Monash
University is a university based in Melbourne, Australia. It
was founded in 1958 and is the second oldest university in the State of
Victoria. Monash is a member of Australia's Group of Eight and the
ASAIHL, and is the only Australian member of the influential M8 Alliance
of Academic Health Centers, Universities and National Academies. Monash
is one of two Australian universities to be ranked in the The École des
Mines de Paris (Mines ParisTech) ranking on the basis of the number of
alumni listed among CEOs in the 500 largest worldwide companies. Monash
is in the Top 20% in teaching, Top 10% in international outlook, Top 20%
in industry income and Top 10% in research in the world in 2016. Monash
enrolls approximately 45,000 undergraduate and 17,000 graduate
students, making it the university with the largest student body in
Australia. It also has more applicants than any university in the state
of Victoria.
Monash
is home to major research facilities, including the Australian
Synchrotron, the Monash Science Technology Research and Innovation
Precinct (STRIP), the Australian Stem Cell Center, 100 research centres
and 17 co-operative research centers. In 2011, its total revenue was
over $1.5 billion, with external research income around $282 million.
The
university has a number of centers, five of which are in Victoria
(Clayton, Caulfield, Berwick, Peninsula, and Parkville), one in
Malaysia. Monash also has a research and teaching centre in Prato,
Italy, a graduate research school in Mumbai, India and a graduate school
in Jiangsu Province, China. Since December 2011, Monash has had a
global alliance with the University of Warwick in the United Kingdom.
Monash University courses are also delivered at other locations,
including at Monash South Africa.
History:
Monash
was established by an Act of the State Parliament of Victoria in 1958
as a result of the Murray Report, which was commissioned in 1957 by then
Prime Minister Robert Menzies to establish the second university in the
state of Victoria. The university was named after the prominent
Australian general Sir John Monash. This was the first university in
Australia to be named after a person, rather than a city, region or
state.
One of the lakes at the University's main campus, Clayton
The
original campus was in the south-eastern Melbourne suburb of Clayton
(in what is now the City of Monash). The first University Council, led
by Monash's first Chancellor Sir Robert Blackwood, selected Sir Louis
Matheson, to be the first Vice-Chancellor of Monash University, a
position he held until 1976. The University was granted an expansive
site of 100 hectares of open land in Clayton.The 100 hectares of land
consists of the former Talbot Epileptic Colony.
From
its first intake of 357 students at Clayton on 13 March 1961, the
university grew rapidly in size and student numbers so that by 1967, it
had enrolled more than 21,000 students since its establishment. In its
early years, it offered undergraduate and postgraduate degrees in
engineering, medicine, science, arts, economics, politics, education,
and law. It was a major provider for international student places under
the Colombo Plan, which saw the first Asian students enter the
Australian education system.
In
its early years of teaching, research and administration, Monash was
not disadvantaged by entrenched traditional practices. Monash was able
to adopt modern approaches without resistance from those who preferred
the status quo. A modern administrative structure was set up;
Australia's first research centres and scholarships devoted to
Indigenous Australians were established.
1970s
onwards From the mid-1960s to the early 1970s, Monash became the center
of student radicalism in Australia. It was the site of many mass
student demonstrations, particularly concerning Australia's role in
Vietnam War and conscription. By the late 1960s, several student
organisations, some of which were influenced by or supporters of
communism, turned their focus to Vietnam, with numerous blockades and
sit-ins In one extraordinary event that came to be known as the Monash
Siege, students forced then Prime Minister Malcolm Fraser to hide in a
basement at the Alexander Theatre, in a major protest over the Whitlam
dismissal.
In
the late 1970s and 1980s, some of Monash's most publicised research
came through its pioneering of in-vitro fertilization (IVF). Led by
Professors Carl Wood and Alan Trounson, the Monash IVF Program achieved
the world's first clinical IVF pregnancy in 1973. In 1980, they
delivered the first IVF baby in Australia. This eventually became a
massive source of revenue for the University at a time when university
funding in Australia was beginning to slow down.
