is a
University with its main campus at
Murdoch , 14km south of
Perth ,
Western Australia , along the
Kwinana Freeway (). It commenced operations as WA's second university in
1973 , and opened its doors to its first students in
1975 . Its name is taken from
Sir Walter Murdoch (1874-1970), a prominent Australian academic and essayist famous for his intelligence, wit and humanity.
Murdoch University is home to 13,000 students, of which over 2,000 are international students. There are three main divisions at Murdoch: Arts (which includes Humanities, Social Sciences, IT, Law and Business); Health Sciences and Science and Engineering.
Murdoch has Australia's geographically largest campus at 2.27 square kilometres, necessary in order to accommodate Western Australia's only
Veterinary and
Chiropractic school. Most of the southern part of the university consists of paddocks of livestock, farm and renewable energy facilities.
The original group of University buildings surround an open court, known as "Bush Court", on an elevated site in the northern part of the campus. The buildings are linked on the court's sides by broad colonnaded verandahs in a compact design which aims at encouraging a sense of community. Features around campus include the Chinese garden and the Joglo Rahayu (Peace Pavilion).
The University has three major campuses. Aside from Murdoch, there is the
Rockingham Regional Campus, opened in
1996 alongside Rockingham's
TAFE campus, which features dedicated facilities for Engineering, an Arts and Commerce building as well as a community library; and the
Peel Campus in
Mandurah , which opened in
2004 for nursing and life science students.
Murdoch University was initially intended to cater predominantly to mature-aged students. As a result, many courses are available externally and an increasing number are available online. It is home to several disciplinary schools: ,
Mass Communications and
Commerce .
Murdoch University particularly prides itself on its high standard of teaching and focus on students' needs.
Murdoch University is a member of
Innovative Research Universities Australia (IRU Australia) .
Curtin University of Technology and Murdoch University have recently agreed (June 2005) to undertake a feasibility study on merging. On November the 7th, 2005, both institutions issued a press release that such a merger will not be undertaken.
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 the only secondary school on a university campus in Australia and students have the opportunity to experience university facilities often. It offers a full complement of Year 8 - 12 subjects across the 8 learning areas. Many students from China, Hong Kong, Singapore, Japan and Korea enrol at Murdoch College and enhance its strong multicultural ethos. It has a positive and growing profile in the community.
As of this year, 2006, Murdoch University in conjunction with the
Alexander Education Group established the
Murdoch Institute of Technology or MIT. It is a feeder college which caters for students wishing to complete diploma level courses. Future plans involves 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.
Interesting places on campus recommended to students include:
;The Ref (Food Court);
Located on the western side of Bush Court, the Food Court contains several cafes, a kebab shop and Asian food. It is also nearby to the new Murdoch Bookshop which has an entrance from within the Refectory. There is also an outdoor seating area on the southern side of the Refectory.
Students can also bring in their laptops to connect to the Murdoch Wireless LAN in this area. There is also at the northern side of the Ref. There are stairs leading down to it.
;Sir Walter's Cafe;
Located on the 2nd floor of the Library, it's a popular spot for coffee or even just relaxing in the outdoor seated area.
;The Tavern;
Located past the ECL buildings at the lower end of campus, and with an attached cafe,
The Tavern is always popular with students and has a range of entertainment at different times during the year.
Also, various Asian food caravans exist around campus courtesy of the Guild and are cheap - well-established ones (since at least 1998) are at The Lunchbox at ECL level 2, and "Campus Asian Food" near the Science & Computing building.
;Murdoch Campus Library:
The main library on the Murdoch campus is located on the south end of Bush Court. It is made up of a North Wing (3 levels), a Link (2 levels) and a South Wing (4 levels). Coming from Bush Court, the ground level of the library is on North Wing Level 3.
