades Hall Victorian Trades Hall is the headquarters of the Victorian Trades Hall Council in Australia. It is located on the corner of Lygon and Victoria streets, just north of the Melbourne central business district in the suburb of Carlton. It is t ...
by William Emmett Murphy. The workers' unions of Melbourne rallied their members to match Ormond's donation. The site for the college, on the corners of Bowen Street and
La Trobe Street La Trobe Street (also Latrobe Street) is a major street and thoroughfare in the Melbourne central business district, Victoria, Australia. It runs roughly east–west and forms the northern boundary of the central business district. The street ...
, opposite the Melbourne Public Library, was donated by the Victorian Government.


Working Men's College (1887–1960)

The Working Men's College of Melbourne opened on 4 June 1887 with a gala ceremony at the Melbourne Town Hall, becoming the fifth tertiary education provider in Victoria (the Melbourne Athenaeum was founded in 1839, the
University of Melbourne The University of Melbourne (colloquially known as Melbourne University) is a public university, public research university located in Melbourne, Australia. Founded in 1853, it is Australia's second oldest university and the oldest in the state ...
in 1853, the Ballarat School of Mines in 1870 and the Bendigo School of Mines in 1873). It took 320 enrollments on its opening night. It opened as a night school for instruction in "art, science and technology"—in the words of its founder—"especially to working men". Ormond was a firm believer in the transformative power of education and believed the college would be of "great importance and value" to the industrialisation of Melbourne during the late-19th century. In 1904, it was incorporated under the ''Companies Act'' as a private college. Between the turn of the 20th century and the 1930s, it expanded over the neighbouring Old Melbourne Gaol and constructed buildings for new art, engineering and radio schools. It also made its first contribution to Australia's war effort through training of returned
military personnel Military personnel or military service members are members of the state's armed forces. Their roles, pay, and obligations differ according to their military branch (army, navy, marines, coast guard, air force, and space force), rank ( office ...
from World War I. Following a petition by students, it officially changed its name to the Melbourne Technical College in 1934. The expanded college made a greater contribution to Australia's effort during World War II by training a sixth of the country's military personnel—including the majority of its Royal Australian Air Force communication officers. It also trained 2000 civilians in munitions manufacturing and was commissioned by the
Australian Government The Australian Government, also known as the Commonwealth Government or simply as the federal government, is the national executive government of Australia, a federal parliamentary constitutional monarchy. The executive consists of the pr ...
to manufacture military aircraft parts—including the majority of parts for the Beaufort Bomber.


RMIT (1960–1992)

Following World War II, in 1954 it became the first Australian tertiary education provider to be awarded royal patronage (by
Elizabeth II Elizabeth II (Elizabeth Alexandra Mary; 21 April 19268 September 2022) was Queen of the United Kingdom and other Commonwealth realms from 6 February 1952 until Death and state funeral of Elizabeth II, her death in 2022. ...
) for its service to the Commonwealth in the area of education and for its contribution to the war effort; and was officially renamed the "Royal Melbourne Technical College". It became (and remains to this day) the only higher education institution in Australia with the right of the prefix "Royal" along with the use of the Australian monarchy's regalia. Its name was officially changed to the Royal Melbourne Institute of Technology in 1960. During the mid-20th century, it was restructured as a provider of general higher and vocational education and pioneered dual sector education in Australia. It also began an engagement with
Southeast Asia Southeast Asia is the geographical United Nations geoscheme for Asia#South-eastern Asia, southeastern region of Asia, consisting of the regions that are situated south of China, east of the Indian subcontinent, and northwest of the Mainland Au ...
during this time (under the Australian Government's Colombo Plan). In 1979, the neighbouring Emily McPherson College of Domestic Economy joined with RMIT.


RMIT University (1992)

After merging with the Phillip Institute of Technology in 1992,History of RMIT
, RMIT Institute, retrieved 22 September 2012
it became a public university by act of the Victorian Government under the ''Royal Melbourne Institute of Technology Act 1992'', Parliament of Victoria (1992)
Royal Melbourne Institute of Technology Act 1992
(repealed), section 1, Australasian Legal Information Institute (online), retrieved 22 September 2012
and changed its name to RMIT University. During the 1990s, the university underwent a rapid expansion and amalgamated with a number of nearby colleges and institutes. The Melbourne College of Decoration and Design joined RMIT in 1993, to create a new dedicated vocational design school, followed by the Melbourne College of Printing and Graphic Arts in 1995. That same year, it opened its first radial campus in Bundoora in the northern Melbourne metropolitan area. In 1999, it acquired the Melbourne Institute of Textiles campus in Brunswick in the inner-northern Melbourne metropolitan area for its vocational design schools.


