University of Melbourne
| Arms of The University of Melbourne | |
| Motto | Postera Crescam Laude "We grow in the esteem of future generations" |
|---|---|
| Type | Public |
| Established | 1853 |
| Endowment | AUD$1.097 billion |
| Chancellor | Ian Renard |
| Vice-Chancellor | Glyn Davis |
Academic staff | 3,080 |
| Students | 33,639 |
| Undergraduates | 25,535 |
| Postgraduates | 8,104 |
| Location | , , |
| Campus | Urban |
| Affiliations | Group of Eight， Universitas 21 |
| Website | www.unimelb.edu.au |
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The University of Melbourne, is a public university located in Melbourne, Victoria. The second oldest university in Australia, and the oldest in Victoria, its main campus is in Parkville, an inner suburb just north of the Melbourne CBD. Other campuses across Melbourne and rural Victoria have been acquired through amalgamation with smaller colleges of advanced education. It is a member of Australia's "Group of Eight" lobby group, and the Sandstone universities.
Melbourne University is ranked amongst the top universities both in Australia and the world. The University is highly regarded in the fields of the arts, humanities, and biomedicine.[1]
The University has almost 35,000 students, who are supported by nearly 6,000 staff members (full or part-time). On November 15, 2005, Vice-Chancellor Glyn Davis announced a reform programme entitled 'Growing Esteem'. The University will aim to consolidate its three core activities - Research, Learning and Knowledge transfer - in order to become one of the world's finest institutions. The University's degree structure will be changed to the controversial [2] Melbourne Model, a combination of various practices from American and European Universities, which administrators claim will make the university consistent with the Bologna Accord, ensuring its degrees have international relevance. [citation needed]
History
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The University was established by Hugh Childers in 1853 by an Act of the Victorian Parliament passed on Saturday 22 January, and classes commenced in 1855 with three professors and sixteen students. The original University buildings were officially opened by the then Lieutenant Governor of the Colony of Victoria, Sir Charles Hotham, on 3 October 1855. The first chancellor, Redmond Barry (later Sir Redmond), held the position until his death in 1880.
In the university's early days, an architectural masterplan was developed, establishing the intended prevailing building style as gothic revival. Early influential architects included Melbourne's own Joseph Reed, who was responsible for the design of many of the early campus buildings. Although the masterplan held as late as the 1930s, the 1950s saw the modernist style established as a new "house style" for the university, resulting in the mix of buildings seen today.
The inauguration of the University was made possible by the wealth resulting from Victoria's gold rush, and the University was designed to be a "civilising influence" at a time of rapid settlement and commercial growth (Selleck, 2003). The University was secular, and forbidden from offering degrees in Divinity - the churches could only establish colleges along the northern perimeter. The local population largely rejected the supposed elitism of its professoriate, favouring teaching of 'useful' subjects like law, over those they deemed 'useless' in the city's context, like Classics. The townspeople won this debate, and law was introduced in 1857, and medicine and engineering in the 1860s.
The admission of women in 1881 was a further victory for Victorians over the more conservative ruling council (Selleck 2003, p164–165). Subsequent years saw many tensions over the direction of the emerging University, and in 1902 it was effectively bankrupt following the discovery of a ₤24,000 fraud from the period 1886-1901 (the University's yearly grant was ₤15,000) by the University's Bursar, Frederick Dickson, who was jailed for seven years.
This resulted in a Royal Commission that recommended new funding structures, and an extension of disciplinary areas into agriculture and education.
By the time of World War I, governance was again a pressing concern. The Council, consisting of more businesspeople than professors, obtained real powers in 1923 at the expense of the Senate. Undergraduates could elect two members of the Council. In this period, the University tended to attract students drawn from affluent backgrounds, with a few opportunities for gifted scholarship students. The first Vice-Chancellor to be paid a salary was Raymond Priestley (1936) followed by John Medley in 1939.
After World War II, demand for Commonwealth-funded student places grew in Australia, and the University followed demand by becoming much larger and more inclusive.
The University celebrated its 150th anniversary in 2003. The University is the home of the Grainger Museum, celebrating the life and work of composer Percy Grainger.
Academia
The University has eleven faculties:
These faculties offer courses from Bachelor Degree to Doctorate level. Land and Food Resources offers TAFE, diplomas, but in June 2005 it was announced that these will be transferred to other providers. Arts is the largest (7,222 students in 2004), followed by Science (6,328). The University has some of the highest admission requirements in the country, with the median ENTER of its undergraduates being 94.5. Furthermore, around 70% of those who finish in the top 1% of school leavers choose to study at Melbourne[1].
