University of New South Wales

The University of New South Wales (UNSW) is a public research university based in Sydney, New South Wales, Australia. It was established in 1949.

The university consists of seven faculties, through which it offers bachelor's, master's and doctoral degrees. Its main campus is in the Sydney eastern suburb of Kensington, 7 kilometres (4.3 mi) from the Sydney central business district (CBD). Its creative arts school, UNSW Art & Design (in the faculty of Arts, Design and Architecture), is located in Paddington and it has subcampuses in the Sydney CBD and several other suburbs, including Randwick and Coogee. It has a campus at the Australian Defence Force military academy, ADFA in Canberra, Australian Capital Territory. It has research stations located throughout the state of New South Wales.

It is one of the founding members of the Group of Eight, a coalition of Australian research-intensive universities, and a member of Universitas 21, a global network of research universities. It has international exchange and research partnerships with over 200 universities around the world.

History

Foundation

The origins of the university can be traced to the Sydney Mechanics' School of Arts established in 1833 and the Sydney Technical College established in 1878. These institutions were established to meet the growing demand for capabilities in new technologies as the New South Wales economy shifted from its pastoral base to industries fuelled by the industrial age.

The idea of founding the university originated from the crisis demands of World War II, during which the nation's attention was drawn to the critical role that science and technology played in transforming an agricultural society into a modern and industrial one. The post-war Labor government of New South Wales recognised the increasing need to have a university specialised in training high-quality engineers and technology-related professionals in numbers beyond that of the capacity and characteristics of the existing University of Sydney. This led to the proposal to establish the Institute of Technology, submitted by the then-New South Wales Minister for Education Bob Heffron, accepted on 9 July 1946.

The university, originally named the "New South Wales University of Technology", gained its statutory status through the enactment of the New South Wales University of Technology Act 1949 (NSW) by the Parliament of New South Wales in Sydney in 1949.

Early years

In March 1948, classes commenced with a first intake of 46 students pursuing programs including civil engineering, mechanical engineering, mining engineering, and electrical engineering. At that time, the thesis programs were innovative. Each course embodied a specified and substantial period of practical training in the relevant industry. It was also unprecedented for tertiary institutions at that time to include compulsory instruction in humanities.

Initially, the university operated from the inner Sydney Technical College city campus in Ultimo as a separate institution from the college. However, in 1951, the Parliament of New South Wales passed the New South Wales University of Technology (Construction) Act 1951 (NSW) to provide funding and allow buildings to be erected at the Kensington site where the university is now located.

The lower campus area of the Kensington campus was vested in the university in two lots, in December 1952 and June 1954. The upper campus area was vested in the university in November 1959.

Expansion

In 1958, the university's name was changed to the "University of New South Wales" reflecting a transformation from a technology-based institution to a generalist university. In 1960, the faculties of arts and medicine were established, with the faculty of law coming into being in 1971.

Campuses and buildings

The main UNSW campus, where most faculties are situated, is located on a 38-hectare (94-acre) site in Kensington, Sydney. UNSW Art & Design is located in the inner suburb of Paddington.

The university also has additional campuses and field stations in Randwick, Coogee, Botany, Dee Why, Cowan, Manly Vale, Fowlers Gap, Port Macquarie, Wagga Wagga, Albury, Coffs Harbour, Griffith, and Bankstown Airport.

Main Campus

The main UNSW campus in Kensington is divided geographically into two areas: upper campus and lower campus, which were vested to the university in three separate lots. These two are separated mainly by an elevation rise between the quadrangle and the Scientia building. Roughly 15 minutes are needed to walk from one end to the other.

Art & Design Campus

The UNSW School of Art & Design campus is located in Paddington, Sydney and offers undergraduate and Honours degrees in Visual Arts, Design, Animation & Moving Image, and Art Theory; and postgraduate and research degrees in Fine Arts, Design, Curating & Cultural Leadership, Animation & Visual Effects, and Simulation & Immersive Technologies.

