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Former name |
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|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Motto | I look ahead[3] | ||||||
| Type | Publicresearch university | ||||||
| Established | |||||||
| Accreditation | TEQSA[4] | ||||||
| Affiliation | Australian Technology Network (ATN) | ||||||
| Endowment | A$108.2million (2023)[5] | ||||||
| Budget | A$868.28million (2023)[5] | ||||||
| Visitor | Governor of New South Wales(ex officio)[6] | ||||||
| Chancellor | Patricia Forsythe[7] | ||||||
| Vice-Chancellor | Alex Zelinsky[8] | ||||||
Academic staff | 1,273 (2023)[5] | ||||||
Administrative staff | 1,925 (2023)[5] | ||||||
Total staff | 3,198 (2023)[5] | ||||||
| Students | 36,244 (2023)[5] | ||||||
| Undergraduates | 18,099 (EFTSL, 2023)[5] | ||||||
| Postgraduates | 3,394 coursework (EFTSL, 2023)[5] 1,042 research (EFTSL, 2023)[5] | ||||||
Other students | 1,433 (EFTSL, 2023)[5] | ||||||
| Address | University Drive ,,,2308 ,32°53′34″S151°42′16″E / 32.89278°S 151.70444°E /-32.89278; 151.70444 | ||||||
| Campus | Urban andregional with multiple sites[9] | ||||||
| Colours | Blue,black andwhite | ||||||
Sporting affiliations | |||||||
| Mascot | Hunter the Hippocampus | ||||||
| Website | newcastle.edu.au | ||||||
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TheUniversity of Newcastle is apublic university inNewcastle, New South Wales, Australia. Established in 1965, it has a primary campus in the Newcastle suburb ofCallaghan. The university also operates campuses inCentral Coast,Singapore, the Newcastle CBD andSydney.[10]
The University of Newcastle is a member of theAustralian Technology Network,Universities Australia and theAssociation to Advance Collegiate Schools of Business.[11]
The earliest origins of the present-day University of Newcastle can be traced to the Newcastle Teachers College (established 1949) and Newcastle University College (NUC, established 1951).[12] NUC was created as an offshoot of theNew South Wales University of Technology (now known as theUniversity of New South Wales) and was co-located with the Newcastle Technical College atTighes Hill.[13] At the time of its establishment, NUC had just five full-time students and study was restricted to engineering, mathematics and science.[14]
Throughout the 1950s and 1960s, Newcastle residents campaigned for NUC to be re-constituted as a university in its own right. The campaign was ultimately successful, with the University of Newcastle being established as an autonomous institution on 1 January 1965 by gubernatorial proclamation under theUniversity of Newcastle Act 1964 (NSW). The new university was granted a heraldic coat of arms by theCollege of Arms in London, an event seen by many in the community as signifying the new institution's independence.[12] In 1966, the university relocated from Tighes Hill to a largely undeveloped bushland site inShortland.
