Address: John Street, 3122 Hawthorn, Victoria, Australia
Engineering, Design, Business, Health Sciences, Computing, Film and Media
Swinburne University of Technology was founded in 1908 as the Eastern Suburbs Technical College in Hawthorn, Melbourne. It was renamed Swinburne Technical College in 1913, when the State Government took it over, after George and Ethel Swinburne, its co-founders. It received university status on 1 July 1992 under the Swinburne University of Technology Act 1992. The National Institute of Circus Arts opened in 1999 and the campus in Sarawak, Malaysia, in 2000.
The main campus is at Hawthorn in Melbourne. Wantirna is a campus focused on vocational education, Croydon is a vocational campus focused on trades, the international campus is in Kuching, Sarawak, and a tenancy in a public library building in Parramatta, New South Wales, completes the list. The university closed its Lilydale campus in 2013 and sold its Prahran campus in 2014.
In 2023 the university had 65,979 students. On an equivalent full-time basis there were 24,186 undergraduates, 3,864 coursework postgraduates and 1,005 research postgraduates, and 20,180 students were enrolled in vocational education and training. It employed 2,720 staff at 30 June 2023, and its budget was 834.13 million Australian dollars.
Six schools teach higher education: Business, Law and Entrepreneurship; Design and Architecture; Engineering; Health Sciences; Science, Computing and Engineering Technologies; and Social Sciences, Media, Film and Education. The mix of vocational and degree courses on the same campuses gives students a path from trades and diplomas to degrees.
Alumni include the filmmakers Gillian Armstrong, Andrew Dominik, Mark Hartley, John Hillcoat, Richard Lowenstein and Sarah Watt, the cartoonist Michael Leunig, the footballer Steph Catley and the activist Vickie Roach. The dramatist David Williamson lectured in engineering and psychology at the university. Fees differ for domestic and international students. Check the current tariff. Teaching is in English.
Vocational students numbered 20,180 in 2023, about 31 percent of the total, alongside roughly 29,000 equivalent full-time students in higher education. The film and design schools show in the alumni list, where directors such as Gillian Armstrong and John Hillcoat stand next to sportspeople and activists.
Domains taught:
Astroscience, Data Analytics, Engineering, Industrial Design, Life Sciences, Physics, Robotics, Software Engineering
Diplomas*:
Bachelor, Diploma, Doctor, Graduate Certificate, Graduate Diploma, Master, MBA
Status:
Public
Partnerships:
Swinburne Sarawak in Kuching, the National Institute of Circus Arts, and vocational campuses at Wantirna and Croydon.
Research:
Engineering, design and architecture, computing, health sciences, business and law, social sciences, media and film.
Famous Alumnis:
Gillian Armstrong, Andrew Dominik, John Hillcoat, Richard Lowenstein, Michael Leunig, Steph Catley
International recognition**:
Number of staff***:
2720
Current students***:
65979
Foreign students***:
N/A%
Cumulative former students***:
N/A
Pros
Technology and design focus, industry links, integrated vocational and university teaching, campus in Malaysia, strong film and design alumni.
Cons
Smaller than the large Group of Eight universities, vocational and higher education mixed on some campuses, Melbourne living costs.
Best For
Students who want a technology and design university in Melbourne with both degrees and vocational courses.
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Most Similar Schools Locally
Think of RMIT University when industrial design, data analytics and software engineering is the priority: it is also a public institution, and does not run the diploma, graduate certificate and graduate diploma programmes found here.
Monash University works in much the same fields, chiefly industrial design, physics and life sciences, and it is slightly larger, at about 86,600 students against roughly 65,979 here, and is also a public institution.
On content, University of Technology Sydney and this university are close, as both teach industrial design, life sciences and data analytics; it covers finance and civil engineering as well, and is slightly smaller, at about 51,038 students against roughly 65,979 here.
Queensland University of Technology takes a similar route through industrial design, robotics and life sciences, and it is slightly smaller, at about 52,073 students against roughly 65,979 here, and is also a public institution.
University of Melbourne takes a similar route through physics, life sciences and data analytics, and it covers agriculture and microbiology and genetics as well, and has almost the same size, at about 58,100 students.
Most Similar Schools Abroad
University of Auckland in New Zealand pursues a similar profile in physics, life sciences and data analytics, and it is also a public institution and does not run the diploma programmes found here.
University of Granada, in Spain, takes a similar route through astroscience, physics and life sciences; it is also a public institution, and does not run the diploma, graduate certificate, graduate diploma and mba programmes found here.
Looking internationally, University of Central Florida in the United States is where life sciences, data analytics and software engineering get a comparable treatment; it does not run the diploma, graduate certificate and graduate diploma programmes found here, and covers simulation and finance as well.
University of Toronto brings a Canada setting to the same core fields, physics, life sciences and data analytics, and it is also a public institution and also offers certificate programmes.
Hong Kong Polytechnic University offers an international parallel to this university, with industrial design, life sciences and data analytics as common ground; it is also a public institution, and does not run the diploma, graduate certificate and graduate diploma programmes found here.
*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 Swinburne University of Technology?
The main campus is at Hawthorn in Melbourne, Victoria.
When was it founded?
In 1908, as the Eastern Suburbs Technical College.
Who is it named after?
George and Ethel Swinburne, its co-founders.
When did it become a university?
On 1 July 1992.
How many students does it have?
65,979 in 2023, including 20,180 in vocational education and training.
Which campuses does it have?
Hawthorn, Wantirna, Croydon, Kuching in Sarawak and a site in Parramatta.
How many schools teach higher education?
Six, from Business, Law and Entrepreneurship to Social Sciences, Media, Film and Education.
What is NICA?
The National Institute of Circus Arts, which opened in 1999.
Which filmmakers studied there?
Gillian Armstrong, Andrew Dominik and John Hillcoat, among others.
What does it cost?
Fees differ for domestic and international students. Check the current tariff.
Astrophysics, Design Thinking, Engineering, Innovation, Research and 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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