Pure and applied research had already grown in importance from the late 19th century, but increased its reach and depth in the second half of the 20th century. Science and Arts are the best-endowed Faculties in financial terms. [citation needed] The medical sciences benefit from proximity to a number of hospitals, and were enhanced by the opening of Bio21, a research centre focusing on pure and applied Biotechnology.
The university has an endowment of approximately AUD$1097 million as of 2005 and is the largest of any Australian university.[3] The fund has grown rapidly over the past few years, providing a great source of income for the University.[3] Melbourne is one of only two Australian universities with a significant private endowment.[citation needed] Australian endownments are small compared with those of the wealthiest US universities.
Three Nobel Laureates work on campus: Profs. Peter Doherty is currently based in the Department of Microbiology and Immunology, while Sir James Mirrlees (Economic Science, 1996 - emeritus, Cambridge) and Sir Clive Granger (Economic Science, 2003 - emeritus, San Diego), will teach a couple of months each year at the University from 2005 and reside in Trinity College
Melbourne has produced the most Rhodes Scholars of any Victorian university, including the two 2006 winners.
In recent years the University has expanded the numbers of international students from 2,000 in 1996 to over 8,000 in 2006, achieved under the direction of former Vice Chancellor, Alan Gilbert. A separate venture, Melbourne University Private was created in 1997, and merged with the University at the end of 2005.
Residential colleges
Since 1872, the affiliated residential colleges have been an important part of the university. The earliest sought to emulate the finest European colleges, particularly those of Oxford. There are eleven affiliated colleges in total. Seven of the colleges are situated in an arc around the cricket oval at the northern edge of the campus, known as the College Crescent, with the other five within 15 minutes walk of the University of Melbourne.
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| College | Affiliation |
|---|---|
| Trinity College | 1872- |
| Ormond College | 1881- |
| Janet Clarke Hall | 1886- |
| Queen's College | 1887- |
| Whitley College | 1891- |
| Ridley College | 1910-2005 |
| Newman College | 1918- |
| University College | 1937- |
| Medley Hall | 1954- |
| International House | 1957- |
| Graduate House | 1962- |
| St Hilda's College | 1964- |
| St Mary's College | 1966- |
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Newman College Chapel -
Newman College -
Janet Clarke Hall in Royal Parade, Parkville -
Trinity College -
Medley Hall -
St. Mary's College
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Architecture
Several of the original on-campus buildings, such as the Old Quad and Old Arts buildings, feature beautiful period architecture.
The expansion during the post-World War Two period saw the construction a number of functional high-rise office buildings and laboratories, in response to space shortages. These include the Raymond Priestley building (used for administration and nicknamed the "Wind Tunnel" due to the channelling of wind through its ground level arches), the Redmond Barry building, Wilson Hall(1956, replacing the old Wilson Hall which was destroyed by fire), and some of the additions to the colleges. The Architecture building is a monolithic modernist design - a "strong statement of architectural modernism influenced by Le Corbusier". An addition to it added new roof offices in 1997. Economics and Commerce, extended in 1997, is described as "two lacklustre if not downright unpleasant buildings" by the author of the University walking tour.
Melba Hall and the Conservatorium of Music on Royal Parade are notable examples of Edwardian edifices which features rich Arts and Crafts and Art Nouveau details. They were designed by Bates, Peebles & Smart and constructed between 1905 and 1935.
A recent spate of expansions have included the Ian Potter Gallery and the Sidney Myer Asia Centre (both designed by Nonda Katsalidis). The Potter Gallery in particular is highly regarded for its architecture, and won several awards when completed in 1999. The University Square development has extended the campus to the south, significantly opening up the grid-locked Parkville campus.
The Old Commerce building is listed on the National Trust Register as an interesting artifact. It is actually the facade of the former Collins Street Bank of New South Wales Melbourne office transposed onto a 1935 building. The bank earned architect Joseph Reed a first prize in architecture. When the building was demolished, the facade was transferred to the University of Melbourne to become the Commerce building. It has since made a number of cameo appearances in film and television.
Some of the affiliated residential colleges feature notable architecture; the most attention-grabbing is arguably the Ormond College with a clock tower, but
Newman College is also well-known as one of the few remaining buildings designed by Walter Burley Griffin.
A searchable archive of photos can be used to view individual features of the campus. UMAIC.
