Murdoch University

Murdoch University
Established	1975
Type	Public
Chancellor	Terry Budge
Vice-Chancellor	Professor Richard Higgott
Academic staff	1,400
Undergraduates	16,000
Postgraduates	2,500
Location	Perth, Western Australia, Australia
Campus	Urban
Organisations	Member of IRU Australia
Website	Murdoch University Murdoch-China site

Murdoch University is a public university based in Perth, Australia. It began operations as the state's second university in 1973, and accepted its first students in 1975. Its name is taken from Sir Walter Murdoch (1874–1970), the Founding Professor of English and former Chancellor of The University of Western Australia.

Strengths and affiliations

Murdoch University is a research intensive institution and a member of Innovative Research Universities Australia (IRU Australia).

According to The Australian newspaper ("What makes a good school of journalism"), Graduate Careers Council of Australia found its Journalism School is one of Australia's top five.^[1]

Murdoch University is the founder of the ACICIS (Australian Consortium for 'In-Country' Indonesian Studies) Study Indonesia program, a non-profit consortium of Australian universities that was established in 1994 to coordinate semester-long study programs at partner universities in Yogyakarta and Malang in Indonesia, for Australian university students.^[2]

Chancellery Building

Student demographics

Murdoch University is home to over 18,500 students including 3,000 international students from over 100 different countries.^[3]

Murdoch University partners with other educational institutions, such as KDU University College in Malaysia, to provide university degrees to off-shore students.

Murdoch University has an international offshore campus in Singapore. It is known as Murdoch University International Study Centre Singapore.

In November 2008 H.E. Sheikh Nahayan Bin Murbarak Al Nahayan (Minister of Higher Education and Research) opened the Murdoch International Study Centre in Dubai, United Arab Emirates.^[4]

Faculties and schools

There are four faculties and fourteen schools at Murdoch University:^[5]

• Faculty of Arts, Education and Creative Media
  • School of Education
  • School of Social Sciences and Humanities
  • School of Media Communication and Culture
• Faculty of Health Sciences
  • School of Chiropractic and Sports Science
  • School of Nursing and Midwifery
  • School of Psychology
  • School of Veterinary and Biomedical Sciences
• Faculty of Law, Business and Information Technology
  • Murdoch Business School
  • School of Law
  • School of Information Technology
• Faculty of Science and Engineering
  • School of Biological Sciences and Biotechnology
  • School of Chemical and Mathematical Sciences
  • School of Engineering and Energy
  • School of Environmental Science

Research

• Excellence in Research for Australia 2010

Of the areas of research carried out at Murdoch that were assessed for the Excellence in Research for Australia exercise in 2010, five were rated 5, defined as 'well above world standard': Physical Chemistry (including Structural); Crop and Pasture Production; Resources Engineering and Extractive Metallurgy; Immunology; Medical Microbiology.

A further five areas were rated 4, or 'above world standard': Zoology; Animal Production; Fisheries Science; Clinical Sciences; Communication and Media Studies.

• Asia Research Centre

The Asian Research Centre, founded in 1991, produces multi-disciplinary research in politics, political economy, modes of governance, social change and policy making. Its distinctive contribution to the research debate is based on the proposition that these factors have their roots in broader processes of conflict and change in society that are connected to the advance of market economies. ^[6]

The Centre encompasses researchers from across Murdoch University. It also regularly engages in collaboration with researchers from other universities around the world.^[6]

The Director of Asia Research Centre is Associate Professor Caroline Hughes, Associate Professor of Governance Studies in the School of Social Sciences and Humanities.^[7]

Campuses

Murdoch University has three Australian campuses: South Street, Rockingham Campus, and Peel Campus.

South Street

The main campus is on South Street, Perth, in the suburb of Murdoch, near the Kwinana Freeway (32°03′59″S 115°50′06″E / 32.066520°S 115.835080°E / -32.066520; 115.835080 (Murdoch University, South Street campus)). South Street campus is Australia's geographically largest campus at 2.27 square kilometres (0.88 sq mi), large enough to accommodate the veterinary school and its animal stocks—the only such school in Western Australia. Most of the southern part of the university consists of paddocks of livestock, farms and renewable energy facilities.