Recent history (2000–present)

At the turn of the 21st century, it was invited by the Vietnamese Government to become the country's first foreign-owned university. Its first international branch campus opened in
Ho Chi Minh City Ho Chi Minh City (HCMC) ('','' TP.HCM; ), commonly known as Saigon (; ), is the most populous city in Vietnam with a population of around 14 million in 2025. The city's geography is defined by rivers and canals, of which the largest is Saigo ...
in 2001 with a second in
Hanoi Hanoi ( ; ; ) is the Capital city, capital and List of cities in Vietnam, second-most populous city of Vietnam. The name "Hanoi" translates to "inside the river" (Hanoi is bordered by the Red River (Asia), Red and Black River (Asia), Black Riv ...
in 2004.Our heritage
, RMIT International University, retrieved 27 September 2012
In 2013, it established a presence in Europe by opening a centre in
Barcelona Barcelona ( ; ; ) is a city on the northeastern coast of Spain. It is the capital and largest city of the autonomous community of Catalonia, as well as the second-most populous municipality of Spain. With a population of 1.6 million within c ...
, Spain.RMIT Europe launches in style
". RMIT University (11 July 2013), retrieved 3 July 2013


Campuses


Australia


Melbourne City

Located in the Melbourne city centre, the historic City campus of RMIT is the foundation campus of the university as well as its largest and most recognisable. It is known for its striking contemporary architecture as well as its well-preserved
Victorian era In the history of the United Kingdom and the British Empire, the Victorian era was the reign of Queen Victoria, from 20 June 1837 until her death on 22 January 1901. Slightly different definitions are sometimes used. The era followed the ...
and
interwar period In the history of the 20th century, the interwar period, also known as the interbellum (), lasted from 11 November 1918 to 1 September 1939 (20 years, 9 months, 21 days) – from the end of World War I (WWI) to the beginning of World War II ( ...
buildings.RMIT's historic buildings
, RMIT University, retrieved 23 September 2012
Founded in 1887, the City campus began as the Working Men's College of Melbourne. Its original building is situated on the corner of Bowen Street and
La Trobe Street La Trobe Street (also Latrobe Street) is a major street and thoroughfare in the Melbourne central business district, Victoria, Australia. It runs roughly east–west and forms the northern boundary of the central business district. The street ...
, and the campus has since grown to 87 buildings in 2016.Melbourne City campus map
. RMIT University. Retrieved 11 December 2016
The campus has no perimeter walls. As such, its buildings are contiguous with the surrounding city. Most of its buildings are spread across six city blocks covering approximately . It is roughly bound by La Trobe Street to the south, Elizabeth Street to the south-east and Swanston Street to the north-east (connected by Franklin Street), Queensberry Street to the north, Lygon Street to the north-west and Russell Street to the south-west. The campus area is situated between the two oldest sections of the city; the northern edge of the Hoddle Grid to its south and the Queen Victoria Market to its south-west. The area is sometimes referred to as the "RMIT quarter" of the city.Webb, Carolyn (14 July 2012),
RMIT's wave of progress
", ''
The Age ''The Age'' is a daily newspaper in Melbourne, Australia, that has been published since 1854. Owned and published by Nine Entertainment, ''The Age'' primarily serves Victoria (Australia), Victoria, but copies also sell in Tasmania, the Austral ...
'',
Fairfax Media Fairfax Media was a media (communication), media company in Australia and New Zealand, with investments in newspaper, magazines, radio and digital properties. The company was founded by John Fairfax as John Fairfax and Sons, who purchased ''The ...
, retrieved 27 September 2012
O'Neill, Tamsin (ed.) (24 July 2008),
RMIT University's landmark building
", ''Green Magazine'', retrieved 27 September 2012
At the intersection of La Trobe Street and Swanston Street, the campus also benefits from its proximity to the State Library of Victoria as well as the adjacent Melbourne Central Shopping Centre and its City Loop underground railway station. It is also well-serviced by the city tram network along La Trobe Street and Swanston Street and has its own tram stop (Stop 7 RMIT University/Swanston Street) in the densest section of the campus. The city block bound by Bowen Street, Franklin Street, La Trobe Street and Russell Street, served as the justice precinct of the city for over 100 years. While it is mostly occupied by campus buildings today, which were constructed over the site of the demolished Old Melbourne Gaol, some original buildings from the precinct remain and are used by the university. From the Old Melbourne Gaol, they include its east wing cell block (1854) which is now operated as a museum by the National Trust of Australia, its former chapel and gatehouse (1860) which are now used as a multi-faith place of worship for the campus, and the site of its former hospital which is now used as a landscaped space known as Alumni Courtyard. Other buildings from the precinct that remain are the former Melbourne City Watchhouse (1904) which is also operated as a museum by the National Trust, and the
former Melbourne Magistrates' Court The Former Melbourne Magistrates' Court was the original home of Melbourne's City Court and District Court, as well as their emergency court. The Romanesque architecture, French Romanesque building is located on the corner of La Trobe Street, La ...
(1914) which is now used to house university administration. Other notable buildings on the City campus include Storey Hall original section (1887), Forresters' Hall (1888), Capitol Theatre (1924), Emily McPherson College (1927), Building 8 (1993), Storey Hall annex (1995), Singer Building "green brain" (2010), Design Hub (2011) and Swanston Academic Building (2012).


