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.

Macquarie performs in the top five Australian universities for converting research discoveries into commercial ventures (Howard and Associates’ Report of Commercialisation in Australian Universities, 2004).

Connected

Macquarie has succeeded in becoming a truly borderless university. In addition to having a high proportion of international students (26.7% in 2005), a third of Macquarie’s 2005 graduating cohort have traveled overseas to complete some of their study program. Relationships have been established with over 200 institutions in 54 countries worldwide, and students who choose to travel are supported by an AU$2 million travel grant scheme, the most generous of any Australian university. Furthermore, offshore programs in China, Japan, Hong Kong, Singapore and France offer courses in business administration, finance, translation and interpreting, and biotechnology, with more courses in development.

Proven

Ranked 67th in The Times’ 2005 report on the world’s top 200 universities, 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.

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 nine consecutive years, as ranked by The Good Universities Guide (1998-2006).

Looking Ahead