History and Campus
- UWA was established in 1911 by an act of the Parliament of Western Australia.
- The university's original campus was located on Irwin Street in Perth until 1932.
- The founding chancellor, Sir John Winthrop Hackett, bequeathed a large sum of money to the university.
- In the 1930s, the Irwin Street Building was transported to the new campus in Crawley.
- Architect Rodney Alsop won a medal for designing Winthrop Hall.
- UWA is one of the largest landowners in Perth.
- Recent developments include the University Club, UWA Watersports Complex, and Molecular and Chemical Sciences building.
- The Crawley campus is located on the Swan River and features coastal limestone and Donnybrook sandstone buildings.
- The Arts Faculty building houses the New Fortune Theatre.
- The cultural precinct of the university includes various performance venues.
Arts and Cultural Facilities
- The Crawley campus features the iconic Winthrop Hall with Romanesque Revival architecture.
- The New Fortune Theatre is an open-air venue used for Shakespearean performances.
- The cultural precinct of the university is located in the northern part of the campus.
- Other performance venues include the Octagon and Dolphin Theatres, Somerville Auditorium, and Sunken Garden.
- The UWA Conservatorium of Music hosts numerous concerts each year.
Sporting Affiliations
- UWA is a member of the Elite Athlete University Network (EAUN).
- The university participates in UniSport Nationals and the Western Series.
- UWA is affiliated with the Australian Institute of Sport (AIS).
- The university is part of the University Basketball League (UBL).
- The mascot of UWA is Laurence the Peacock.
Rankings and Notable Alumni
- UWA is ranked among the top 100 universities in the world.
- The university is a member of the Group of Eight and the Matariki Network of Universities.
- Notable UWA graduates include former Australian Prime Minister Bob Hawke and Nobel Prize winners Barry Marshall and Robin Warren.
- Alumnus Akshay Venkatesh received the Fields Medal in 2018.
- UWA has produced 106 Rhodes Scholars as of 2021.
Residential Colleges and Offsite Locations
- Residential colleges include University Hall (formerly Currie Hall), St Georges College, St Catherines College, Trinity Residential College, and St Thomas More College.
- Short stays for non-student visitors are available at St Catherines College.
- The colleges border each other and run along the main campus.
- Inter-college events are held throughout the year.
- Offsite locations include UWA Centre Albany, UWA Claremont, and strategic partnerships with institutions in Malaysia and Singapore.
- UWA Albany offers postgraduate coursework and research programs.
- UWA Claremont is approximately 5km west of the main campus.
- The UWA Rural Clinical School provides rural placements for medical students.
The University of Western Australia (UWA) is a public research university in the Australian state of Western Australia. The university's main campus is in Perth, the state capital. UWA was established in 1911 by an act of the Parliament of Western Australia.
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Latin: Universitas Australia Occidentalis | |||||||||
Motto | Seek wisdom (English) | ||||||||
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Type | Public research university | ||||||||
Established | February 1911 | ||||||||
Accreditation | TEQSA | ||||||||
Academic affiliations | |||||||||
Chancellor | Robert French AC | ||||||||
Vice-Chancellor | Prof Amit Chakma | ||||||||
Academic staff | 1372 (2022) | ||||||||
Administrative staff | 1777 (2022) | ||||||||
Total staff | 3,149 (2022) | ||||||||
Students | 28,071 (2022) | ||||||||
Undergraduates | 17,901 (2022) | ||||||||
Postgraduates | 8,223 (2022) | ||||||||
1,947 (2022) | |||||||||
Address | 35 Stirling Highway , , , 6009 , 31°58′49″S 115°49′07″E / 31.9803°S 115.8186°E | ||||||||
Campus | Suburban, 300 hectares (3.0 km2) | ||||||||
Colours | UWA Blue and UWA Gold
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Nickname | UWA Blues | ||||||||
Sporting affiliations | Elite Athlete University Network (EAUN) UniSport Nationals Western Series Australian Institute of Sport (AIS) University Basketball League (UBL) | ||||||||
Mascot | Laurence the Peacock | ||||||||
Website | uwa.edu.au | ||||||||
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UWA is the oldest university in Western Australia (WA) and the sixth-oldest in Australia. UWA is classed as one of the "sandstone universities", an informal designation given to the oldest university in each state.
UWA is a member of the Group of Eight, which consists of the eight most research-intensive and best-ranked Australian universities. UWA is also a member of the international Matariki Network of Universities.
UWA is ranked in the world's top 100 universities, according to several highly respected publications. Another defining characteristic of UWA is that it has retained its Convocation as an integral part of its governance structure. All graduates of UWA are automatically lifelong members of the university through Convocation, which grants them the right to attend the Annual General Meetings, elect two members of the UWA Senate, and review any changes to University legislation.
UWA graduates include Prime Minister of Australia Bob Hawke, five justices of the High Court of Australia (including Chief Justice Robert French, now Chancellor), Governor of the Reserve Bank H. C. Coombs, various federal cabinet ministers, and seven of Western Australia's eight most recent premiers. In 2018 alumnus Akshay Venkatesh received the Fields Medal. As of 2021, the university had produced 106 Rhodes Scholars. Two members of the UWA faculty, Barry Marshall and Robin Warren, won Nobel Prizes as a result of research at the university.