Bundoora

The Bundoora campus was established in 1992. It is located 18 km from the City campus in the outer northern suburb of Bundoora. The campus is divided into 'East' and 'West' by Plenty Road. In a contrast to the urban City campus, the Bundoora West campus is set amongst almost of parkland.Bundoora campus
, RMIT University, retrieved 27 September 2012
Programs in aerospace engineering,
electrical engineering Electrical engineering is an engineering discipline concerned with the study, design, and application of equipment, devices, and systems that use electricity, electronics, and electromagnetism. It emerged as an identifiable occupation in the l ...
,
mechanical engineering Mechanical engineering is the study of physical machines and mechanism (engineering), mechanisms that may involve force and movement. It is an engineering branch that combines engineering physics and engineering mathematics, mathematics principl ...
,
medical science Medicine is the science and practice of caring for patients, managing the diagnosis, prognosis, prevention, treatment, palliation of their injury or disease, and promoting their health. Medicine encompasses a variety of health care pra ...
s and
social science Social science (often rendered in the plural as the social sciences) is one of the branches of science, devoted to the study of societies and the relationships among members within those societies. The term was formerly used to refer to the ...
s are offered at the Bundoora campus.


Brunswick

The Brunswick campus became a part of RMIT in 1999 as a dedicated site for its vocational design schools. It is located 6 km from the City campus in the inner northern suburb of Brunswick. Prior to its annexation by RMIT, it was the campus of the former Melbourne Institute of Textiles for nearly 50 years. Programs in product design, fashion design, graphic design, printing, publishing and textiles are offered at the Brunswick campus.


Other sites

RMIT's flight training programs are conducted from its site at the
Royal Australian Air Force The Royal Australian Air Force (RAAF) is the principal Air force, aerial warfare force of Australia, a part of the Australian Defence Force (ADF) along with the Royal Australian Navy and the Australian Army. Constitutionally the Governor-Gener ...
's (RAAF) historic Williams base. It is located from the City campus in the outer south-western suburb of Point Cook. RAAF Williams is the world's oldest operating air force base and the birthplace of the Royal Australian Air Force. The university also has a regional research site in the rural town of Hamilton. It is located 300 km west of the City campus in regional Victoria—just south of the Grampians National Park. The Potter Rural Community Research Centre at the site focuses on rural and regional issues in a global context. RMIT Training also offers English Language Tests for Aviation or RELTA.


Asia


Ho Chi Minh City

In 1998, RMIT was invited by the Vietnamese Government to establish the country's first foreign-owned university. In 2001, it purchased and restored a 19th-century French Colonial building and grounds in District 3, Ho Chi Minh City. The building, located on Pham Ngoc Thach Street, is informally referred to as "the Castle" by students.Pham Ngoc Thach site
, RMIT International University, retrieved 27 September 2012
Today, the Pham Ngoc Thach site remains a radial site of the present Ho Chi Minh City campus. The present Ho Chi Minh City campus is located in the Phu My Hung area of the Saigon South development in District 7. The first academic buildings on the large purpose-built campus opened in 2005. In 2011, its recreation complex and residential centres opened.


Hanoi

The Hanoi campus was established in 2004. It was initially located in the Van Phuc Diplomatic Compound in the government precinct of the Ba Đình district, Hanoi. In 2007, it also acquired a building in the Đống Đa district to accommodate rising student numbers. It consolidated its two buildings in a newly built tower overlooking Ngọc Khánh Lake in the Ba Đình district in 2010.


