Macquarie University: Australia’s Innovative University

Macquarie University was established in 1964, with an aim to forge a bold new direction for Australian higher education: to explore new possibilities in teaching methods, research and technology to prepare students for success in a rapidly changing world. Now, over 40 years later, Macquarie is a thriving community of over 30,000 students—including 8,000 international students.

Macquarie is located on 135 hectares of parkland, 30 minutes drive north-west of Sydney Harbour. The modern, well-equipped campus is home to an acclaimed sculpture park, several museums, two hotels and a golf driving range, and is adjacent to a large shopping centre and transport hub. Quality student accommodation is available both on- and off-campus.

Pioneering

World-leading research is undertaken daily by Macquarie’s faculty and students, and many discoveries are quickly applied to meet the needs of industry, society and the environment. The campus is home to the world’s first proteomics research facility, a NASA-affiliated Centre for Astrobiology and over 25 other research centres and institutes, facilitating groundbreaking work in lasers, biology, wireless communications, physics, mathematics, geology and ancient history.

Connected

The university is consistently ranked in the top ten Australian Universities for Australian Research Council Discovery Grants awarded to its staff, Federation Fellowships and major national research centres established on-campus.

Macquarie has succeeded in becoming a truly borderless university. In addition to having a high proportion of international students (almost 30% in 2006),relationships have been established with over 250 institutions in 60 countries worldwide, and students who choose to travel are supported by generoustravel grants. Macquarie has the largest scholarship program of its kind in Australia. Furthermore, offshore programs in China, Japan, Hong Kong, Korea, Singapore and France offer courses in business administration, finance, translation and interpreting, and management, with more courses in development.

Closer to home, the university is also part of Australia’s premier high-technology precinct and is surrounded by the local headquarters of numerous multinational corporations. Senior executives from companies such as Nortel Networks are members of Macquarie’s teaching staff and students also have the opportunity to undertake internships with these companies.

Proven

Ranked in the top 100 universities in the world (The Times’ Higher Education Supplement, 2006), Macquarie is distinguished by the range and quality of its course offerings. The University offers world-class courses in areas such as biotechnology, linguistics, psychology and commerce. The university’s Master of Applied Finance program, for example, is the world’s largest, and the Master of Business Administration program has been ranked as one of the finest in the Asia-Pacific region.

Macquarie’s courses are delivered by academic staff considered to be among the best in Australia, 65 per cent of whom hold doctoral qualifications. The University was awarded five stars in the Staff Qualifications category in The Good Universities Guide 2006.

With the high calibre of its courses and teaching staff, it is not surprising that Macquarie’s graduates are highly sought after: their starting salaries have been the highest in Australia for ten consecutive years, as ranked by The Good Universities Guide (1998-2007).

Looking Ahead

Each new year sees several exciting developments at Macquarie. For example, for the first time in 2007 Macquarie City College will offer students the opportunity to get a Macquarie University degree while studying at this state-of-the-art education precinct, in the heart of Sydney city. The Macquarie Institute for Innovation has begun equipping students with specialist entrepreneurial knowledge to confidently launch business ventures of their own or manage new ventures for established organisations. The Institute offers complete academic programs as well as individual units that, in accordance with the University’s flexible approach to course structures, will be available to students enrolled in other courses.

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