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Ian Potter Museum of Art -
Melba Hall & Conservatorium of Music -
The Old Commerce building combines the relocated facade of a Collins Street bank with a 1930s building -
The luminous arches of the Old Quad
Growing Esteem
New strategy
In 2005, the university developed a new strategy, which it named 'Growing Esteem'. A key feature of this is the Melbourne Model for generalist degrees intended to lead to second tier courses which would be graduate entry. The new structure was introduced in 2008 with courses such as law, nursing, education and architecture becoming graduate entry only.
Criticism of Growing Esteem
Some students and members of the wider community have been critical of the Growing Esteem project. As part of the Melbourne Model, prospective lawyers, doctors or others who want to complete a specialist degree at the University of Melbourne may have to pay full fees and take additional years to complete their studies. Melbourne university claims that a minimum of 50% of the places in each of the new professional graduate degrees for domestic Australian students will be Commonwealth Supported Places,[4] with the University aiming for 75% across all the new courses.[5]
Some have also raised issues about the proposed alterations to how research is funded, with a growing dependence on private industry monies being mooted.[6]
Some students are particularly concerned that "Growing Esteem" will have detrimental effects on access and equity for students. Under the new model, half of the initially planned 100 law places will attract full fees. In future years the number of full-fee places will increase in law as well as in the other post-graduate courses[7] Youth Allowance and Austudy has been extended to Commonwealth approved Masters by coursework programs. [8] The University will be undertaking a $100 million dollar scholarship programme, funded by Melbourne's significant invested endownment, course fees and other private ventures. Only 20% of places in the new degrees will be allocated to the 'Access Melbourne' Scholarship programme, and students enrolling in new generation degrees who achieve an ENTER of 98 or above will receive a one off non-means tested payment of $2500. Over 8000 students will receive benefits.[9]
Criticism has also been made of the University's handling of the transition period, with some staff and students alleging funding cuts to what have become known as 'heritage degrees'. The Arts faculty recently announced it will be cutting up to 130 staff and over 300 subjects. [10]
Courses
Six courses have been approved as 'new generation undergraduate courses': generalist degrees under the 'Melbourne Model'. These degrees will replace 96 undergraduate degrees available before the introduction of Growing Esteem.
- Bachelor of Arts
- Bachelor of Science
- Bachelor of Commerce
- Bachelor of Environments
- Bachelor of Music
- Bachelor of Biomedicine
Note: The degree of Bachelor of Laws (LL.B) will be discontinued, and will become Juris Doctor from year 2008. In addition, several existing courses will continue in 2008, such as medicine, veterinary science and some engineering degrees. The university anticipates that all professional courses (including medicine, dentistry, optometry and veterinary science) will change from undergraduate to graduate-entry by 2011.
A number of professional courses will be moved to graduate entry including:
- Juris Doctor
- Doctor of Medicine
- Doctor of Dental Surgery
- Doctor of Optometry
- Doctor of Veterinary Medicine
- Master of Animal Science
- Master of Architecture
- Master of Forest Science
- Master of Nursing Science
- Master of Property and Construction
- Master of Public Policy and Management
- Master Social Work
- Master of Teaching
- Master of Urban Horticulture
- Master of Urban Planning
Rankings
Research produced by the Melbourne Institute in 2006 ranked Australian universities across seven main discipline areas: Arts & Humanities, Business & Economics, Education, Engineering, Law, Medicine, and Science.
For each discipline, Melbourne was ranked[11]:
| Discipline | R1* | No. | R2* | No. |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Arts & Humanities | 2 | 38 | 1 | 35 |
| Business & Economics | 2 | 39 | 1 | 34 |
| Education | 1 | 35 | 2 | 32 |
| Engineering | 1 | 28 | 3 | 28 |
| Law | 3 | 29 | 1 | 28 |
| Medicine | 1 | 14 | 1 | 13 |
| Science | 2 | 38 | 3 | 31 |
- R1 refers to Australian and overseas Academics' rankings in tables 3.1 -3.7 of the report. R2 refers to the Articles and Research rankings in tables 5.1 - 5.7 of the report. No. refers to the number of institutions in the table against which Melbourne is compared.