As enrolments grew, the university embarked on a major building program and redeveloped the Shortland site into the Callaghan campus, named for SirBede Callaghan, foundation member of the university council and chancellor from 1977 to 1988.[15]
Students at the university celebrate Autonomy Day on 1 July of each year. According to unverified sources, official autonomy was marked on 1 January 1965 with a "symbolic ceremonial bonfire held at the site of the Great Hall".[12] This celebration is said to have been officiated by ProfessorGodfrey Tanner who is said to have poured wine libations onto the ground as to "sanctify the land upon which the University rests".[12] Since the university technically became autonomous on 1 January 1965 autonomy day should be held on 1 January. 1 July actually coincided with theNew South Wales University of Technology’s autonomy from the Public Service Board’s authority on 1 July 1954.[12] According to Don Wright, students interpreted Autonomy Day as celebrating the autonomy of the University of Newcastle from the University of New South Wales. The students were entitled to give the celebration whatever meaning they chose. The fact that they called it ‘autonomy day’ heightened the students’ sense of the importance of autonomy and their need to defend it against outside interference.[16]
In 1989, theDawkins reforms amalgamated the Hunter Institute of Higher Education with the University of Newcastle.[17] Newcastle Teachers College had been established in 1949 and was later renamed the Newcastle College of Advanced Education and finally the Hunter Institute of Higher Education as it had expanded its educational offerings beyondteacher education to nursing, other allied health professions, business, and fine arts. The Hunter Institute was located in a series of buildings on landimmediately adjacent to the University at Callaghan and amalgamation expanded the campus to some 140 hectares. Under the reforms, the university also gained the Newcastle branch of the NSW Conservatorium of Music located in the city's central business district.[18]
Historically, theUniversity of Newcastle Medical School has implemented theproblem-based learning system for its undergraduateBachelor of Medicine program – a system later mandated for use by theAustralian Medical Council throughout Australia. It pioneered use of theUndergraduate Medicine and Health Sciences Admission Test (UMAT) in the early 1990s. UMAT has since been accepted widely by different medical schools across Australia as an additional selection criteria.[19]
In 1998, the university established a partnership with the Institut Wira, a Malaysian private business school. In 2002, Ian Firms, a lecturer, failed a large number of student papers from Wira foracademic dishonesty, but his actions were reversed by the Newcastle administration and he was discharged. He then appealed to the New South WalesIndependent Commission Against Corruption, which made a finding of corruption against Dr. Paul Ryder, a failure by Vice Chancellor Roger Holmes in the execution of his duty and recommended disciplining the deputy vice chancellor, Professor Brian English.[20][21]
In 2003, the University of Newcastle, together with five other Australian universities (Macquarie,La Trobe,Flinders,Griffith andMurdoch) established Innovative Research Universities Australia (IRUA).
Forty years after obtaining autonomy, the University of Newcastle has developed a reputable position in national and international university standings; ranked in the 10–14 range of the 38 universities in Australia by theShanghai Jiao Tong University and 215th in the world by theTimes Higher Education Supplement in 2007.[22]
The university unveiled a new logo on 31 March 2007 as part of a brand refresh to align the university's image more closely with its new strategic direction.[23]
On 11 May 2007, the university launched a campus at thePSB Academy's two main campuses inSingapore.[24] On 30 July 2015, Tanzanian presidentJakaya Kikwete was the first head of state to be awarded anhonorary degree (Doctor of Laws) by the university.[25]
The university offers online, face-to-face, or a mix of the two, with campuses at Callaghan, Ourimbah, Port Macquarie, Singapore and Sydney CBD. The university also has three premises within the Newcastle city centre.
The Callaghan campus is the university's main and largest campus. It is located in the Newcastle suburb of Callaghan situated approximately 12 kilometres (7 mi) from Newcastle CBD. The campus is placed on 140 hectares (346 acres) of natural bushland within which the university's numerous buildings are located.[26] The land is traditionally owned by the Pambalong clan of theAwabakal people,[27] a connection which has been developed by the university and is seen as a selling point for academics.[28]
Many of the university's operations are run out of the Callaghan campus, including student administration, course and degree program planning, and the university's Teaching and Learning division. All the major colleges are based on the campus. The campus also has access to the Auchmuty and Huxley libraries. Various other facilities are available on the campus, including several sporting fields, a sports and aquatic centre, and five on-campus residential colleges (Edwards Hall, International House, Evatt House, Barahineban and the recently built New Residences).[26][29] The business and commerce programs offered by Newcastle Business School via the Callaghan campus are accredited byAACSB International.
Ourimbah Campus is a cross-institutional campus, with the University of Newcastle, TAFE NSW – Hunter Institute, and the Central Coast Community College each having a presence.[30] It is located in theCentral Coast suburb ofOurimbah, on the traditional lands of theDarkinjung people.[31] The Faculties of Business and Law, Education and Arts, Science, and Health each have a presence on the campus. In total, they provide sixteen undergraduate degree programs and one postgraduate program, five of which are exclusive to the campus.[32] TheBachelor of Commerce program offered by Newcastle Business School via the Ourimbah campus is accredited by AACSB International.
