 | |
| Motto | Make it matter[1] |
|---|---|
| Type | Publicresearch university |
| Established | 30 December 1971; 53 years ago (1971-12-30)[2] |
| Accreditation | TEQSA[3] |
Academic affiliations | |
| Budget | A$1.16billion (2023)[4] |
| Chancellor | Andrew Fraser[5] |
| Vice-Chancellor | Carolyn Evans[6] |
Total staff | 4,642 (FTE, 2023)[4] |
| Students | 44,427 (2023)[4] |
| Undergraduates | 30,924bachelor (2023)[4] |
| Postgraduates | 8,442 coursework (2023) 1,931 research (2023) 2,104 other (2023)[4] |
Other students | 1,026 (2023)[4] |
| Location | ,, |
| Campus | Urban,parkland andregional with multiple sites[7] |
| Named after | Samuel Griffith[8] |
| Colours | Red[9] |
Sporting affiliations | |
| Website | griffith.edu.au |
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Griffith University is apublicresearch university inSouth East Queensland on theeast coast ofAustralia. The university was founded in 1971, but was not officially opened until 1975.[10] The university has five campuses, atGold Coast,Nathan,Logan,South Bank, andMount Gravatt. A sixth campus, to be located at theTreasury Building in theBrisbane CBD, will open in 2027. The university was named afterSir Samuel Walker Griffith, who was twicePremier of Queensland and the firstChief Justice of the High Court of Australia.Sir Samuel Griffith played a major role in theFederation of Australia and was the principal author of theAustralian Constitution.
The university offersundergraduate,postgraduate, andresearch programs across a range of disciplines, includingbusiness,law,science,health,education,engineering, and thearts.
Griffith University was originally opened inNathan, Queensland, as a single campus of 451 students, but has expanded to include five campuses in three cities, the largest of which is theGold Coast campus atSouthport and the Nathan campus inBrisbane. TheMount Gravatt andSouth Bank campuses are also located in Brisbane, while theLogan campus is atMeadowbrook.[11][12]
Griffith University, with about 50,000 students enrolled from more than 130 countries,[13] is averdant university and a member of theIRU.
In 1965, 174 hectares (430 acres) of natural bushland atNathan was set aside for a new university campus.[14] Initially, the site was to be part of theUniversity of Queensland, which was experiencing strong demand in humanities and social sciences.[14] By 1970, a new tertiary institution was being mooted, and Theodor Bray (later Sir Theodor Bray) was asked by theQueensland Government to establish a second for Brisbane and the third for the state.[clarification needed]
After several months of discussion, the government announced on 24 December 1970 that Bray would head a committee charged with establishing Griffith University.[15]
On 30 September 1971, theQueensland Government officially created and recognised Griffith University with the passing of theAssent to Griffith University Act 1971.[15] On 5 March 1975, Griffith University began teaching 451 students in four schools: Australian Environmental Studies,Humanities, Modern Asian Studies, and Science.[11]
In the 1990s, theDawkins Revolution saw several tertiary education reforms in Australia, resulting in a series of amalgamations of colleges and universities. In 1990, the Mount Gravatt Teachers College (est. 1969) and Gold Coast College of Advanced Education (est. 1987) became official campuses of Griffith University, remaining in the same location today. TheQueensland Conservatorium of Music continued the higher education mergers and became an official part of Griffith University in 1991. Originally established in 1957, the new entity became known as Queensland Conservatorium Griffith University. In 1992, Griffith's amalgamations were completed with theQueensland College of Art (QCA), established in 1881 and recognised as the oldest continuously operating art training institution in Australia, officially becoming part of the university.[15]
Griffith's fifth campus, Logan, opened in 1998. Located in the suburb of Meadowbrook, on an area of green fields south of Brisbane, the Logan campus was established to specifically address the interests and needs of the Logan City area.[12]
Griffith University was an official Partner of the Gold Coast 2018 Commonwealth Games. Over 500 students and staff were closely involved in the planning and delivery of the event.[16]
Griffith University's campuses are distinctive for their nature-based settings within urban environments.