Other partners

RMIT teaches and/or accredits programs for the Hong Kong Art School and Shanghai Institute of Foreign Trade in
China China, officially the People's Republic of China (PRC), is a country in East Asia. With population of China, a population exceeding 1.4 billion, it is the list of countries by population (United Nations), second-most populous country after ...
, SIM Global Education in
Singapore Singapore, officially the Republic of Singapore, is an island country and city-state in Southeast Asia. The country's territory comprises one main island, 63 satellite islands and islets, and one outlying islet. It is about one degree ...
and Taylor's University in
Malaysia Malaysia is a country in Southeast Asia. Featuring the Tanjung Piai, southernmost point of continental Eurasia, it is a federation, federal constitutional monarchy consisting of States and federal territories of Malaysia, 13 states and thre ...
.Study an RMIT program in your country
, RMIT University, retrieved 22 September 2012


Europe


Barcelona

In 2013, RMIT established a coordinating centre in Barcelona, Spain. The centre offers a variety of programs in conjunction with RMIT's partners in Europe, including a double master's degree in architecture which facilitates the RMIT School of Architecture and Design's participation in the reconstruction of
Antoni Gaudí Antoni Gaudí i Cornet ( , ; ; 25 June 1852 – 10 June 1926) was a Catalans, Catalan architect and designer from Spain, widely known as the greatest exponent of Catalan ''Modernisme''. Gaudí's works have a style, with most located in Barc ...
's
basilica In Ancient Roman architecture, a basilica (Greek Basiliké) was a large public building with multiple functions that was typically built alongside the town's forum. The basilica was in the Latin West equivalent to a stoa in the Greek Eas ...
,
Sagrada Família The Basílica i Temple Expiatori de la Sagrada Família, otherwise known as Sagrada Família, is a church under construction in the Eixample district of Barcelona, Catalonia, Spain. It is the largest unfinished Catholic church in the world. Desi ...
.RMIT University de Australia se expande en Europa
, PR Newswire (5 April 2013), retrieved 20 April 2013 (in Spanish).


Organisation and governance

Royal Melbourne Institute of Technology is a public university created under the ''Royal Melbourne Institute of Technology Act 1992'' by the Government of Victoria,, section 4(1) and continues in accordance with the ''Royal Melbourne Institute of Technology Act 2010''., section 1 The university trades under the name "RMIT University" which is a registered business name and trademark. It is composed of the academic colleges and schools, research centres and institutes of the Royal Melbourne Institute of Technology,Organisational Chart
, RMIT University, retrieved 30 August 2014
and is governed by the RMIT Council and is managed by the RMIT Chancellery., section 8(2)(a)(b)RMIT Council Governance Charter
, RMIT University, retrieved 30 August 2014


Divisions

RMIT University is separated into two divisions: the Higher Education Division and the Vocational Education and Training (VET) Division. The divisions are responsible for the 17 academic schools of RMIT—which are grouped into three academic portfolios referred to as colleges. The higher education schools offer undergraduate and postgraduate degrees, while the VET schools offer vocational certificates and diplomas.


Council

RMIT is governed by a council consisting of 21 members, which is responsible for the "general direction and superintendence of the University". The RMIT Council is led by the RMIT
Chancellor Chancellor () is a title of various official positions in the governments of many countries. The original chancellors were the of Roman courts of justice—ushers, who sat at the (lattice work screens) of a basilica (court hall), which separa ...
who is an ex officio member and serves as its Governor-in-Council. The RMIT vice-chancellor and president, as well as the chair of the RMIT Academic Board, are also ex officio members of the council. Five members of the RMIT Council are elected by direct ballot of the staff and students of the university. They consist of three staff members elected to represent the higher education, vocational education and general staff of the university, and two students elected to represent higher education and vocational education students. The remaining members are appointed directly by the RMIT Chancellor and Governor, or by a vote of the sitting council members. Members appointed directly to the council are required to possess a substantial expertise in academic or financial management, vocational education or training experience, and be drawn from beyond the university community.


Vice-chancellor

The RMIT Council grants power over all academic and administrative affairs of the university to the vice-chancellor and president—who is the
chief executive officer A chief executive officer (CEO), also known as a chief executive or managing director, is the top-ranking corporate officer charged with the management of an organization, usually a company or a nonprofit organization. CEOs find roles in variou ...
of the university. The vice-chancellor and president is "responsible for the conduct of the University's affairs in all matters". Management of RMIT's colleges and portfolios is then delegated by the vice-chancellor and president to a team of deputy and pro vice-chancellors as well as senior executives.


Academic board

The requirements for the conferring of an academic degree of the university is determined and approved by the RMIT Academic Board. The board consists of the RMIT Chancellery as ex officio members, and up to a further 46 members—34 of which must be elected by staff and students. Those conferred an academic degree of the university may use the
post-nominal letters Post-nominal letters, also called post-nominal initials, post-nominal titles, designatory letters, or simply post-nominals, are letters placed after a person's name to indicate that the individual holds a position, an academic degree, accreditation ...
"RMIT" with the abbreviation of their degree title.


