The University of Queensland was established by an Act of the State Parliament on 10 December 1909, and its official founding date is 16 April 1910. Classes began in 1911 with 83 students at Government House in George Street, Brisbane. The first degrees were awarded in 1914, the first doctorate of science in 1942 and the first PhD in 1952. The motto is Scientia ac Labore, which means by means of knowledge and hard work.
The main campus is at St Lucia, on Sir Fred Schonell Drive in Brisbane. Land there was secured in 1927 with funds from James and Mary Mayne, and construction began in 1937. The Gatton campus, about 90 kilometres west of Brisbane, covers 1,068 hectares, and the Herston campus hosts the Mayne Medical School and clinical research. Dutton Park adjoins the Princess Alexandra Hospital and the Translational Research Institute, and the university runs research stations at Heron Island and Moreton Bay.
In 2023 it enrolled 57,154 students, among them 28,522 undergraduates, 12,455 coursework postgraduates and 3,332 research postgraduates, and it employed 7,504 full-time equivalent staff, of whom 2,988 were academic. Five faculties cover business, economics and law, engineering, architecture and information technology, health, medicine and behavioural sciences, humanities and social sciences, and science.
Research institutes include the Institute for Molecular Bioscience, the Australian Institute for Bioengineering and Nanotechnology, the Queensland Brain Institute, the Sustainable Minerals Institute and the Institute for Social Science Research. Ian Frazer led the development of the human papillomavirus vaccines Gardasil and Cervarix at the university. UQ belongs to the Group of Eight, the Association of Pacific Rim Universities and Universitas 21, and it was a founding member of edX.
Alumni include the actor Geoffrey Rush, Dame Quentin Bryce, the first woman to serve as Governor-General of Australia, and Andrew Liveris, former chief executive of Dow Chemical. Peter Doherty, a Nobel laureate in Physiology or Medicine in 1996, is a graduate. Fees differ for domestic and international students. Check the current tariff. Teaching is in English.
Bachelor, Doctor, Graduate Certificate, Graduate Diploma, Master, MBA
Status:
Public
Partnerships:
Group of Eight, Association of Pacific Rim Universities, Universitas 21, edX as a founding member, the Translational Research Institute, and the UQ-Ochsner Clinical School in Louisiana.
Research:
Molecular bioscience, bioengineering and nanotechnology, neuroscience, sustainable minerals, social science, and vaccine research, including work on the human papillomavirus vaccines.
Famous Alumnis:
Geoffrey Rush, Quentin Bryce, Andrew Liveris, Peter Doherty, Ian Frazer
International recognition**:
Number of staff***:
7500
Current students***:
57200
Foreign students***:
N/A%
Cumulative former students***:
N/A
Pros
Leading research university in Australia, large green main campus in Brisbane, strong life sciences and engineering, research stations at Heron Island and Moreton Bay.
Cons
Brisbane summers are hot and humid, high fees for international students, large and sometimes impersonal courses.
Best For
Students seeking a broad research university in Queensland with strong life sciences, engineering and agriculture.
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Most Similar Schools Locally
Both schools build their programmes around agriculture, chemistry and physics, and University of Melbourne is the one to compare first within the country, since it is also a public institution, and teaches at the same levels, namely bachelor's, master's, doctoral, graduate certificate, graduate diploma and mba.
University of Sydney works in much the same fields, chiefly marine science, agriculture and chemistry, and it is also a public institution, and teaches at the same levels, namely bachelor's, master's, doctoral, graduate certificate, graduate diploma and mba.
University of Western Australia offers a comparable education in marine science, agriculture and chemistry: it does not run the graduate diploma programmes found here and covers astroscience and ecology and sustainability as well.
Another national school that puts marine science, chemistry and physics at the centre is Curtin University, and it does not run the graduate diploma programmes found here and covers astroscience and materials as well.
Deakin University offers a comparable education in chemistry, physics and mathematics: it covers ecology and sustainability and data analytics as well, and has almost the same size, at about 58,853 students.
Most Similar Schools Abroad
University of Auckland offers an international parallel to this university, with chemistry, physics and mathematics as common ground; it covers statistics and data analytics as well, and is slightly smaller, at about 39,183 students against roughly 57,200 here.
For agriculture, chemistry and physics outside the home country, National Taiwan University in Taiwan is a natural reference; it covers finance and electrical and electronics as well, and is smaller, enrolling about 34,483 students against roughly 57,200 here.
Seoul National University in South Korea pursues a similar profile in agriculture, chemistry and physics, and it covers electrical and electronics and materials as well, and is smaller, enrolling about 28,300 students against roughly 57,200 here.
Looking internationally, University of Lisbon in Portugal is where agriculture, chemistry and physics get a comparable treatment; it does not run the graduate certificate and graduate diploma programmes found here and covers finance and civil engineering as well.
University of the Witwatersrand, in South Africa, takes a similar route through chemistry, physics and mathematics; it is slightly smaller, at about 40,259 students against roughly 57,200 here, and is also a public institution.
*our own picks (our criteria: a mix between domains, diploma delivered, reputation and size), but obviously too many criteria for an apple-to-apple ranking.
FAQ
Where is the University of Queensland?
The main campus is at St Lucia in Brisbane, Queensland, Australia.
When was it founded?
It was established by Act of Parliament on 10 December 1909, and its official founding date is 16 April 1910.
What is its motto?
Scientia ac Labore, which means by means of knowledge and hard work.
How many students does it have?
In 2023 it enrolled 57,154 students, including 28,522 undergraduates.
Which campuses does it have?
St Lucia, Gatton, Herston and Dutton Park, among other sites.
How many faculties are there?
Five, from business, economics and law to science.
Which research institutes belong to it?
Among others the Institute for Molecular Bioscience, the Australian Institute for Bioengineering and Nanotechnology and the Queensland Brain Institute.
Who developed the HPV vaccines there?
Ian Frazer led the development of Gardasil and Cervarix at the university.
Which networks does it belong to?
The Group of Eight, the Association of Pacific Rim Universities and Universitas 21, and it was a founding member of edX.
What does it cost?
Fees differ for domestic and international students. Check the current tariff.
Biology, Engineering, Innovation, Research and Development, Sustainable Development
*: without any judgment of the quality, readers are strongly encouraged to check the official status of the exact diploma envisioned as many universities have a mix of recognized diplomas, not recognized, “co-delivered,” “equivalent to”, “some pathways” (…), can change over time, and can be named differently from one country to another.
**: international reputation: is based on some criteria that do not mean much in some domains or specialties (number of researchers, of scientific publications, on budget ….). Our approximate 1-4 scale:
known locally
known locally and internationally
is listed in some of the world university’s classifications
is listed among the 20 firsts in some of world university’s classifications
***: estimated numbers, based on online sources and/or feedbacks. The numbers can vary greatly depending on school organisation (ex.: school is part of a group, it employs internal staff or external consultants or has public staff without employing them …). Refer to all the links provided to have accurate and updated numbers.
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