Sydney CBD Campus

UNSW has set up a new CBD campus in 2025, located at Level 4 Poly Centre, 210 George Street, Sydney spanning 1,622 square metres (17,460 sq ft) across 2 levels, currently operating as a pilot. During the pilot phase, students and staff have access to areas supporting flexible, collaborative learning.

Randwick Campus

The Randwick campus is located at 22-32 King Street, Randwick, New South Wales. It also houses the UNSW Medicine's National Drug and Alcohol Research Centre.

Manly Vale Northern Beaches Campus

The Manly Value campus is located at 110 King St, Manly Vale, New South Wales in the Northern Beaches and hosts the School of Civil and Environmental Engineering's Water Research Laboratory.

Canberra Campus

UNSW Canberra at ADFA (formerly known as UNSW at ADFA), abbreviated to UNSW Canberra, is situated in Canberra. Its students are from the military academy known as ADFA, who are in training for the Australian Defence Force, and as such has an integrated defence focus, with particular strengths in defence-related, security and engineering research.

Venues and other facilities

A number of theatre and music venues are at the university, many of which are available for hire to the general public. The UNSW Fitness and Aquatic Centre provides health and fitness facilities and services to both students and the general public.

Governance and structure

University Council

The university is governed by the university council, which is responsible for acting on the university's behalf to promote its objectives and interests. The council has 15 members, including the chancellor, vice-chancellor, president of the academic board, two members appointed by the minister for education, five members appointed by the council, three members elected by university staff and two student-elected members.

The principal academic body is the Academic Board, which receives advice on academic matters from the faculties, college (Australian Defence Force Academy), and the boards of studies. It is responsible for academic policy setting, academic strategy via its eight standing committees, approval and delivery of programs, and academic standards. The board has 63 members, including the Vice-Chancellor, members of the executive team, deans and faculty presiding members, members elected from the academic staff, and six from the student body. The board advises the vice-chancellor and council on matters relating to teaching, scholarship and research and takes decisions on delegation from the council.

Chancellor and Vice-Chancellor

The chief executive officer of the university is the president and vice-chancellor, currently Attila Brungs. The deputy vice-chancellors and pro-vice-chancellors form part of an executive team that are responsible for academic operations, research policy, research management, quality assurance and external relations, including philanthropy and advancement.

Each of the faculties has its respective board, which are responsible for the teaching and examining of subjects within their scope.

Faculties and departments

As of 2025 the university has six faculties:

• Arts, Design & Architecture (includes six schools and six research centres)
• Schools: Art & Design; Arts & Media; Built Environment; Education; Humanities & Languages; and Social Sciences
• Business (UNSW Business School)
• Engineering
• Law and Justice
• Medicine & Health
• Science

UNSW Canberra, which includes the new (since late 2024) UNSW Canberra City campus as well as the long-established UNSW at ADFA campus (since 1967, as official education provider for Australian Defence Force)

The university also has an association with the National Institute of Dramatic Art.

Coat of arms

The grant of arms was made by the College of Arms on 3 March 1952. The grant reads:

Argent on a Cross Gules a Lion passant guardant between four Mullets of eight points Or a Chief Sable charged with an open Book proper thereon the word "SCIENTIA" in letters also sable.

The lion and the four stars of the Southern Cross on the St George's Cross have reference to the State of New South Wales which established the university; the open book with scientia ("knowledge") across its pages is a reminder of its purpose. The placement of scientia on the book was inspired by its appearance on the arms of Imperial College London, formed in 1907. Beneath the shield are the Latin words within a scroll: "Corde Manu et Mente" ("heart, hand and mind"), which when combined with scientia forms the Latin motto of the university: Scientia Corde Manu et Mente or 'Knowledge by heart, hand and mind'.

Academic profile

Research divisions

The university has a number of purpose-built research facilities, including:

UNSW Lowy Cancer Research Centre is Australia's first facility bringing together researchers in childhood and adult cancers, as well as one of the country's largest cancer-research facilities, housing up to 400 researchers.

The Mark Wainwright Analytical Centre is a centre for the faculties of science, medicine, and engineering. It is used to study the structure and composition of biological, chemical, and physical materials.

UNSW Canberra Cyber is a cyber-security research and teaching centre.