Colleges and schools

The four academic colleges housing the schools of RMIT are the College of Business and Law (BUSL), College of Design and Social Context (DSC) and College of Vocational Education and the STEM College (incorporating the fields of sciences, engineering, computing technologies and health and medical sciences (STEM). College of Business and Law * RMIT School of Accounting, Information Systems and Supply Chain * RMIT School of Economics, Finance and Marketing * RMIT School of Graduate Business and Law * RMIT School of Management College of Design and Social Context * RMIT School of Architecture and Urban Design * RMIT School of Art * RMIT School of Design * RMIT School of Education * RMIT School of Fashion and Textiles * RMIT School of Global, Urban and Social Studies * RMIT School of Media and Communication * RMIT School of Property, Construction and Project Management STEM College * RMIT School of Computing Technologies * RMIT School of Engineering * RMIT School of Health and Biomedical Sciences * RMIT School of Science College of Vocational Education incorporates the fields of business, design and technology, media, art and communication, social care, engineering technology, nursing, computer science, myotherapy, dental studies, trades and the built environment. * RMIT School of Vocational Business Education * RMIT School of Vocational Engineering, Health and Sciences


Commercial subsidiaries

"RMIT Group" is the business unit of the university and consists of the entities controlled by RMIT University, including wholly owned subsidiaries such as: * RMIT Training, and its sub-entities, which include: ** Informit (for online publication); which owns and operates the Informit database, the largest
online database In computing, a database is an organized collection of Data (computing), data or a type of data store based on the use of a database management system (DBMS), the software that interacts with end users, Application software, applications, and ...
of research from across Australia and the Asia-Pacific; RMIT Vietnam, and there were other commercial interests and sub-entities.Annual Report 2013
, p. 30, RMIT University, retrieved 30 August 2014
, RMIT has two campuses in Vietnam and one in Spain.


Academics


Academic reputation

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 #199 (14th nationally). ; National publications In the Australian Financial Review">''Australian Financial Review'' Best Universities Ranking 2024, the university was ranked #23 amongst Australian universities. ; Global publications In the 2025 '' Quacquarelli Symonds'' World University Rankings (published 2024), the university attained a tied position of #123 (10th nationally). In the ''Times Higher Education'' World University Rankings 2025 (published 2024), the university attained a position of #251–300 (tied 14–19th nationally). In the 2024 '' Academic Ranking of World Universities'', the university attained a position of #301–400 (tied 16–21st nationally). In the 2024–2025 ''U.S. News & World Report'' Best Global Universities, the university attained a position of #195 (15th nationally). In the '' CWTS Leiden Ranking'' 2024, the university attained a position of #239 (11th nationally).


Student outcomes

The Australian Government's QILT conducts national surveys documenting the student life cycle from enrolment through to employment. These surveys place more emphasis on criteria such as student experience, graduate outcomes and employer satisfaction than perceived reputation, research output and citation counts. In the 2023 Employer Satisfaction Survey, graduates of the university had an overall employer satisfaction rate of 84.7%. In the 2023 Graduate Outcomes Survey, graduates of the university had a full-time employment rate of 71.8% for undergraduates and 98% for postgraduates. The initial full-time salary was for undergraduates and for postgraduates. In the 2023 Student Experience Survey, undergraduates at the university rated the quality of their entire educational experience at 73.9% meanwhile postgraduates rated their overall education experience at 77.9%.


Research

RMIT focuses on applied research as well as outcome-related research and consultancy services, and has extensive partnerships with government and industry. It mainly focuses its research in the areas of design, technology, health, globalisation and
sustainability Sustainability is a social goal for people to co-exist on Earth over a long period of time. Definitions of this term are disputed and have varied with literature, context, and time. Sustainability usually has three dimensions (or pillars): env ...
. Its Portfolio of Research and Innovation operates on a similar scale to its colleges, and also contains a specialist research school in order to foster excellence in research methodology and pedagogy. In addition to the Portfolio of Research and Innovation, over 50 research centres operate independently within RMIT's colleges and schools as well as a large number of smaller research groups.


Collections


Libraries

RMIT Library is the central libraries network of the university. It has four locations across RMIT's three Australian campuses.About the University Library
, RMIT University, retrieved 28 September 2012
Swanston Library is the largest in the network, and is located in Building 8 at the City campus. Swanston Library is also reported to be amongst the top five libraries in all of Melbourne. Other libraries in the network are the Brunswick Library, Bundoora West Library and Carlton Library (the latter of which is also at the City campus). The City campus also benefits from its proximity to the State Library of Victoria—the central public reference library and the largest library in Melbourne. In addition to its libraries network, RMIT schools also maintain their own specialised collections. Notable examples of school-maintained collections are the AFI Research Collection,AFI Research Collection
, RMIT University, retrieved 30 September 2012
RMIT Design Archives and National Aerospace Resource.RMIT Design Archives
, RMIT University, retrieved 28 September 2012
National Aerospace Resource Centre
, RMIT University, retrieved 28 September 2012
Two libraries are located at RMIT's Vietnam campuses; Beanland Library and Hanoi Library. The Beanland Library is the larger of the two libraries, and is located at the Ho Chi Minh City campus.