The Gold Coast campus is located in the Gold Coast suburb of Southport. Set in native bushland, on the land of the AboriginalYugambeh andKombumerri peoples,[17] this campus hosts over 19,000 students.[13]
The campus opened the Griffith Health Centre and the neighbouringGold Coast University Hospital in 2013, and opened theGriffith Business School building in 2014. The campus is serviced by two Gold Coast light rail (G:link) stations and is a major interchange for bus routes.[citation needed]
Hosting approximately 2,000 students, Logan campus offers degrees in human services and social work, nursing and midwifery, business, and education.[18]
Nathan, Griffith's foundation campus, is situated on the edge ofToohey Forest approximately 10 kilometres from the Brisbane CBD. Nathan hosts over 13,000 students and offers degrees in business and government, engineering and information technology, environment, humanities and languages, law, and science and aviation.[19]
The buildings at the Nathan campus were designed to fit into the environment byRoger Kirk Johnson, the founding architectural designer of the campus, following the slope of the land and using architectural means of cooling.[14] The library building was designed byRobin Gibson and won the first national award for library design. The clusters of buildings, sports facilities, bushland reserves, and recreational areas are connected by integrated networks of walking paths. On the northern edge of the campus lies the Dunn Memorial.[20]
In 2013, Sir Samuel Griffith Centre was opened on the Nathan campus. The building operates off the grid and is powered by a combination of photovoltaics and hydrogen.[21][22] The campus has two residential colleges for students and a range of sporting facilities.[23]
The Mount Gravatt campus, adjacent to the Nathan campus, hosts 4,400 students. It is the university's social sciences and humanities hub and the base for research into crucial social issues, including education and suicide prevention.[24] The campus is situated on the edge of Toohey Forest. The campus includes an aquatic and fitness centre, with a heated pool and indoor and outdoor recreation areas, co-located with a 16-court tennis centre, a training oval, and basketball and netball courts. On-campus student accommodation is also available.[25]
Located in Brisbane's cultural precinct, the South Bank campus is Griffith University's creative hub. It encompasses Griffith'sQueensland College of Art andQueensland Conservatorium, theGriffith Film School and the Griffith University Art Museum[26] and Ship Inn. As of 2020[update], enrolment for all four units is about 3,400 students.[27]
On 6 September 2024, Griffith University announced that they would be purchasing the historicTreasury Building inBrisbane, and converting it into the university’s sixth teaching campus, which will open in 2027. The new campus will accommodate students and staff from the Schools ofBusiness,IT andLaw, and will also serve as a centre for “postgraduate and executive education”.[28]
Griffith University is structured in four academic groups, with teaching offered through a range of schools, colleges, and departments.[29]
Griffith researchers work in 38 centres and institutes, investigating areas such as water science,climate change adaptation, criminology and crime prevention,sustainable tourism, and health and chronic disease.
The university's major research institutes include:
Additionally, Griffith hosts several externally supported centres and facilities, including:
Griffith offers research commercialization and services for business, industry, and government through Griffith Enterprise.
As well as research centres and institutes, Griffith has several cultural and community-focused organizations. These include the EcoCentre, which provides a space for environmental education activities, exhibitions, seminars, and workshops; and the Centre for Interfaith & Cultural Dialogue (formerly the Multi-Faith Centre).
In 2021, a research team led by the university discovered a new type oftree frog inNew Guinea which is commonly known as the "chocolate frog".[30]
| University rankings | |
|---|---|
| Global – Overall | |
| ARWU World[31] | 301–400 (2025) |
| CWTS World[32] | 289[a] (2024) |
| QS World[33] | 268 (2026) |
| QS Employability[34] | 301–500 (2022) |
| THE World[35] | 251–300 (2026) |
| USNWR Global[36] | 238 (25/26) |
| National – Overall | |
| ARWU National[37] | 14–20 (2026) |
| CWTS National[38] | 13[a] (2024) |
| ERA National[39] | =12 (2018) |
| QS National[40] | 18 (2026) |
| THE National[41] | 14–20 (2026) |
| USNWR National[42] | 16 (25/26) |
| AFR National[43] | =19 (2025) |
In the 2024Aggregate Ranking of Top Universities, which measures aggregate performance across the QS, THE and ARWU rankings, the university attained a position of #236 (17th nationally).[44]
In theAustralian Financial Review Best Universities Ranking 2025, the university was tied #19 amongst Australian universities.[45]
In the 2026Quacquarelli SymondsWorld University Rankings (published 2025), the university attained a position of #268 (18th nationally).[46]
In theTimes Higher Education World University Rankings 2026 (published 2025), the university attained a position of #251–300 (tied 14–20th nationally).[47]
In the 2025Academic Ranking of World Universities, the university attained a position of #301–400 (tied 14–20th nationally).[48]
In the 2025–2026U.S. News & World Report Best Global Universities, the university attained a position of #238 (16th nationally).[49]
In theCWTS Leiden Ranking 2024,[a] the university attained a position of #289 (13th nationally).[50]
The Australian Government's QILT[b] conducts national surveys documenting the student life cycle from enrolment through to employment.[51] These surveys place more emphasis on criteria such as student experience, graduate outcomes and employer satisfaction[51] than perceived reputation, research output and citation counts.[52]
In the 2023 Employer Satisfaction Survey, graduates of the university had an overall employer satisfaction rate of 80.1%.[53]
In the 2023 Graduate Outcomes Survey, graduates of the university had a full-time employment rate of 73.9% for undergraduates and 89.1% for postgraduates.[54] The initial full-time salary wasA$70,000 for undergraduates andA$95,000 for postgraduates.[54]
In the 2023 Student Experience Survey, undergraduates at the university rated the quality of their entire educational experience at 80.2% meanwhile postgraduates rated their overall education experience at 78.8%.[55]
Griffith University has a wide array of cultural, intellectual, sporting, and social groups. On the Nathan campus, Campus Life[56] supports many clubs and societies including political and religious affiliated organisations. The Griffith University Student Representative Council (GUSRC) represents undergraduate students and the Griffith University Postgraduate Students Association (GUPSA) represents post-graduate students in all campuses apart from the Gold Coast. GUPSA is a constituent member of theCouncil of Australian Postgraduate Associations.
