Universities

Brisbane Universities

Brisbane universities are a mix of private and publicly funded schools that take students from around the world.

Since higher education is a major employer and industry across Australia it stands to reason that there would be numerous Brisbane universities in and around the city. Most of the universities have a high quota of international students and many of them also have numerous campuses in overseas locations. In 1988 a National Unified system for Tertiary Education was introduced and many colleges and more specialized schools became part of various universities, increasing numbers of students and campuses over night.

Here are the principal universities, in no particular order.

Queensland University of Technology

QUT was one of the first Brisbane universities; it started out as the Brisbane School of Arts in 1849, which had a large emphasis on teacher training. The tradition of education continues to day with Bachelor of Education being one of its most successful programs. OVer the years 12 other institutions merged to form what is now QUT in 1965. The emphasis of the school is still based on some of its former technical schools with practical education and job training being highlights of the university.It has 4 campuses which have 40 000 students across them. Two of the campuses are in downtown Brisbane while the other two serve the outer suburbs and the sunshine coast.

University of Queensland’s beautiful St. Lucia campus

Griffith University

One of the newer Brisbane universities it was founded in 1971 to help better serve the Gold Coast area of the state. It also has a reputation of leading the way in environmental sciences and international relations. Since beginning with just 451 students and one campus, the university now has five campuses between Brisbane and the Gold Coast and over 37,000 students.

Australian Catholic University

Following the unifying of tertiary schools across the country the new Australian Catholic University was formed by merging colleges in the major cities in eastern Australia. The schools each had origins in Catholic schools which were designed to help provide training to people looking for employment within Catholic schools and hospitals. From those beginnings the Australian Catholic Universities have expanded to include the full range of tertiary programs while still incorporating the values of the original colleges.

Bond University

Another university which started on the Gold Coast, to serve the ever growing population there, was Bond University. In 1989 it started with 322 students as Australia’s first private, non-profit, university and has grown into a leading provider of in-demand programs.

Central Queensland University

First established in 1967 to serve the students in rural and remote regions of the outback CQ has grown to be an international university with campuses as far away as singapore and Fiji and as close as Brisbane. Because of the remote nature of many of its first students CQ has continued the tradition of providing high quality distance education, introducing video lectures as early as 1987. The university now has international students from over 100 countries and continues to expand across the central region of Queensland.

James Cook University

Not one of the Brisbane universities but included here for completeness. JCU began in 1970 in Townsville to serve the tropical northern regions of Queensland. The university is dedicated to research in topics that affect the tropical region including global warming, ecosystems, and agriculture. The university has since expanded to seven campuses and over 20 specialist research stations.

University of Southern Queensland

USQ is another university that has risen from the amalgamation of various colleges and smaller universities. The main campus is now situated on the Sunshine Coast however it also has two other campuses and is one of the main providers of distance education. Over 75% of its students studying off-campus and because of this USQ has allowed more people access to tertiary education. A large percentage of its student population is made up of mature students, people from remote areas, and those from socio-ecomonically disadvantaged backgrounds.

Brisbane Pictures