Online databases

Selected research of RMIT academics and postgraduate students can be accessed through the RMIT Research Repository—an open access database of peer-reviewed published articles, conference papers, books and chapters, etc.Research Repository
, RMIT University, retrieved 8 March 2013
Documents held by the RMIT Research Repository are also indexed by
Google Scholar Google Scholar is a freely accessible web search engine that indexes the full text or metadata of Academic publishing, scholarly literature across an array of publishing formats and disciplines. Released in Beta release, beta in November 2004, th ...
,
National Library of Australia The National Library of Australia (NLA), formerly the Commonwealth National Library and Commonwealth Parliament Library, is the largest reference library in Australia, responsible under the terms of the ''National Library Act 1960'' for "mainta ...
and
WorldCat WorldCat is a union catalog that itemizes the collections of tens of thousands of institutions (mostly libraries), in many countries, that are current or past members of the OCLC global cooperative. It is operated by OCLC, Inc. Many of the O ...
. As of March 2013, there are more than 19,000 records in the Repository. The university's subsidiary, RMIT Training, also owns and operates the Informit online library database (see above), which is the largest database of research from across Australia and the Asia-Pacific.


Galleries

The major public art gallery of the university is RMIT Gallery, located at the City campus. The gallery runs a highly regarded program of Australian and international exhibitions, and focuses on
contemporary art Contemporary art is a term used to describe the art of today, generally referring to art produced from the 1970s onwards. Contemporary artists work in a globally influenced, culturally diverse, and technologically advancing world. Their art is a ...
, design and
visual culture Visual culture is the aspect of culture expressed in visual images. Many academic fields study this subject, including cultural studies, art history, critical theory, philosophy, media studies, Deaf Studies, and anthropology. The field of vi ...
. It is located in the historic original section of Storey Hall on Swanston Street and is considered to be one of Melbourne's most vibrant art galleries. The gallery also publishes widely on art and design research in partnership with RMIT Publishing.About Us
, RMIT Publishing, retrieved 28 September 2012
RMIT First Site Gallery at the City campus is the main gallery of the RMIT Link campus union,First Site Gallery
RMIT Link, retrieved 30 September 2012
and focuses on emerging artists and is located beneath RMIT Gallery. The campus union also manages the Artland program at the Brunswick campus.
RMIT Link, retrieved 30 September 2012
Artland consists of 16 sites around the campus and Brunswick streets showcasing work of design students. In addition to the Story Hall galleries, many of RMIT's schools also manage their own discipline-relevant galleries. Notable examples are the School of Art's main gallery and Project Space / Spare Room Gallery, the School of Media and Communication's Field36 Gallery, and the School of Architecture and Design's Virtual Reality Centre and Design Hub Gallery. The acclaimed
public art Public art is art in any Media (arts), media whose form, function and meaning are created for the general public through a public process. It is a specific art genre with its own professional and critical discourse. Public art is visually and phy ...
program of the School of Art also produces art in public spaces around RMIT's campuses as well as the greater Melbourne city centre and metropolitan area.


Art collection

RMIT Gallery is the caretaker of RMIT's permanent art collection. It includes the substantial Linsday Edward Collection of fine art and W. E. Macmillan Collection of gold and silver as well as a number of other sub-collections.Skilled Hand and Cultivated Mind
RMIT University, retrieved 30 September 2012
The Linsday Edwards Collection has a strong focus on Australian art and holds work by leading Australian artists (including RMIT alumni or former faculty) such as Howard Arkley, John Brack, Leonard French, Roger Kemp, Inge King,
Max Meldrum Duncan Max Meldrum (3 December 1875 – 6 June 1955) was a Scottish-born Australian artist and art teacher, best known as the founder of Australian tonalism, a representational painting style that became popular in Melbourne during the interwa ...
,
John Olsen John Wayne Olsen AO (born 7 June 1945) is an Australian politician, diplomat and football commissioner. He was Premier of South Australia between 28 November 1996 and 22 October 2001. He is now President of the Federal Liberal Party, Chairma ...
, Lenton Parr and Fred Williams. A history of the art collection is documented in the publication ''A Skilled Hand and Cultivated Mind: A Guide to the Architecture and Art of RMIT''.