;North Wing Section:
- North Wing Level 3: Main entrance, foyer, Reserve section, elibrary 1 and elibrary 2
- North Wing Level 4: Teaching and Learning Centre, Art Gallery
- North Wing Level 2: Science, Biotechnology, Biomedical, ICT
;Link Level Section:
- Link Level 3: Reference and Magazine section
- Link Level 2: Murdoch Print, Newspapers, Video/DVD and Microfiche section
;South Wing Section;
- South Wing Level 4: Economics and Business Library
- South Wing Level 3: Murdoch Law Library and elibrary 3
- South Wing Level 2: Education and Mass Communications
- South Wing Level 1: Arts, Social Sciences and Humanities and elibrary4
Many items from the university's art collection are on show around the library, especially in the North Wing Level 4 Art Gallery. As well as Murdoch students and staff, students from other WA universities and members of the public may apply to borrow from the library. For more info, see the
Library web site.
The veterinary and biomedical sciences library is a smaller facility located in the Veterinary Clinical Sciences building, southeast of the main library. There are 2 computers for students to login, 3 catalogue computers and 1 printing station. Students can also bring in their laptops to connect to the Murdoch Wireless LAN.
;GCL1:
Various faculty and department-specific computing labs also exist, and a large number of computers are available in the library.
The new Guild Shop is located on the eastern side of Bush Court. You can find • Sunglasses • Suncream • Film & Film Processing • Toiletries • Postage Stamps • Confectionery • Local, International & Mobile Pre-paid Phone Cards • Mobile Phones & Starter Kits • Murdoch Memorabilia • Lab Safety Gear • I.D. Photos • Greeting Cards • Lip Balm • Printer Cartridges: New, Refill & Exchange • Backpacks • Hats • Gifts • Newspapers • Stationery • Multi-riders
The Guild Shop is located on Bush Court right next to Little Walter's and the Service Station.
Opening Hours Monday to Friday: 9:00 AM - 4:00 PM
Telephone: (08) 9360 6776
Little Walter's and the Service Station is a small kiosk serving hot and cold beverages for the student on the move. It also sells some hot food such as muffins and cakes.
Total population of Murdoch University as of 2005 is 13,492
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Murdoch University also partners with other educational institutions such as
KDU in
Malaysia to provide university degrees to off shore students.
Murdoch has many students from
Singapore ,
Malaysia ,
China ,
United States ,
Canada ,
Japan ,
Hong Kong ,
India ,
Kenya and
Taiwan
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Murdoch University also have foreign exchange students from
Japan ,
Korea ,
United States ,
Canada ,
Norway ,
Sweden and
United Kingdom .
The Murdoch University Guild of Students is the student representative association at Murdoch University. All students automatically become members of the guild under current universal student membership legislation, though they are able to opt-out of membership if they so choose. As well as handling student representation and assistance with education and welfare issues, the Guild manages 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. Finally, the guild publishes ''Metior'', the campus magazine.
The Guild is affiliated with the
National Union Of Students , and the postgraduate student representative organisation (Murdoch University Postgraduate Student Association, or MUPSA) is a member of the
Council Of Australian Postgraduate Associations .
For more information, see the
Guild website .
A full list of Guild Affiliated Clubs is available at the
Guild Website .
;Car:
There are several car parks around the campus, for staff and student use. For more info, see the
Parking and Traffic web site.
;Public transport:
Transperth provides several bus services to and from Murdoch and Rockingham. The 98/99
Circleroute service has two stops outside the Murdoch campus on South Street, which runs to
Fremantle and the nearby
Murdoch Park 'n' Ride , connecting to regular services to Perth. A bus stop on Campus Drive near the gymnasium accommodates buses to Perth, Bibra Lake and Booragoon.
Murdoch Train Station is currently under construction approximately 1000 metres from Murdoch campus, and when complete in 2007 will be the major public transport focus of the area. The campus will ultimately be linked to the station by the proposed
Murdoch Transit Link , a busway running roughly parallel to South Street.
Rockingham Train Station is currently under construction approximately 1500 metres from the Rockingham campus. When complete in 2007, a shuttle bus will operate between the campus and station.