In
the late 1980s, the Dawkins Reforms changed the landscape of higher
education in Australia. Under the leadership of Vice-Chancellor Mal
Logan, Monash transformed dramatically. In 1988, Monash University had
only one campus in Clayton, with around 15,000 students. Just over a
decade later, it had 8 campuses (including 2 overseas), a European
research and teaching center, and more than 50,000 students, making it
the largest and most internationalized Australian university.
Expansion in the 1990s:
Expansion
of the University began in 1990 with a series of mergers between
Monash, the Chisholm Institute of Technology, and the Gippsland
Institute of Advanced Education. In 1991 a merger with the Victorian
College of Pharmacy created a new faculty of the University. This
continued in 1994, with the establishment of the Berwick campus.
In
1998, the University opened the Malaysia campus, its first overseas
campus and the first foreign university in Malaysia. In 2001, Monash
South Africa opened its doors in Johannesburg, making Monash the first
foreign university in South Africa. The same year, the University
secured an 18th Century Tuscan Palace to open a research and teaching
center in Prato, Italy.
At
the same time, Australian universities faced unprecedented demand for
international student places, which Monash met on a larger scale than
most. Today, around 30% of its students are from outside Australia.
Monash students come from over 100 different countries, and speak over
90 different languages. The increase in international students, combined
with the University's expansion, meant that Monash's income greatly
increased throughout the 1990s, and it is now one of Australia's top 200
exporters.
2000 inwards:
In
recent years, the University has been prominent in medical research. A
highlight of this came in 2000, when Professor Alan Trounson led the
team of scientists which announced to the world that nerve stem cells
could be derived from embryonic stem cells, a discovery which led to a
dramatic increase in interest in the potential of stem cells. It has
also led to Monash being ranked in the top 20 universities in the world
for bio medicine.
On 21 October 2002 Huan Yun "Allen" Xiang, shot two people dead and injured five others on the Clayton campus.
The
former Vice-Chancellor and President of Monash University was Professor
Edward Byrne AC (from 6 July 2009 to September 2014).[36] The
Vice-Chancellor and President of Monash University is Professor Margaret
Gardner. Gardner was named as the next Vice-Chancellor and President of
Monash University in December 2013. She is the first woman to hold the
position and commenced in September 2014.
Campuses: Australia Clayton campus:
The
Clayton campus covers an area over 1.1 km² and is the largest of the
Monash campuses. Clayton is the flagship campus for Monash, demanding
higher ATAR (Australian Tertiary Admission Rank) scores than all the
other campuses, with the exception of Parkville. Clayton is home to the
faculties of Arts, Business & Economics, Education, Engineering, IT,
Law, Medicine, Nursing and Health Sciences and Science. The Clayton
campus has its own suburb and postcode (3800).
Various
major scientific research facilities are located on or adjacent to the
campus. Chief among these are the Australian Synchrotron and CSIRO. The
campus is also home to numerous restaurants and retail outlets, as well
as student bars Sir John's (located in the Campus Center) and the
Notting Hill Hotel (founded in 1891), both of which are hubs of social
life on the campus.
The
campus is also home to a number of halls of residence, colleges and
other on-campus accommodation that house several thousand students. Six
halls of residence are located at the Clayton campus in Clayton,
Victoria. There is an additional private residential college affiliated
with the University.
Australia Caulfield campus:
The
Caulfield campus is Monash University's second largest. Its
multifaceted nature is reflected in the range of programs it offers
through the faculties of Arts, Art Design & Architecture (MADA),
Business & Economics, Information Technology and Medicine, Nursing
and Health Sciences. A major building program has been announced, to
expand teaching facilities, provide student accommodation and redevelop
the shopping center.
