The University at a glance
A tradition of scholarship
- Established in 1853: Australia's second oldest University
- 1855: Teaching commenced
- 1883: First Australian female graduate from the University of Melbourne
- 1922: Melbourne University Press founded; it was Australia's first scholarly publisher
- 1945: First Australian University to offer PhD
- 1955: First computer built in Australia; it was housed at the University of Melbourne
- 1989: AARNet connected; the University of Melbourne was the first Australian institution to connect to the Internet
University of Melbourne research facts
- One of the highest-ranked# research universities in Australia
- Second-largest research organisation in Australia after the CSIRO (Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation)
- More than 100 research centres and institutes
- Located in Australia's most highly concentrated precinct of medical research institutes, hospitals and private-sector knowledge-based industries, including Bio21, one of Australia's most sophisticated medical research and biotechnological initiatives.
- Many Academic staff are widely consulted by government and media. They are active contributors to the major issues facing society today. For example, Professor Ross Garnaut, author of The Garnaut Climate Change Review, commissioned by the Australian Federal Government.
Learn more about the University's research activities and new research institutes.
# According to key indicators used by the Australian Government to allocate competitive research funding.