The original group of buildings surround an open court, known as "Bush Court", in the northern part of Murdoch campus, which rises to the highest altitude on campus. Features of the campus include the Chinese garden and the Joglo Rahayu (Peace Pavilion), a semi-enclosed pavilion near the Education and Humanities building. A monument to the ongoing association between Murdoch University and Indonesian academic institutions in Java, it acts as storage for the only gamelan orchestra in Western Australia.^{[citation needed]}

Rockingham Campus

The Rockingham Campus is located 38 kilometres (24 mi) south of central Perth in the suburb of Rockingham (32°16′41″S 115°45′03″E / 32.277917°S 115.750945°E / -32.277917; 115.750945 (Murdoch University, Rockingham campus)). Opened in 1996, it is co-located with Rockingham Challenger Institute of Technology campus, and features an arts and commerce building.

Rockingham Regional Campus Community Library

Rockingham Regional Campus Community Library, located at the Rockingham Campus, is a joint venture between the university, the City of Rockingham and Challenger Institute of Technology. Members of all of these groups have free access to library membership.

Membership entitles all patrons to access to Challenger Institute of Technology, university and public library resources at Rockingham.^[8]

Peel Campus

The Peel Campus is located 64 kilometres (40 mi) south of central Perth in the suburb of Greenfields, near the regional centre of Mandurah (32°31′03″S 115°45′21″E / 32.517380°S 115.755934°E / -32.517380; 115.755934 (Murdoch University, Mandurah campus)). Opened in 2004, it is the home of the School of Nursing and Midwifery. Murdoch University shares the campus with Challenger Institute and Mandurah Senior College.

International Study Centres

Murdoch University International Study Centre Dubai

The International Study Centre in Dubai is a Branch Campus of Murdoch University in Perth, Western Australia.

The campus was established in 2008 in Dubai International Academic City to cater for the expanding Dubai Media and Financial sectors, and support Dubai’s ambitions in providing an ongoing reserve of regional graduates connected to the demands of the region’s booming industries.

In his inaugural speech, H.E. Sheikh Nahayan Bin Mubarak Al Nahayan, Minister of Higher Education and Scientific Research, stressed the importance of opening new world class universities in the UAE to support the country’s efforts to drive higher education in the region to world class standards.

The Study Centre features courses in the areas of media and mass communication and provides access state of the art TV and radio studios, newsrooms, editing suites, digital postproduction facilities.

Murdoch University International Study Centre Singapore

The Murdoch University International Study Centre (MUISC) in Singapore was officially opened in June 2008 by Australian High Commissioner Mr Miles Kupa.

Headed by a Murdoch Academic Dean, the Centre is a partnership with the Singapore Manufacturer’s Federation Institute of Higher Learning and has more than 1,000 undergraduate and postgraduate students studying media, information technology and business courses.

MUISC Singapore is located at the SMa Institute of Higher Learning City Campus at North Bridge Road, and is conveniently situated opposite the Singapore National Library. It spans six floors of prime city space, and includes classrooms, computer laboratories, a library and a newsroom for journalism students.

Murdoch Guild

Murdoch Guild is the peak student representative body at Murdoch University. As such, it represents the interests of students to the University, all levels of government and the wider community, as well as providing services to students.

As well as handling student representation and assistance with education and welfare issues, the Guild runs two food outlets on campus, runs the tavern, sports and recreation centre and the second-hand bookshop. The guild partially finances many of the student associations on campus and run specific guild events of their own. The Guild also publishes Metior, the campus magazine.

The Guild is the recognised channel of communication between the student body and the University Administration and has representatives on a vast array of the University's committees where the interests of students are involved.

The Guild is governed by a Council of eighteen students elected for one-year terms at the annual elections. Student representatives are elected to their positions by students in annual elections held in September. Both independent and party candidates run in the elections, with a historical bias leaning towards grouped members. In 2011 the Guild President is Brodie Lewis; the Education Vice President is Rebecca Leighton.^[9]

The Guild is affiliated with the National Union of Students.

