University of Sydney

About the university

Since the inception, university of Sydney have believed in education for all and leadership that make lives better. The same values continue to inform it's policy of inclusion and underpin long-term strategy for growth. The strategy is simple: to create a place where the best researchers and most promising students can achieve their full potential. 

The university comprises 16 faculties and schools, through which it offers bachelor, master and doctoral degrees. 

Sydney University is a member of the prestigious Group of Eight, Academic Consortium 21, the Association of Pacific Rim Universities (APRU), the Association of Southeast Asian Institutions of Higher Learning, the Australia-Africa Universities Network (AAUN), the Association of Commonwealth Universities and the Worldwide Universities Network. The university is colloquially known as one of Australia's sandstone universities. Its campus is ranked in the top 10 of the world's most beautiful universities by the British Daily Telegraph and The Huffington Post, spreading across the inner-city suburbs of Camperdown and Darlington.

• Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences

  Studying in the Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences at Sydney means joining a vibrant, academically rigorous community and the opportunity to develop and hone your research, analytical and critical thinking skills - no matter where your interests lie within the Arts, Humanities and Social Sciences. 
  The Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences is the oldest faculty in Australia with a history for excellence spanning 164 years. Be inspired by our diverse academic community of leading scholars and join the community of more than 10,000 students from around Australia and the globe that is currently ranked the top university in Australia and 30th in the world for arts and humanities in the latest Times Higher Education rankings (UK 2015-16).

• The University of Sydney Business School

  The University of Sydney Business School is a world-class business school at the forefront of global business and management education. Relevant and focused on today's business world, we are the only Australian business school to achieve membership to CEMS - the Global Alliance in Management Education in addition to international accreditation from AACSB and EQUIS. Many of our programs are also professionally accredited, complementing and underpinning the global recognition and respect of a University of Sydney Business School qualification.

  We offer our students, industry partners and the broader business community a clear vision of business today. Our people are industry leaders, dedicated to the highest quality teaching and to ground-breaking research, with a passion for creating tomorrow's world business leaders. Our alumni rank amongst the top tier of Australian and global business leaders, and form part of an exclusive network of business contacts that share a rich history and a wide-reaching presence.

• Faculty of education and social work

  The Faculty of Education and Social Work specialises in teaching and research in the fields of education and social work, which have long traditions at the University of Sydney. Its study programs are as varied as its student body.
  In January 2003, the faculty was formed by the amalgamation of two schools from the former Faculty of Education with the School of Social Work and Policy Studies from the Faculty of Arts. In January 2006, the component schools were dissolved, bringing even closer collaboration as a one-school faculty.
  The three buildings that house the faculty are equipped with continuously updated facilities for the training of educators and social workers. Well-equipped lecture and tutorial rooms are complemented by specialist teaching precincts, including a biomechanics laboratory, computer laboratories, a dance studio, two drama studios, visual-arts workshops, laboratories for science and technology and a television studio. 

• Architecture, design and planning

  The Faculty has a diverse range of teaching and research interests. The academic programs we offer reflect this diversity. 

  We have 1300 undergraduate, postgraduate and research students in our faculty, and we work hard to make sure that every student receives an education that is both challenging and rewarding; an education that is always of the utmost quality. Our history of innovation has meant that we meet both the theoretical and practical needs of the industries. This sees our students go on to thrive in their future careers as leaders of their fields.

  At a postgraduate level we have the widest range of programs of any similar faculty in the country. The Design Science program, the only one offered in Australia, sees our students specialising in Audio and Acoustics, Building, Building Services, Illumination Design and Sustainable Design, or a combination of these fields. Our Urban and Regional Planning program, a descendent of the first such program offered in Australia, allows students to draw on the resources of the Planning Research Centre as well as related programs in Heritage Conservation and Urban Design. Our Interaction Design and Electronic Arts program is one of only a handful of such programs offered around the world that focus on the nexus between design, human computer interaction and technology.

   

• Faculty of Agriculture and Environment

• Faculty of Veterinary Science

History

When Charles William Wentworth proposed the idea of Australia’s first university in 1850, he imagined “the opportunity for the child of every class to become great and useful in the destinies of this country”. We’ve stayed true to that original value and purpose by promoting inclusion and diversity for the past 160 years.

In 1852 the University’s doors open with a focus on the classics, sciences and mathematics, as well as 'modern' subjects French, German and political thought. In 1874 University of Sydney Union (USU) established – the first in Australia

As early as 1881 we admitted women on an equal footing to male students.It's also why, from the very start, talented students of all backgrounds were given the chance to access further education through bursaries and scholarships. In 1929 Students’ Representative Council formed while the first edition of Honi Soit goes to print. 

Generous individuals have played a key role throughout our history.

