 Emblem of Charles Darwin University | |
Former name | |
|---|---|
| Type | Publicresearch university |
| Established | |
| Accreditation | TEQSA[2] |
| Budget | A$403.95million (2023)[3] |
| Chancellor | Paul Henderson[4] |
| Vice-Chancellor | Scott Bowman[5] |
Academic staff | 606 (FTE, 2023)[3] |
Administrative staff | 893 (FTE, 2023)[3] |
Total staff | 1,499 (FTE, 2023)[3] |
| Students | 22,338 (2023)[3] |
| Undergraduates | 8,340 (2023)[3] |
| Postgraduates | 3,511 coursework (2023) 365 research (2023)[3] |
Other students | |
| Address | Ellengowan Drive ,,,0810 , |
| Campus | Urban andregional with multiple sites[6] |
| Named after | Charles Darwin[1] |
| Colours | BlueRed[7] |
| Nickname | Dangudbila (Larrakia for kangaroos)[8] |
Sporting affiliations | |
| Mascot | Charles the Crocodile[citation needed] |
| Website | cdu.edu.au |
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Charles Darwin University (CDU) is an Australianpublic university with two campuses inDarwin and six satellite campuses in metropolitan and regional areas of theNorthern Territory. It was established in 2003 after the merger ofNorthern Territory University, theMenzies School of Health Research, andCentralian College.
It is the largest tertiary education provider in the Northern Territory and offers both academic degree and vocational education programs. It has close ties to First Nations learning and research, is a member of the Northern Australia Universities Alliance, and specialises in tropical savanna environments.
Charles Darwin University evolved through the merger of several NT-based higher education institutions.
Darwin Community College, situated on what would become the site of Charles Darwin University’s Casuarina campus, was founded in 1974. In 1985, it evolved into the Darwin Institute of Technology, offering a mix ofCollege of Advanced Education andTAFE studies.
In 1989, the institute became the Northern Territory University, offering degrees in Arts, Education, Business and Applied Science.[9]
The Menzies School of Health Research was established in 1985 as a body corporate of the Northern Territory Government under theMenzies School of Health Research Act 1985.[10] This act was amended in 2004 to formalise the relationship with Charles Darwin University.[11] Menzies is now a major partner with CDU and constitutes a school within the university on CDU's Casuarina campus, offering post-graduate degrees and higher degrees by research.[12]
TheGovernment of the Northern Territory made numerous requests to the Commonwealth Government to finance a university. However, the population was deemed too small. In 1985, the Territory’s government took the unusual step of entirely financing a new entity named the University College of the Northern Territory over a five-year period from 1987 to 1991. The college was governed by a council chaired by former Family Court chief justiceAustin Asche and led by a warden, Professor Jim Thomson, from theUniversity of Queensland. The University of Queensland allowed the college to award degrees from that institution. Staff were recruited in 1986 and housed in the old Darwin Primary School buildings. Before the first student intake in February 1987, the college moved to a converted building at the formerDarwin Hospital atMyilly Point in Darwin. A former nurses' hostel became a student residence named International House. The college had two faculties, Arts and Science. Its University of Queensland connection allowed it to award the firstDoctor of Philosophy degrees in the Northern Territory.[13][page needed]
Centralian College was founded in 1993 from the merger of Sadadeen Senior Secondary College and the Alice Springs College of TAFE. During its life, the college delivered senior secondary,TAFE andhigher education through its main campus inAlice Springs, and to a lesser extent the wholeNorthern Territory.[14]
A merger with NTU in 2003 resulted in a newly divested Centralian College becoming a senior secondary school catering to students from Year 10 to Year 12. It now shares its campus with the Charles Darwin University, using the university's facilities. Centralian College students can participate in CDU’s vocational courses from as early as Year 10.[15]
The Northern Territory University was founded in January 1989 by a merger between the Darwin Institute of Technology and the University College of the Northern Territory under theDawkins Revolution, a series of higher education reforms rolled out by then federal Education MinisterJohn Dawkins. The new university opened its doors on 1 January 1989, awarding degrees from the University of Queensland.