The Singapore campus is the university's first overseas campus, which includes both the Delta campus and the Henderson campus ofPSB Academy in theCentral Region (Tiong Bahru) of Singapore. This new campus covers an area of 19,000 square metres (204,514 sq ft) behind theTiong Bahru Plaza.[33] The undergraduateBachelor of Business and Bachelor of Commerce programs, and theMaster of Business Administration offered by Newcastle Business School via the UoN Singapore campus are accredited by AACSB International.
The University of Newcastle Sydney CBD campus provides a number of postgraduate degree programs from the Faculty of Business and Law and the English Language and Foundation Studies Centre.[34] The postgraduate programs offered by Newcastle Business School via the Sydney CBD campus are accredited by AACSB International.
The university also has a presence on several sites within the Newcastle CBD. The School of Music and Conservatorium is located in the Civic Theatre precinct, the School of Law, Legal Centre, the School of Creative Industries and Graduate School of Business are located in University House, and the Newcastle Institute of Public Health is located in the David Maddison Building on the site of theRoyal Newcastle Hospital. University House is a landmarkArt Decosandstone building directly opposite Civic Park.
In mid-2017 NUspace (X) opened to staff and students on the corner of Auckland and Hunter Streets, accommodating the Faculty of Business and Law and the School of Creative Industries. Designed by Lyons and EJE Architecture, the building was officially opened on 25 May 2018 by the Premier, the HonGladys Berejiklian, Minister for Education, the HonRob Stokes and the then university vice-chancellor,Caroline McMillen.[35]
In February 2019, the university announced further plans to expand their presence in the CBD with the development of the Hunter Innovation Project (HIP) Innovation Hub for the School of Creative Industries on the site of the former Newcastleheavy rail corridor. The project is expected to be completed by late 2020. The HIP project is the first stage of a 10-year master plan which the university has proposed for the city.[36]
Until 2018, GradSchool was the University of Newcastle's dedicated hub for postgraduate coursework students. From 2001 to 2018, GradSchool was responsible for online learning, offering graduate students from around the world convenient access to more than 60 postgraduate qualifications delivered by the University of Newcastle.[citation needed] Online interaction took place via "Blackboard", a web-based learning system which hosted courses entirely online.
Since 2018, postgraduate degrees are now delivered directly by the University of Newcastle through theirVirtual Learning Environment (VLE), known as UONline (including Blackboard),[37] as well as through face-to-face teaching.
In 2022, the university switched from usingBlackboard to usingCanvas[38] for online learning.
 | This sectionis inlist format but may read better asprose. You can help byconverting this section, if appropriate.Editing help is available.(November 2024) |
| Order | Chancellor | Years | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Sir Alister McMullin | 1966–1977 | [39] |
| 2 | Sir Bede Callaghan | 1977–1988 | [40] |
| 3 | Elizabeth Evatt | 1988–1994 | [41] |
| 4 | Ric Charlton | 1994–2004 | [42] |
| 5 | Trevor Waring | 2004–2012 | [43][44] |
| 6 | Ken Moss | May–Oct 2012 | [45][46][47] |
| – | John Price (Acting) | 2012–2013 | [48] |
| 7 | Paul Jeans | 2013–2023 | [49][50] |
| 8 | Patricia Forsythe | 2024– | [51] |
| Order | Vice-Chancellor | Years | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | James Auchmuty | 1965–1974 | [52] |
| 2 | Donald William George | 1975–1986 | [53] |
| 3 | Keith Morgan | 1987–1993 | [54] |
| 4 | Raoul Mortley | 1993–1996 | [55] |
| 5 | Roger Holmes | 1996–2004 | [56] |
| 6 | Nicholas Saunders | 2004–2011 | [57] |
| 7 | Caroline McMillen | 2011–2018 | [58] |
| 8 | Alex Zelinsky | 2018–present | [59] |
The university offers certificates, diplomas and degrees through three colleges and thirteen schools. Prior to 2022, colleges were known as "faculties", with five faculties and twelve schools.