The following publications ranked universities worldwide. Melbourne University ranked:
| Publications | Ave. | 1999 | 2000 | 2001 | 2002 | 2003 | 2004 | 2005 | 2006 | 2007 | 2008 | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Times Higher Education Supplement[12] | 22.5 | 22 | 19 | 22 | 27 | |||||||
| Shanghai Jiao Tong University[13] | 82.6 | 92 | 82 | 82 | 78 | 79 | ||||||
| Newsweek[14] | 53 | |||||||||||
| The Economist | ||||||||||||
| Financial Times MBA rank[15] | 70.75 | 72 | 63 | 69 | 79 | |||||||
| Economist Intelligence Unit's MBA rank[16] | 84 | |||||||||||
| Webometrics[17]: | 104.2 | 82 | 74 | 104 | 133 | 128 |
In 2007, Times Higher Education Supplement ranked the University of Melbourne 27th in the world. The University's opinion is that the significant move from the 22nd in 2006 to 27th in the year 2007 is due to different changes made in the methodology of the ranking. One of those changes is the switch from ESI Thomson research publication database to Scopus, which is a less-known database in Australia.[18]. This places the University of Melbourne behind four other universities in the region - Australian National University, Tokyo University, University of Hong Kong and Kyoto University.[19]. It also ranked 10 in Top 10 Employer Review, together with Bocconi University of Italy being the only two universities outside USA and UK in the category. The report also put the university 33th for natural sciences, 17th for biomedicine, 21th for technology, 17th for social sciences, and 17th for arts & humanities.
In 2006, Times Higher Education Supplement ranked the University of Melbourne 22nd in the world. Because of the drop in ranking, University of Melbourne was behind four Asian universities - Beijing University, Australian National University, Tokyo University and National University of Singapore. However, the university ranked in the top 8 in terms of peer review. The report also put the university 16th for technology, 7th for biomedicine, 7th for arts & humanities, 10th for social sciences, and 27th for science. In each of these categories, rankings improved compared with 2005. However, these positions are still lower than those of Australian National University.
In August 2006, Newsweek ranked the University of Melbourne 53rd in the world in its "The Top 100 Global Universities".[20]
In 2005, the Times Higher Education Supplement ranked The University of Melbourne 19th in the world. At the time, this was the highest ranking among Australian universities and third highest in the region (behind Tokyo University and Beijing University). Furthermore, the university was ranked 8th for arts & humanities, 10th for biomedicine, 11th for social sciences, 18th for technology and 32nd for science.
In 2003, Shanghai Jiao Tong University ranked The University of Melbourne 92nd in the world. The position went up to 82nd in 2004 and 2005. The 2006 edition ranked The University 78th, up by 4 places.
Melbourne Business School's MBA course had been ranked 69th in the world in 2006 and 79th in 2007. It is the second highest ranked MBA course in Australia.[21]
Notable graduates
The University of Melbourne has produced many notable alumni, with graduates having held the offices of Prime Ministers of Australia, Deputy Prime Minister of Australia, Governors-General, Attorneys-General, Governors of Victoria, Surgeons, High Court Justices, State Premiers, Nobel Laureates, a First Lady of East Timor, ministers of foreign countries, Lord Mayors, academics, architects, historians, poets, philosophers, politicians, scientists, physicists, authors, industry leaders, Defence Force generals, corporate leaders and artists.
Student activities
The university has a rich student life due to the variety of clubs and services funded by the University of Melbourne Student Union. Student extracurricular activities generally come under the loose umbrella of the University of Melbourne Student Union, student sporting activities under the Sports Union and postgraduate students at University of Melbourne Postgraduate Association, a member of the Council of Australian Postgraduate Associations. Many student clubs are affiliated with UMSU, as well as student theatre and the official student newspaper, Farrago. A scandal engulfed the Union in 2003, eventually leading to its collapse, liquidation and subsequent rebirth as a new entity. However, given the introduction of Voluntary Student Unionism from the 1st July, 2006, it is likely the services and activities offered by this new Union will be diminished.
Prosh Week
A celebrated tradition at Melbourne, usually held in mid-August, whereby teams of students engage in various activities - the winner claiming the 'Prosh Week Trophy'.[22] These shenanigans include giant boat races, conga lines through the Melbourne CBD, a billy kart rally, and jelly wrestling. It culminates with the infamous Scav hunt, at the conclusion of which the winning team is announced.
The term 'Prosh' is thought to have originated in one of two ways. It's chiefly considered to have evolved from an annual charity procession that once marched through the Melbourne CBD, producing the abbreviation 'prosh'. A second theory states that the term originated from when all of the faculty social balls were held in the same week. The week was nicknamed 'Posh week' due to the number of times students would have to dress up in formal attire. The effects of alcohol caused words to be slurred, and thus 'posh' became 'prosh'.[22]
In recent times the 'Scavenger Hunt' (Scav Hunt) has attracted controversy from the wider community, especially due to the nature of many of the tasks.[23]
Sport
The university has participated in various sports in its history. It is was the overall champion in the Australian University Games (AUG) in 1997, 2004, 2005 and 2006.