NTU's firstvice-chancellor wasMurdoch University Professor Malcolm (Mal) Nairn. During Nairn's term of office, study centres that were previously run by the NT Government were integrated with the university. The Palmerston campus, which had previously been a TAFE College, was also added. The Palmerston campus is situated on University Avenue, as this was the proposed site for a new university in a submission to the federal government in 1981.[16]
In 1996, Nairn was replaced by ProfessorRoger Holmes fromGriffith University. After serving for a single semester, he left to take up the post of vice-chancellor at theUniversity of Newcastle.[17]
Deputy Vice-Chancellor Professor Ron McKay replaced Holmes as the university's third vice-chancellor. Financial constraints on the university increased as it struggled with providing a broad tertiary education offering to a small and widespread population. In January 2001, the Katherine Rural College, including Mataranka Station, became part of the university.[18]
After McKay's resignation due to ill health in 2002, an interim vice-chancellor, former vice-chancellor of theUniversity of Wollongong ProfessorKen McKinnon, was appointed.[citation needed]
On 21 August 2003, theNorthern Territory Legislative Assembly passed theCharles Darwin University Act 2003 (NT), mergingAlice Springs'Centralian College and the Menzies School of Health Research with the Northern Territory University to form Charles Darwin University from 1 January 2004. The inaugural university council meeting was held on 26 November 2003.[19][20]
The university has its main campus inCasuarina, in Darwin’s north. In 2024, it opened the Danala campus in the Darwin's Education and Community Precinct.[21] Satellite campuses are spread across metropolitan and regional areas, including Palmerston, Katherine, Nhulunbuy, Alice Springs and Tennant Creek in the NT, and Sydney and Brisbane.[22]
The current and fourthchancellor of the university is former politicianPaul Henderson, inducted March 2019.[23] In December 2024, CDU announced thatTrevor Riley, who had previously served as theChief Justice of the Northern Territory, would take office as the university's fifth chancellor from 1 July 2025.[24]
Thevice-chancellor and president of the university since May 2021 is ProfessorScott Bowman.[25]
CDU comprises three faculties offering undergraduate and postgraduate qualifications:
It also has CDU TAFE offering vocational education and training.[26]
CDU is a dual-sector university which also offersvocational education and training (VET) courses, in addition to undergraduate and postgraduate degrees, across various industry sectors including engineering and mining, agriculture and aquaculture, health care, trades and education.[27][28]
Charles Darwin University'sresearch institutes and centres include:[29]
| University rankings | |
|---|---|
| Global – Overall | |
| CWTS World[31] | 1248[a] (2024) |
| QS World[32] | =584 (2026) |
| THE World[33] | 401–500 (2026) |
| USNWR Global[34] | =797 (25/26) |
| National – Overall | |
| CWTS National[35] | 33[a] (2024) |
| ERA National[36] | 37 (2018) |
| QS National[37] | 29 (2026) |
| THE National[38] | 26–32 (2025) |
| USNWR National[39] | 29 (25/26) |
| AFR National[40] | =34 (2025) |
In theAustralian Financial Review Best Universities Ranking 2025, the university was tied #34 amongst Australian universities.[41]
In the 2026Quacquarelli SymondsWorld University Rankings (published 2025), the university attained a tied position of #584 (29th nationally).[42]
In theTimes Higher Education World University Rankings 2026 (published 2025), the university attained a position of #401–500 (tied 26–32nd nationally).[43]
In the 2025–2026U.S. News & World Report Best Global Universities, the university attained a tied position of #797 (29th nationally).[44]
In theCWTS Leiden Ranking 2024,[a] the university attained a position of #1248 (33rd nationally).[45]
The Australian Government's QILT[b] conducts national surveys documenting the student life cycle from enrolment through to employment.[46] These surveys place more emphasis on criteria such as student experience, graduate outcomes and employer satisfaction[46] rather than perceived reputation, research output and citation counts.[47]
In the 2023 Employer Satisfaction Survey, CDU graduates had an overall employer satisfaction rate of 86%.[48]
In the 2023 Graduate Outcomes Survey, CDU graduates had a full-time employment rate of 85.9% for undergraduates and 86.1% for postgraduates.[49] The initial full-time salary wasA$75,000 for undergraduates andA$90,700 for postgraduates.[49]
In the 2023 Student Experience Survey, undergraduates at the university rated the quality of their entire educational experience at 70.2% meanwhile postgraduates rated their overall education experience at 73.6%.[50]
The Vincent Lingiari Memorial Lectures were established in 1996 to commemorate theWave Hill walk-off led byGurindji Aboriginal rights activistVincent Lingiari in August 1966. Held annually at theCasuarina campus amphitheatre and open to the public, the lecture now forms part of the Gurindji's annualFreedom Day Festival.
Former Governor-GeneralWilliam Deane, former prime ministersGough Whitlam andMalcolm Fraser, Indigenous rights activistGalarrwuy Yunupingu, former senator and Indigenous rights activistPatrick Dodson, and writer and Indigenous rights activistMarcia Langton have all presented lectures.[51]
In 2022,Torres Strait Islander human rights campaignerThomas Mayo, a signatory on theUluru Statement from the Heart and an advocate for the proposedIndigenous Voice to Parliament, delivered the oration. He drew parallels between Lingiari's struggle to be heard by governments to what Indigenous peoples of Australia are experiencing today.[52]
Charles Darwin University’s 2023 annual report shows enrolments totalled 22,338 students, with 9305 students enrolled in vocational and educational training courses and 13,033 enrolled in higher education degrees.[53]
The CDU Student Council represents undergraduate students while the CDU Postgraduate Student Association, a member of theCouncil of Australian Postgraduate Associations, represents postgraduate students.
Multiple student associations also exist for the individual schools, including the CDU Law Students' Society,[54] and the CDU Business Students' Association. These student groups offer academic, career and professional support to their members, as well as organising social events throughout the year.
104.1 Territory FM is a community radio station broadcasting via anACMA community radio licence held by CDU. It is based at the Danala | Education and Community Centre campus in central Darwin and is broadcast on 104.1 to Darwin and surrounds, including Palmerston, and on theDAB+ digital radio platform.[citation needed]
Media related toCharles Darwin University (category) at Wikimedia Commons
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