| List of colleges and schools |
|---|
College of Engineering, Science, and Environment
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College of Health, Medicine, and Well Being
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College of Human and Social Futures
|
The university offers Indigenous studies and support for Indigenous students through theWollotuka Institute. Additionally, the Pathways and Academic Learning Support Centre provides tertiary preparation programs for recent school leavers, mature-aged students andIndigenous students.[citation needed]
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The university is home to a number ofresearch centres. Its major centres are the Central Coast Research Institute (CCRI),Hunter Medical Research Institute, and Newcastle Institute for Energy and Resources (NIER). It also has a number of centres grouped as priority research centres;Australian Research Council centres and hubs;National Health and Medical Research Council centres and programs; cooperative research centres; multi-institutional research centres; and university centres.[61]
The Purai Global Indigenous History Centre is a university centre whose focus is "integrating global and transnational analytical perspectives and frameworks with research on Indigenous and diaspora histories and other related histories of race". The wordPurai is from theAwabakal language, and means "the world", or "earth".[62] It is led by historianJohn Maynard.[63][64] The centre was opened in March 2021, with the inaugural John Maynard Aboriginal history lecture given byLarissa Behrendt.[65]
The University of Newcastle library is made up of three libraries across three campuses. They include the Auchmuty, Ourimbah, and Newcastle City campus libraries. The largest of these is the Auchmuty library on the Callaghan campus, which holds a significant traditional collection, including rare books and archives. Auchmuty holds a broad collection supporting a number of schools, including education, nursing, and fine arts. The Ourimbah library on the Central Coast campus holds a collection of both university and TAFE texts to facilitate the needs of the joint campus. An information common, similar to the one located in the Auchmuty library, is also available. The Newcastle City campus library is also part of The University of Newcastle library.[66] In recent years the library has created interdisciplinary learning environments such as a Micro Studio for multimedia production[67] and a Maker Space to engage students in creative problem solving.[68]
The whole catalogue of the university library is available across any of its constituent libraries. The library is a member of theCouncil of Australian University Librarians. It also keeps New South Wales state archives that have been held by the university since 1975. The state archives reside within the University Archives, and consist of a collection of approximately 600 linear shelf metres.[69]
| Language | English |
|---|---|
| Publication details | |
| History | 1996–2007 |
| Standard abbreviations ISO 4 (alt) · Bluebook (alt) NLM (alt) · MathSciNet (alt  ) | |
| ISO 4 | J. Interdiscip. Gend. Stud. |
| Indexing CODEN (alt · alt2) · JSTOR (alt) · LCCN (alt) MIAR · NLM (alt) · Scopus · W&L | |
| ISSN | 1325-1848 |
The School of Humanities and Social Science, within the faculty of Education and Arts published theJournal of Interdisciplinary Gender Studies (JIGS) from 1996 to 2007.[70]
| University rankings | |
|---|---|
| Global – Overall | |
| ARWU World[72] | 401–500 (2025) |
| CWTS World[73] | 342[a] (2024) |
| QS World[74] | =227 (2026) |
| THE World[75] | 251–300 (2026) |
| USNWR Global[76] | 244 (25/26) |
| National – Overall | |
| ARWU National[77] | 21–24 (2025) |
| CWTS National[78] | 17[a] (2024) |
| ERA National[79] | 15 (2018) |
| QS National[80] | 16 (2026) |
| THE National[81] | 14–20 (2026) |
| USNWR National[82] | 17 (25/26) |
| AFR National[83] | 15 (2024) |
In the 2024Aggregate Ranking of Top Universities, which measures aggregate performance across the QS, THE and ARWU rankings, the university attained a position of #239 (19th nationally).[84]
In theAustralian Financial Review Best Universities Ranking 2024, the university was ranked #15 amongst Australian universities.[85]
In the 2026Quacquarelli SymondsWorld University Rankings (published 2025), the university attained a tied position of #227 (16th nationally).[86]
In theTimes Higher Education World University Rankings 2026 (published 2025), the university attained a position of #251–300 (tied 14–20th nationally).[87]
In the 2025Academic Ranking of World Universities, the university attained a position of #401–500 (tied 21–24th nationally).[88]