Student life


Link (campus union)

RMIT Link is the university's campus union.About us
RMIT Link, retrieved 30 September 2012
It exists to sponsor and promote social, cultural, educational, sporting and recreational programs and activities among the RMIT community, and to provide such facilities and services at RMIT's Australian campuses. Link is separated into two divisions: Arts & Culture and Sports & Recreation. It is a controlled entity under the authority of RMIT's Council. Arts & Culture manages a number of extra-curricular arts collectives. It also offers workshop and seminars as well as funding for arts initiatives, and runs a free cinema program at the City and Bundoora campuses. Sports & Recreation manages the university's
semi-professional Semi-professional sports are sports in which athletes are not participating on a full-time basis, but still receive some payment. Semi-professionals are not amateur because they receive regular payment from their team, but generally at a cons ...
sports teams, which are collectively known as the Redbacks, and has an elite athlete funding program. It offers funding for community and social
sports club A sports club or sporting club, sometimes an athletics club or sports society or sports association, is a group of people formed for the purpose of playing sports. Sports clubs range from organisations whose members play together, unpaid, and ...
s on RMIT's Australian campuses, and also runs community and charity sporting events and tournaments. It also operates the City campus gym, and co-owns a ski lodge on Mount Buller.


RUSU (student union)

RMIT's University Student Union (RUSU) is the independent body representing students enrolled at RMIT. It was founded in 1944 by John Storey Jr., after whom Storey Hall at the City campus is named. The objective of RUSU is to safeguard the interests and rights of students, and to advance education, welfare, social life and cultural activities of students. RUSU has a number of departments advocating various elements of student life, and it also supports academic, cultural, political, spiritual and special interest clubs and societies run by students. Departments: * Activities – manages events, festivals, markets and parties on all RMIT's campuses * Campuses – representation of students on general matters relating to RMIT's campuses * Clubs and societies * Education – campaigns on education matters and is run in collaboration with other departments * Environment – advocates environmental responsibility and sustainability on RMIT's campuses * International Students – supports and advocates the rights of international students * Postgraduate Students – the representative body of postgraduate students * Queer – supports and advocates the rights of RMIT's
LGBT LGBTQ people are individuals who are lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer, or questioning. Many variants of the initialism are used; LGBTQIA+ people incorporates intersex, asexual, aromantic, agender, and other individuals. The gro ...
community * Women's – supports and advocates the rights of women * Realfoods – RUSU's organic fair trade vegetarian cafe, located in the main cafeteria at the City campus Student media: * The Swanston Gazette –
Student newspaper A student publication is a media outlet such as a newspaper, magazine, television show, or radio station Graduate student journal, produced by students at an educational institution. These publications typically cover local and school-related new ...
established in 2019 by the RMIT Journalism Society as an independent alternative unaffiliated with the university or student union. * '' Catalyst'' – Student magazine, distributed free every month of the academic year since 1944 * RMITV – student television
production company A production company, production house or production studio is a studio that creates works in the fields of performing arts, new media art, film, television show, television, radio, comics, interactive arts, video games, websites, music, and video ...
, broadcasting since 1987, and co-founder of the C31 community television station * Student Youth Network (SYN) – student radio station, broadcasting across the Melbourne metropolitan area on 90.7 FM and on DAB+. Though many RMIT students participate in SYN programs, it is wholly independent of both RMIT and RUSU organisationally *
3RRR 3RRR (pronounced "Three Triple R", or simply "Triple R") is an Australian community radio station, based in Melbourne. 3RRR first commenced broadcasting in 1976 from the studios of 3ST, the student radio station of the Royal Melbourne Instit ...
– RMIT's former radio station, founded as 3RMT in 1976, now independently funded but still used by the university


Accommodation

RMIT operates several student accommodation facilities including: RMIT Village, Cambridge Court and College Square on the City campus and Walert House on the Bundoora campus—all of which operate as self-catered apartment complexes. Twelve other student hostels are also operated by other providers. Some of the traditional residential colleges of the nearby University of Melbourne also reserve places for RMIT students. The college fees include all catering, utilities, academic and pastoral support. The colleges affiliated with RMIT include: International House,
Janet Clarke Hall Janet Clarke Hall (JCH) is a residential college of the University of Melbourne in Australia. The college is associated with the Anglican Province of Victoria. Founded in 1886 JCH was the first university college in Australia to admit women ...
, Newman College, Queen's College, St Mary's College,
University College In a number of countries, a university college is a college institution that provides tertiary education but does not have full or independent university status. A university college is often part of a larger university. The precise usage varies f ...
and Whitley College.


Student demographics

In 2014, RMIT's program enrollments by gender were 54% male and 46% female. RMIT's Higher Education student body was 52% male and 48% female while its Vocational Educational student body was 53% male and 47% female. According to a study of over 100 RMIT STEM graduates, male RMIT University STEM graduates outnumber females by 7 to 1.