The students of the Gold Coast campus are uniquely represented by board members of the Student Guild,[57] as defined by the Griffith University Act 1998,[58] and Student Guild staff manages clubs and societies on the Gold Coast campus, as well as student issues related to academic and student advocacy, financial and legal issues, wellbeing, and welfare. The Student Guild Board[59] is an elected group of students that represent all Gold Coast students, while the Gold Coast Association of Postgraduates (GCAP)[60] represents postgraduate students. The Student Guild receives SSAF funding from Griffith University to support the management and provision of services and funding to student-led clubs and societies.
The Student Academy of Excellence,[61] formerly Griffith Honours College, offers high-achieving students potential opportunities to enrich their university experience through mentoring, international experiences, leadership roles, and community engagement activities.
Students who are elite athletes are eligible to join Griffith Sports College, which provides support by helping them balance sporting and university commitments. The Griffith Sports College supports elite athletes to achieve sporting and academic excellence. Distinguished alumni spans 82 Olympians, 13 Paralympians and many Commonwealth Games athletes, includingEmma McKeon,Madison de Rozario,Cameron McEvoy, andAshleigh Gentle.
Griffith University competes in Australia's largest annual multi-sport event hosts 42 member universities that compete against each other in 31 different sports.[62] Griffith Sport supports Griffith Team Leaders to assist in the coordination and management of their respective sports teams. Sporting clubs are vital conduits for fostering and facilitating participation in national-level competitions such as UniSport Nationals.[63]
The GUMURRII Student Support Unit (SSU)[64] is the heart of Griffith'sAboriginal and Torres Strait Islander community and is located on each of Griffith's five campuses. GUMURRII is a dedicated Student Support Unit for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander students. Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander staff assist students from recruitment to orientation, providing undergraduate and postgraduate support through to graduation.
Located on Griffith University's Mount Gravatt and Gold Coast campuses, Griffith College, formerly theQueensland Institute of Business and Technology, offers undergraduate diplomas in a range of areas, which provide a pathway into many of Griffith's degree programs.
Students from non-English-speaking backgrounds can study English at the Griffith English Language Institute (GELI). A wide range of English language courses is available to help students improve their English for work, travel, study, or everyday purposes.
Griffith University has four residential colleges, with two located on its Nathan campus and one each on its Mt Gravatt and Gold Coast campuses. The three colleges located in Brisbane compete in the sporting Inter-College Cup, also known as the ICC. The premier event of the ICC is the Phar Cup, where both female and male teams compete inrugby league matches against each other. The colleges are as follows:
Between 2011 and 2016, there were 46 officially reported cases of sexual abuse and harassment on campus released by the university, resulting in no expulsions and one six-month suspension, the highest reported stats in Queensland at the time.[65] This was fewer than the 2017Australian Human Rights Commission report on sexual assault and harassment, which found reported figures higher than this.[66]
Following the release of the report, Griffith University established the Safe Campuses Taskforce.[67] The Taskforce and its working parties are working to ensure Griffith's campuses provide safe, inclusive and respectful environments for all students and staff.
Griffith University has over 300,000 alumni.[68] Notable graduates have been journalists, musicians, actors, artists, filmmakers, photographers, athletes, activists, and politicians in theParliament of Australia and theParliament of Queensland.
27°33′09″S153°03′14″E / 27.5526°S 153.0539°E /-27.5526; 153.0539