Subsidiary Bodies

Rockingham Students' Association (RSA)

Formed officially in 1998 as the Rockingham Student Council, the Rockingham Students' Association is the official Guild body representing students at the Rockingham Campus.

Mandurah Students' Association (MSA)

Formed officially in 2008, the Mandurah Students' Association is the official Guild body representing students at the Mandurah Campus.

Feeder institutions

Murdoch Institute of Technology

The Murdoch Institute of Technology (MIT) was established by the university and the Alexander Education Group. It is a feeder college catering for students wishing to complete diploma level courses. Future plans involve building dedicated facilities on the tennis courts north of the SSHE building, which currently houses the School of Education's teaching caravans and some satellite dishes.

Murdoch College

Main article: Murdoch College

On the north east corner of the South Street campus, Murdoch College was established by the university and the Alexander Education Group in 2000 to cater for secondary students in a university environment and to enrich their academic, social and personal potential. It is one of few secondary schools on a university campus in Australia. It offers a complement of Year 7–12 subjects across the 8 learning areas. Many students from China, Hong Kong, Singapore, Japan and Korea enrol at Murdoch College and enhance its multicultural ethos. The college manages to achieve decent matriculation scores as they engage in a practice common to most private colleges where non-academic students are discouraged from taking end of year exams.

Transport

Public transport

Murdoch campus is approximately 800 metres from Murdoch Train Station, and is linked by bus services. The CircleRoute bus service travels from the campus to Fremantle and other suburban centres.

Rockingham campus is linked by bus services to Rockingham Train Station, approximately 1500 metres away.

Mandurah campus is linked by bus services to Mandurah Train Station about 3 km away on the route from the station to the suburb of Lakelands

Notable faculty and alumni

• Reg Bolton
• Jeremy Callaghan – actor
• Alan Eggleston – Australian politician
• Vivienne Elanta
• Brian Greig – Australian politician
• Frederic Jevons
• Michael Keenan
• Bill Loader – Professor of New Testament
• Toby Miller – cultural and media studies scholar
• Margaret Quirk – Australian politician
• John Turner – Australian politician
• Kon Vatskalis
• McKenzie Wark – writer and academic
• Giz Watson Australian politician
• Grant Woodhams – Australian politician
• Basil Zempilas – newsreader
• Adam Bandt – Australian Politician
• Edmund Yeo – Malaysian filmmaker

References

1. ^ Jackson, Sally (2006-09-21). "Stock Quotes". The Australian. http://www.theaustralian.news.com.au/story/0,20867,20447561-7582,00.html. 
2. ^ "ACICIS – Study Indonesia". http://www.acicis.murdoch.edu.au/. Retrieved 2007-04-05. 
3. ^ http://asiancorrespondent.com/ac/murdoch-university-campus-guide.htm
4. ^ http://www.murdoch.edu.au/Future-students/International-students/Choosing-Murdoch/History-of-Murdoch/
5. ^ "Schools at Murdoch University". http://www.murdoch.edu.au/faculties/. Retrieved 2008-05-25. 
6. ^ ^{a b} http://wwwarc.murdoch.edu.au/about.html
7. ^ http://wwwarc.murdoch.edu.au/researchers/staff/hughes.html
8. ^ "ABOUT ROCKINGHAM REGIONAL CAMPUS COMMUNITY LIBRARY". http://www.rocklibrary.murdoch.edu.au/about.html. Retrieved 2007-05-12. 
9. ^ Murdoch Guild. Retrieved 15 June 2011.

External links

• University Site:
  • Murdoch University
    • *International Study Centres
  • Murdoch University International Study Centre Dubai.
  • SMa Institute of Higher Learning International Study Center
• Student Associations:
  • Murdoch University Guild of Students
  • Murdoch University Postgraduate Student Association
  • Murdoch Student Law Society
• Other sites:
  • Alexander Education Group
  • Excellence in Research for Australia
  • Murdoch College
  • Murdoch Institute of Technology
  • Asia Research Centre
  • Kwinana Industries Council (KIC)