Spiritual Centre

RMIT's Spiritual Centre is a multi-faith place of worship located on the City campus. It is housed in the historic Old Melbourne Gaol chapel, built in 1860. The centre provides a contemplative space to all staff and students of RMIT, regardless of their faith and without showing favour to any one faith, and houses the RMIT Chaplaincy services. RMIT has chaplains that represent
Buddhist Buddhism, also known as Buddhadharma and Dharmavinaya, is an Indian religion and List of philosophies, philosophical tradition based on Pre-sectarian Buddhism, teachings attributed to the Buddha, a wandering teacher who lived in the 6th or ...
,
Christian A Christian () is a person who follows or adheres to Christianity, a Monotheism, monotheistic Abrahamic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus in Christianity, Jesus Christ. Christians form the largest religious community in the wo ...
,
Jewish Jews (, , ), or the Jewish people, are an ethnoreligious group and nation, originating from the Israelites of History of ancient Israel and Judah, ancient Israel and Judah. They also traditionally adhere to Judaism. Jewish ethnicity, rel ...
and
Muslim Muslims () are people who adhere to Islam, a Monotheism, monotheistic religion belonging to the Abrahamic religions, Abrahamic tradition. They consider the Quran, the foundational religious text of Islam, to be the verbatim word of the God ...
faiths of various branches as well as for
Integral In mathematics, an integral is the continuous analog of a Summation, sum, which is used to calculate area, areas, volume, volumes, and their generalizations. Integration, the process of computing an integral, is one of the two fundamental oper ...
spirituality.


People

RMIT graduates are considered to be some of the most employable in the world. In a 2011 survey of 5000 employers by Quacquarelli Symonds, RMIT was ranked 51st in the world for graduate employability. In 2011, the university had an alumni community of around 280,000 graduates in 130 countries. Notable attendees and graduates include: Australian skier and Winter Olympic gold medalist Lydia Lassila; Irish Australian rules footballer and charity worker Jim Stynes; Australian film director and writer
James Wan James Wan (born 26 February 1977) is an Australian filmmaker. He has primarily worked in the horror fiction, horror genre as the co-creator of the ''Saw (franchise), Saw'' and Insidious (film series), ''Insidious'' franchises and the creator of ...
; Australian actor Travis Fimmel (attended); Australian sportsman and three-time Olympic gold medalist James Tomkins; Australian comedian and television host Rove McManus; Australian singer and guitarist of the band Wolfmother, Andrew Stockdale; Australian singer Judith Durham; Vietnamese actress, model and beauty pageant titleholder, 2006 Miss Vietnam, Mai Phương Thúy; Australian documentary maker John Safran; Australian artist Charles Billich; Australian animator Felix Colgrave; director of photography, Shekhar Bhansali division director in Electrical, Communication and Cyber Systems (ECCS) at the
National Science Foundation The U.S. National Science Foundation (NSF) is an Independent agencies of the United States government#Examples of independent agencies, independent agency of the Federal government of the United States, United States federal government that su ...
, Greig Fraser and director of the Omani Society for Fine Arts, Maryam Al Zadjali.


Graduation traditions

A notable graduation tradition of RMIT is its graduation parade. The parade is town and gown-style academic procession which proceeds from the City campus down the major city thoroughfare of Swanston Street to Federation Square (until 2002 the parade culminated outside the Melbourne Town Hall).Graduation Parade
, RMIT University, retrieved 1 October 2012
Graduands and faculty march in full academic regalia and receive a military escort from the central marching band of the Royal Australian Air Force. The parade is welcomed at Federation Square by the Lord Mayor of Melbourne—on behalf of the city and its citizens. The mayor grants RMIT's vice-chancellor a "writ of passage" to proceed with the graduation ceremony, which takes place at the
Docklands Stadium Docklands Stadium, known by naming rights sponsorship as Marvel Stadium, is a multi-purpose sports and entertainment stadium in the suburb of Docklands, Victoria, Docklands in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia. Construction started in October 199 ...
.Melbourne Graduation Ceremony
, RMIT University, retrieved 1 October 2012


See also

* List of universities in Australia


Footnotes


References


Citations


Sources

* * *


External links


Official Australian website

Official Vietnamese website

Official European website

Official Chinese website

Official alumni website
{{authority control Engineering universities and colleges in Australia Technical universities and colleges in Australia Universities in Victoria (state) Universities in Melbourne TAFE Victoria TAFE Colleges in Melbourne Universities and colleges established in 1887 1887 establishments in Australia Australian Technology Network Open Universities Australia Organisations based in Australia with royal patronage Universities and colleges established in 1992 Chiropractic schools in Australia