The University of Adelaide is the third-oldest university in Australia. It was ranked number 81 among the world’s top 100 universities by The Times Higher Education Supplement in 2009 and in the top 25 universities in the Asia-Pacific region by the Shanghai Jiao Tong University Rankings in 2006. Adelaide is associated with five Nobel Prize winners and 102 Rhodes Scholars, and is a member of the Group of Eight, Australia’s leading research-intensive universities consortium.

With 20,000 students (5,500 of whom are international, from 94 countries) and over 2,800 staff, the University is small enough to provide personal interaction with teaching staff, yet big enough to offer a broad range of courses and student support services. It has one of the best student‑to-staff ratios in Australia and has received many teaching awards.

It is one of Australia’s strongest research universities, attracting one of the highest levels of per capita research funding. Its major research strengths are in wine and food sciences, biological and physical sciences, environmental science, IT and telecommunications, health sciences, and social sciences. It is involved with 13 National Research Centres, 13 Cooperative Research Centres, and is home to 61 specialty research centres, clusters and units.  Adelaide recently established six world-leading research institutes in reproductive health and stem cell research; environmental science and management; mineral and energy resources; plant and animal science; cancer research; and photonics and advanced sensing.

Adelaide alumni hold positions of influence in Australia and overseas. The University educated Australia’s first astronaut, youngest-ever Federal politician, Singapore’s first directly-elected President, and the youngest-ever recipient of a Nobel Prize. Its graduates undertake groundbreaking work in many scientific fields, and are leaders in business, industry and the arts.

FIELDS OF STUDY

There are over 120 undergraduate and some 200 postgraduate degree programmes available at Adelaide. Fields of study include: agricultural sciences; architecture; business and management; computer science; dentistry; economics; engineering; environmental management and science; food science; humanities and social sciences; information technology; law; mathematics; media studies; medicine; music; sciences; wine business and wine science. Adelaide’s PhD programme encompasses all of these fields.

CAMPUSES AND FACILITIES

The libraries hold over 2.2 million items; 63,000 electronic journals are accessible; another 500,000 items are owned jointly with the other South Australian universities. The North Terrace campus is in Adelaide’s CBD, with parklands and Lake Torrens on its northern side. The University makes the most of its proximity to other cultural and educational facilities and has strong relationships with the Art Gallery of South Australia, the South Australian Museum, and the Royal Adelaide Hospital.

The University has two further campuses dedicated to the study of agricultural and natural resource sciences. The Roseworthy campus, on 1,600 hectares of farmland north of Adelaide, is a centre of excellence in dryland agriculture and animal production and is home to the new School of Veterinary Sciences. The Waite campus is the largest agricultural research complex in the southern hemisphere, just seven kilometres from the CBD. A fourth campus, the Thebarton campus, is the University’s research park, home to commercial and research groups, the highest concentration of biotechnology enterprises in Australia and over 20 University spin-off companies.

 

STUDENT LIFE & SUPPORT SERVICES

Students can access a wide range of services and facilities on campus including catering outlets, a student bar, a fitness centre, and a range of sporting and special interest clubs. There are also services in health, counselling, finance, education and welfare representation and support, childcare, and language and study skills. All full degree students have the chance to take an exchange programme at one of Adelaide’s international partner institutions.

The University offers a range of accommodation options, including apartment-style living at the Village in the CBD. Residential college, share house, hostel and private rental accommodation are also available, and the Accommodation Service provides advice and help with all types of accommodation.

Adelaide is a friendly, safe state capital with a population of around 1.2 million people, a relaxed lifestyle and a cost of living that is significantly lower than that of bigger Australian cities.