Malaysia Malaysia campus:
The
Monash University Malaysia campus opened in 1998 in Bandar Sunway,
Selangor, Malaysia. The Sunway campus offers various undergraduate
degrees through its faculties of Medicine and Health Sciences,
Engineering, Information Technology, Business, and Arts and Sciences. It
is currently home to almost 4,000 students. The new purpose-built
campus opened in 2007, providing a high-tech home for Monash in
Malaysia. In addition to a wide range of undergraduate degrees, the
campus also offers both postgraduate Masters and PhD programs. Its
degrees in Medicine and Surgery are the first medical degrees outside
Australia and New Zealand to be accredited by the Australian Medical
Council.
Australia The Alfred campus:
Located
in The Alfred Hospital, Monash University's Alfred campus houses the
Central Clinical School and the School of Public Health and Preventive
Medicine, which contains the Department of Epidemiology and Preventive
Medicine and the Department of Forensic Medicine.
Australia Parkville campus:
The
Parkville campus is situated in the Melbourne suburb of Parkville,
around 2 km north of the Melbourne CBD on Royal Parade. The campus is
the home of the Faculty of Pharmacy and Pharmaceutical Sciences. The
faculty specialists in the areas of formulation science and medicinal
chemistry and offers the Bachelor of Pharmacy and Bachelor of
Pharmaceutical Science undergraduate degrees, the latter replacing the
Bachelor of Formulation Science in 2007 and the Bachelor of Medicinal
Chemistry in 2008. Double degrees are also offered including the
Bachelor of Pharmacy/Commerce with the Business and Economics faculty at
Clayton, and also the Bachelor of Engineering/Pharmaceutical Science
with the Engineering faculty. It also offers postgraduate degrees.
Australia Peninsula campus:
The
Peninsula campus has a teaching and research focus on health and well
being, and is a hub of undergraduate and postgraduates studies in
Nursing, Health Science, Physiotherapy and Psychology – and particularly
in Emergency Health (Paramedic) courses.
The
campus is located in the bayside suburb of Frankston on the edge of
Melbourne. Peninsula campus also offers a range of courses including
those from its historic roots with early childhood and primary education
(during the 1960s and 1970s the campus was the State Teachers'
College), and Business & Economics (since the merger of the State
Teachers' College with the Caulfield Institute of Technology to create
the Chisholm Institute of Technology in 1982). The campus was also home
to the Peninsula School of Information Technology, which in 2006 was
wound back with Information Technology units previously offered being
relocated to the Caulfield campus.
Australia Berwick campus:
One
of Monash's newest campuses, Berwick campus was built on the old Casey
airfield in the south-eastern growth corridor of Victoria, Australia.
The town of Berwick has experienced an influx of people and development
in recent times, which includes the new campus of Monash University.
With a presence in the area since 1994, the first Monash Berwick campus
building was completed in 1996 and the third building in March 2004. It
is situated on a 55-hectare site in the City of Casey, one of the three
fastest growing municipalities in Australia.
South Africa South Africa:
In
August 2013 Monash University announced it had entered a partnership
that will enable its South African presence to grow and enhance its
educational offering. The partnership is with Laureate International
Universities.
European Union Prato, Italy, EU:
Prato Cathedral, in the town's main piazza, is about 100 metres from the Monash Prato Centre
The Palazzo Vaj, where the Monash University Prato Centre is located
The
Monash University Prato Centre is located in the 18th Century Palace,
Palazzo Vaj, in the historic centre of Prato, a city near Florence in
Italy. Primarily, it hosts staff and students from Monash's other
campuses for semesters in Law, Art Design & Architecture, History,
Music, and Criminology as well as various international conferences. It
was officially opened on 17 September 2001 as part of the University's
vigorous internationalisation policy
India IITB-Monash Research Academy, India:
The
IITB-Monash Research Academy opened in 2008 and is situated in Mumbai,
India. It is a partnership between Monash and the Indian Institute of
Technology Bombay. It aims to carry out high impact research in
engineering and sciences, particularly clean energy, biotechnology and
nanotechnology. Students undertake their research in both India and
Australia, with supervisors from both Monash and IITB. Upon graduating,
they receive a dual PhD from the two institutions. In the month
following its official opening, 36 joint projects had commenced, with a
further several hundred planned. Construction of a new $5m facility
began in November 2008.