Shortly after the University was established, prominent Sydney figures began to support our approach to education with bequests, including the equivalent of $32 million from John Henry Challis in 1880. It is this tradition of giving and giving back that continues to help us contribute to improving lives and social outcomes and welcoming students from all walks of life. 

In 2014 The Charles Perkins Centre, a cross-disciplinary research and education hub, opens to discover life-changing solutions to global health problems such as obesity, diabetes and cardiovascular disease and related conditions.

The university of Sydney sits in the top 0.3 percent of universities worldwide, ensuring that Australian innovation and research is recognised on the international stage.

QS World University Rankings

The univerity was ranked 45 in the world in the 2015-16 prestigious QS World University Rankings.

Leading faculty was Arts and Humanities, which achieved a rank of equal 14th globally and second in Australia.

Both Life Sciences and Medicine and Social Sciences and Management were ranked 20th in the world, with Life Sciences and Medicine also maintaining their standing as second in Australia for the third year running.

QS World University Rankings by Subject 2015

In the 2015 QS World University Rankings by subject, Education at Sydney ranked nine in the world, and the University proved best in Australia in English Language and Literature (18), Medicine (17) and Veterinary Science (11). Among our other top 20 world rankings were Law (13), Architecture/Built Environment (17), Engineering - Civil and Structural (19) and Accounting and Finance (19).

QS Graduate World University Rankings 2016

The University of Sydney topped the list of Australian universities in the inaugural QS Graduate Employability Rankings 2016, and was also rated in the top 15 globally with a rank of 14.

Times Higher Education World University Rankings 2015

The 2015 Times Higher Education (THE) World University Rankings, which prioritises research citations, research income, reputation and learning environment, ranked the university at 56 out of more than 1100 universities around the world.

Library

The University of Sydney Library consists of 11 individual libraries located across the university's various campuses. University statistics show that in 2007 the collection consisted of just under 5 million physical volumes and a further 300,000 e-books, for a total of approximately 5.3 million items.

Centre for Continuing Education

The Centre for Continuing Education is an adult education provider within the university. Extension lectures at the university were inaugurated in 1886,[70] 36 years after the university's founding, making it Australia's longest running university continuing education program.

Museums and galleries

• The Nicholson Museum of Antiquities contains the largest and most prestigious collection of antiquities in Australia.
• The Macleay Museum is named after Alexander Macleay, whose collection of insects begun in the late eighteenth century was the basis upon which the museum was founded.
• The University Art Collection was founded in the 1860s and contains more than 7,000 pieces, constantly growing through donation, bequests, and acquisition. It is housed in several different places, including the Sir Hermann Black Gallery and the War Memorial Art Gallery.
• The University Art Gallery opened in 1959. The Gallery hosted numerous exhibitions until 1972, when it was taken over for office space. It reopened in 1995 and continues to present a regularly changing program.

Residential colleges

The university has a number of residential college and halls of residence, based on the college system of Cambridge and Oxforduniversities, each with its own distinctive style and facilities. All offer tutorial support and a wide range of social and sporting activities in a supportive communal environment. Five colleges are affiliated with religious denominations and while this gives each of these colleges a special character, students of any denomination or religion are eligible for admission. Unlike some residential colleges in British or American universities, the colleges are not affiliated with any specific discipline of study. "Intercol" refers to the six colleges which exist on campus. They are modelled on the British system of colleges and competition for entry is high each year. The Colleges compete in theRawson Cup (sport for men) the Rosebowl cup (sport for women) and the Palladian Cup (drama, debating and music for both men and women).

The University also has three other residential systems, which are different from the colleges, and are not part of the intercol system. For a variety of reasons, the intercol network has chosen[citation needed] to have no affiliation with these "houses".​

Student organisations

• Student Representatives: Politically and academically, undergraduate students are represented by the Students' Representative Council (SRC) and postgraduate students by the Sydney University Postgraduate Representative Association (SUPRA).
• University of Sydney Union: The University of Sydney Union (USU) is the oldest and largest university union in Australia. USU provides a range of activities, programs, services and facilities geared at giving students the university experience. This involves delivering a huge Clubs and Societies program, a varied entertainment program, student opportunities, a range of catering and retail services plus buildings and recreational spaces for students, staff and visitors.
• Sydney Uni Sport and Fitness: Formerly known as the Sydney University Sports Union and Sydney University Women's Sports Association, Sydney University Sport is one of Australia's largest tertiary sporting bodies. It currently manages and administers 42 sport and recreation clubs, organises sporting and recreation events, and offers student and non-student members a comprehensive range of sporting facilities.

• University of Sydney International Scholarships (USydIS)
• Vice-Chancellor International Scholarships Scheme