Cricket
The University of Melbourne Cricket Club, often called simply "University", plays the sport of cricket in the elite club competition of Melbourne, Australia, known as Victorian Premier Cricket. The club was founded in 1856 and played its first season of premier cricket in 1906–07. Known as the Students, the club has won 3 first XI premierships. Its home ground is on the campus of the University of Melbourne in Parkville. The Club has provided the Australian National Cricket Team with several players and has also provided the state with several first class cricketers. [citation needed] The University also has a Woman's team which participates in several domestic tournaments.
Australian rules football
The Melbourne University Football Club founded in 1859, was a notable Australian rules football club that played seven seasons in the Victorian Football League, and has since rejoined the ranks of amateur teams.
The University women's club, the Mugars, participates in the Victorian Women's Football League and is the most successful women's football team in the country [citation needed].
Hockey
The University has hockey teams that compete in the Hockey Victoria competition. It is colloquially known as "Shop" or "Shoppers" to its members, and MUHC (pronounced "muck") to its rivals. The men's division has competed in State League One (the premier division) irregularly (most recently 2004 and 2006), often gaining promotion from State League Two only to be relegated the following year. The women's division had a State League One team in 2003-2005, and since being relegated have maintained a mid-SL2 position since.
It traditionally fields strong AUG hockey teams, winning the Syme Cup (men's division) in 1999 and 2000 and placing 2nd in 2001, 2005-07. Its best result in the women's competition is 2nd (2000, 2003).
Other campuses
The university has several other campuses located across Victoria.They are situated in Burnley, Creswick, Dookie, Werribee, and Southbank, Victorian College of the Arts. The university also has its interests in Goulburn Valley, particularly in the areas of rural health, agriculture and education. The university is a part-owner of the Melbourne Business School, the top business school in Australia in 2005 and 2006.[24] The university has a node of the Australian Centre for Plant Functional Genomics.
See also
- Melbourne University Publishing
- NICTA - national information and communication technology research centre, co-supported by University of Melbourne
- University of Melbourne Academic Dress
References
- ^ "Melbourne Uni ranks in top 20", The Age, October 28, 2005
- ^ "Academics face axe at top faculty" The Age, July 11, 2007
- ^ a b University of Melbourne Investment Report, 2005
- ^ Growing Esteem - Frequently Asked Questions
- ^ A matter of degrees, The Age, April 14, 2007
- ^ http://www.unistudent.com.au/offices/research/05_GE.pdf
- ^ Uni's $2500 bait for brightest, The Age, April 17, 2007
- ^ http://www.unistudent.com.au/offices/research/05_GE.pdf
- ^ Melbourne University Scholarships Brochure
- ^ "A poor start for a radical change" The Age, April 18, 2007.
- ^ Melbourne Institute rankings
- ^ The Times Higher Education Supplement
- ^ Institute of Higher Education, Shanghai Jiao Tong University.
- ^ "The Top 100 Global Universities, Newsweek" Newsweek's ranking of Melbourne University.
- ^ Melboure Business School's MBA rank with the Financial Times.
- ^ Melbourne Business School's MBA rank with EIU.
- ^ Melbourne University's Webometric ranking
- ^ University of Melbourne ranks in Top 30 in the world : Media Releases : News : The University of Melbourne
- ^ - QS World University Rankings 2007 - Top 400 Universities
- ^ "The Top 100 Global Universities, Newsweek"
- ^ FT.com / Business Education / Global MBA rankings
- ^ a b "What is Prosh Week?", Farrago, Vol. 82, No. 5, August 2007.
- ^ "Uni scavenger hunt 'offensive, sexist'" The Age, November 10, 2005.
- ^ Global MBA rankings 2006
Books
- Macintyre, S. & Selleck, R.J.W. (2003). A short history of the University of Melbourne. Melbourne: Melbourne University Press. ISBN 0-522-85058-8.
- Selleck, R.J.W. (2003). The Shop: The University of Melbourne, 1850–1939. Melbourne: University of Melbourne Press. 930pp
- Poynter, John & Rasmussen, Carolyn (1996). "A Place Apart - The University of Melbourne: Decades of Challenge". Melbourne: Melbourne University Press. ISBN 0-522-84584-3.
- Cain J II and J Hewitt. 2004. Off Course: From Public Place to Marketplace at Melbourne University. Melbourne: Scribe.
Newspaper
- McPhee, P. 2005. "From the Acting Vice-Chancellor." Uni News. The University of Melbourne. 03/10/05, p.3.