China Suzhou Joint Graduate School, China
In
2012, it was announced that Monash had won a licence to develop a joint
graduate school with Southeast University in the Suzhou Industrial Park
in Jiangsu Province. The Southeast University-Monash University Joint
Graduate School is the first Australian university, and the third
foreign university, to win a licence to operate in China. The school
offers master's degrees and PhDs in science and engineering, with an
initial cohort of 500 students, building up to 2000 in the years to
come.
Former campuses:
Australia Gippsland campus
As
part of the University's expansion in the 1990s, Monash took over the
operations of the Gippsland Institute of Advanced Education in 1990. The
commitment to regional higher education on the part of the University
was a progressive and bold step, however, the operation of the Gippsland
campus was always fraught with some tension between the priorities of
the metropolitan-centred campuses at Clayton and Caulfield versus the
needs and aspirations of the regional one.
The
Gippsland campus of Monash University was the mainstay of the
University's commitment to distance education, pioneering courses such
as journalism, multimedia, fine arts, and outdoor sport and recreation.
Between 2005 and 2010, many of these programs were transferred to city
campuses, thus losing their distinctive regional flavour. At its peak
enrolment in 2007, the campus was home to 2,000 on-campus students,
5,000 off-campus students and nearly 400 staff. The campus sits in the
Latrobe Valley town of Churchill, 142 km east of Melbourne on 63
hectares of landscaped grounds. Until 2014 it was the only
non-metropolitan campus of Monash University. The campus offered many
undergraduate degrees, attracting students from the Latrobe Valley, East
and West Gippsland.
Ballarat
University joined with Monash University Gippsland campus to form a new
regional university known as Federation University Australia from 1
January 2014. As of that date, Monash began the process of teaching out
its courses at Gippsland with only a medical school presence to remain
after the merger.
Academia:
Admissions
The
Good Universities Guide places the Clayton, Caulfield, Parkville and
Peninsula campuses of Monash in the category of universities which are
most difficult to gain admission to in Australia, with each campus
receiving an Entry Standards mark of 5/5. Monash has the highest demand
for places among high school graduates of any university in Victoria. In
2009, one in four applicants put Monash as their first preference. This
equates to more than 15,000 first preferences from Victorian high
school leavers. Of the top 5% of high school graduates in Victoria, more
choose Monash than any other institution. In 2010, almost half of the
top 5% of high school leavers chose to attend Monash – the highest of
any Victorian university by quite some margin. In 2009, among students
with a "perfect" ENTER score of 99.95 (i.e. students in the top 0.05% of
high school applicants), 63 made an application for Monash.
Faculties:
Monash is divided into 10 faculties. These incorporate the University's major departments of teaching and research centers.
The faculties are:
Faculty of Art Design & Architecture (MADA)
Faculty of Arts
Faculty of Business and Economics
Faculty of Education
Faculty of Engineering
Faculty of Information Technology
Faculty of Law
Faculty of Medicine, Nursing and Health Sciences
Faculty of Pharmacy and Pharmaceutical Sciences
Faculty of Science
Various
other academic organisations exist alongside the faculties and research
centers. Monash College provides students with an alternative point of
entry to Monash University.The institution offers pathway studies for
students who endeavor to undertake studies at one of Monash's campuses.
The College's specialized undergraduate diplomas (Diploma Part 2 is
equivalent to first-year university) provide an alternative entry point
into more than 60 Monash University bachelor degrees, taught intensively
in smaller classes and an environment overall similar to that offered
by the university. Monash College offers programs in several countries
throughout the world, with colleges located in Australia (Melbourne),
China (Guangzhou), Indonesia (Jakarta), Singapore and Sri Lanka
(Colombo).