The Sino-Australian Research Centre for Coastal Management (SARCCM) has a multidisciplinary focus, working collaboratively with the Ocean University of China in coastal management research.

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 #51 (4th nationally).

National publications

In the Australian Financial Review Best Universities Ranking 2025, the university was tied #2 amongst Australian universities.

Global publications

In the 2026 Quacquarelli Symonds World University Rankings (published 2025), the university attained a position of #20 (2nd nationally).

In the Times Higher Education World University Rankings 2026 (published 2025), the university attained a =position of #79 (5th nationally).

In the 2025 Academic Ranking of World Universities, the university attained a position of #80 (5th nationally).

In the 2025–2026 U.S. News & World Report Best Global Universities, the university attained a position of #34 (3rd nationally).

In the CWTS Leiden Ranking 2024, the university attained a position of #38 (2nd 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 85.5%.

In the 2023 Graduate Outcomes Survey, graduates of the university had a full-time employment rate of 81.3% for undergraduates and 91.7% for postgraduates. The initial full-time salary was A$75,000 for undergraduates and A$120,000 for postgraduates.

In the 2023 Student Experience Survey, undergraduates at the university rated the quality of their entire educational experience at 71.7% meanwhile postgraduates rated their overall education experience at 78%.

Student life

Student union

Arc @ UNSW Limited is the student organisation at the University of New South Wales (UNSW) and is a not-for-profit public company.

In 2005, the Federal Parliament passed legislation making membership of student unions voluntary for the first time. This policy, known as voluntary student unionism (VSU), threatened the funding model behind the four UNSW student organisations with compulsory membership provisions. A report commissioned by the university administration recommended that three of those organisations – the Student Guild of Undergraduates and Postgraduates, the University of New South Wales Union and the College of Fine Arts Students' Association – merge into a single student organisation, a structure in use at the University of Melbourne.

Arc was established on 15 August 2006 and launched early the following year, taking over the functions of three existing student organisations, the UNSW Student Guild, UNSW Union, and COFA Students' Association.

The organisation supports the activities of student clubs, student volunteer programs such as orientation week, student publications, two student galleries (Kudos Gallery and AD Space), and houses an elected student representative council. Arc operates the Roundhouse entertainment venue, the Graduation & Gift Store on UNSW's main campus in Kensington, and until recently, The Whitehouse bar and café which shut down permanently on 23 April 2021. Arc also operates a student support service, providing legal and academic advocacy. Arc@UNSW exists independently from UNSW.

Arc has three constitutional student bodies:

• the Student Development Committee (SDC) – supporting clubs, volunteer programs, courses and activities,
• the Postgraduate Council (PGC) – representing the postgraduate community at UNSW and
• an elected Student Representative Council (SRC)

The student organisation is a major service provider on campus, running a number of retail outlets, student media such as Tharunka and an entertainment venue, the Roundhouse. The Arc Student Representative Council represents students to the university and nationally and fights for their rights. Arc also provides support and funding to university clubs and societies and runs student volunteer programs such as Orientation Week.

In 2007, the University of New South Wales Sports Association and UNSW Lifestyle Centre merged to become UNSW Sport and Recreation then later absorbed into Arc @ UNSW to become Arc Sport. It runs the external sporting facilities and services and supports the 30 UNSW affiliated sporting clubs that compete both at home and abroad.

Athletics

The University has a soccer team, USNW FC.

UNSW College

UNSW College, also known as UNSW Global "UNSW Global Pty Limited", is a not-for-profit provider of education, training and consulting services and a wholly owned enterprise of the University of New South Wales. It provides exams for students in Australia, New Zealand, Singapore, Brunei, Malaysia, South Africa, Indonesia, Hong Kong, India and the Pacific region. It caters to students from year 3 (Australia) through year 12, examining skills in English, mathematics, science, computers, writing and spelling. It is a wholly owned non-profit subsidiary of UNSW.

Notable people

Notable alumni

Notable alumni include:

UNSW has produced more millionaires than any other Australian university, according to the Spear's Wealth Management Survey in 2016.

Эх сурвалж: Wikipedia (CC BY-SA 4.0)