In the 2025–2026U.S. News & World Report Best Global Universities, the university attained a position of #244 (17th nationally).[89]
In theCWTS Leiden Ranking 2024,[a] the university attained a position of #342 (17th nationally).[90]
The Australian Government's QILT[b] conducts national surveys documenting the student life cycle from enrolment through to employment.[91] These surveys place more emphasis on criteria such as student experience, graduate outcomes and employer satisfaction[91] than perceived reputation, research output and citation counts.[92]
In the 2023 Employer Satisfaction Survey, graduates of the university had an overall employer satisfaction rate of 85%.[93]
In the 2023 Graduate Outcomes Survey, graduates of the university had a full-time employment rate of 84.6% for undergraduates and 91.5% for postgraduates.[94] The initial full-time salary wasA$71,000 for undergraduates andA$105,000 for postgraduates.[94]
In the 2023 Student Experience Survey, undergraduates at the university rated the quality of their entire educational experience at 78.1% meanwhile postgraduates rated their overall education experience at 81.8%.[95]
In 2019, the university had a total enrolment of 37,946 students, including over 7,000 international students from more than 113 countries.[96]
The university is recognised for its commitment to equity in education, and consistently enrols more students of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander background than any other Australian university. It has graduated more than 60% of the nation's indigenous doctors.[97] In addition to a high enrollment rate, the university's retention rate for Indigenous students is also high at almost 80%. This is attributed to the work of theWollotuka Institute.[98]
From 2016 to 2020 students of the university were represented by three entities: The Newcastle University Students' Association (NUSA), Yourimbah, and Newcastle University Postgraduate Students' Association (NUPSA);[99] In 2020 these entities ceased operations and combined to form a single student association known asUniversity of Newcastle Student's Association (UNSA).[100]
UoN Services is responsible for the social life of the university, as well as most of the commercial facilities on campus. It organises all the main entertainment events, usually performed at the university's two licensed venues, the Bar on the Hill and the Godfrey Tanner (GT) Bar. Apart from student contributions (which have dropped significantly since theabolition of universal student unionism), the UoN Services generates income from the stores, restaurants and bars on the Callaghan and city campuses. UoN Services also funds the production of Yak Media. Yak Media includesYak Magazine and Yak TV (formerly UTV).[101]Yak Magazine is a monthly publication run by an editorially independent student team. Yak TV is produced by a student media production team and reports on upcoming university events, gigs and services.
UNSA is primarily an advocacy organisation, representing undergraduate, postgraduate, and research students at all campuses on a variety of issues from political activism to the internal organisation of the university. UNSA also runs events and workshops, facilitates a portion of the student clubs, and producesOpus, the university's magazine written by and for students.[102]
Campus Central (Central Coast Campus Union Limited trading as Campus Central) is a single organisation looking after all the interests (commercial, sporting and advocacy) of students at the Ourimbah campus.
The university offers access to a number of sporting facilities across its campuses. The Callaghan campus has the majority of these facilities; this includes six sporting ovals,[103] squash & tennis courts, and a sports and aquatic centre. NUsport manages these facilities through an organisation known as "The Forum".[104] "The Forum Sports & Aquatic Centre, University" boasts an olympic-sized swimming pool, the second highest climbing wall in the southern hemisphere and various other sporting facilities.[105] It is also the site of training for sport teams including theNewcastle Knights fromNational Rugby League (NRL), theNewcastle Jets from theA-League and the Hunter Hurricanes National League Water Polo team. The Forum also has a centre near the Newcastle CBD known as "The Forum, Health and Wellness centre, Harbourside".[106]
The university works with partners includingCRCC Asia andThe Intern Group to arrange internship placements outside of Australia for its students.[107]
| International | |
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| National | |
| Other | |
