The University of Wollongong

    The University of Wollongong (informally known as Wollongong University or Wollongong), abbreviated as UOW, is a public research university located in the coastal city of Wollongong, New South Wales, Australia, approximately 80 kilometres south of Sydney. As of 2014, the University has over 37,000 students enrolled, included over 11,600 international students from 134 countries, an alumni base of over 112,000, and over 2,000 academic related staff. The University has been ranked 9th in Excellence in Research for Australia (ERA) Australian University Rankings in 2012, among the top 1% for research quality in the world, and among the top 2% of universities in the world. The University ranked 276th in the 2013 QS World University Rankings, 276-300th in the 2013-2014 Times Higher Education World University Rankings and 301-400th (352nd) in the 2013 Academic Ranking of World Universities.


In 1951 a division of the New South Wales University of Technology (known as the University of New South Wales from 1958) was established at Wollongong for the conduct of diploma courses. In 1961 the Wollongong University College of the University of New South Wales was constituted and the College was officially opened in 1962. In 1975 the University of Wollongong was established as an independent institution. Since its establishment, the University has conferred more than 100,000 degrees, diplomas and certificates. Its students, originally predominantly from the local Illawarra region, are now from over 140 countries, with international students accounting for more than 30 percent of total.

The University of Wollongong has fundamentally developed into a multi-campus institution, three of which are in Illawarra (Wollongong, Shoalhaven and Innovation), one in Sydney and two overseas campus in Dubai, United Arab Emirates and Sejong City, South Korea. The Wollongong Campus, the University's Main Campus, is on the original site five kilometres north-west of the city centre, and covers an area of 82.4 hectares with 94 permanent buildings including six student residences. In addition, there are University Education Centres in Bega, Batemans Bay, Moss Vale and Loftus as well as the Sydney Business School in the City of Sydney. The University also offers courses equally based on the Wollongong Campus in collaboration with partner institutions in a number of offshore locations including in Singapore, Malaysia and Hong Kong.


The University of Wollongong traces its origins to 1951. The Foundation of the University was founded in 1951 when a division of The New South Wales University of Technology (currently known as the University of New South Wales, UNSW) was established in Wollongong. In 1962, the Division became the Wollongong College of the University of New South Wales.

On the 1st January 1975, the New South Wales Parliament incorporated the University of Wollongong as an independent institution of higher learning consisting of five faculties (including Engineering, Humanities, Mathematics, Sciences and Social Sciences) with Professor Michael Birt as its inaugural Vice Chancellor. In 1976, Justice Robert Marsden Hope was installed as Chancellor of the University. As of 1982, the University amalgamated the Wollongong Institute of Higher Education which had begun life in 1962 as the Wollongong Teachers' College; thus, the merger formed the basis for a period of rapid growth in the 1980s.



In 1951, a foundation of the University of Wollongong was founded as a division of the New South Wales University of Technology in Wollongong, New South Wales. A decade later, the Division became the Wollongong College of the University of New South Wales.

In 1975, the University of Wollongong gained its autonomy as an independent institution of higher learning by the New South Wales Parliament.

In 1977, the Faculty of Computer Science (currently known as the Faculty of Engineering and Information Sciences) developed a version of Unix for the Interdata 7/32 called UNSW 01, this was the first non-PDP Unix. In the late 70s, Tim Berners-Lee sourced TCP/IP software, an integral element of the World Wide Web, from the University of Wollongong.

In 1981, Dr Ken McKinnon was appointed Vice Chancellor overseeing the amalgamation of the University with the Wollongong Institute of Education (also known as WIE) in 1982. The Wollongong Institute of Education had originated in 1971 as the Teachers College (renamed the Wollongong Institute of Education in 1973) This merger formed the basis of the contemporary university.

In 1983, the Faculty of Commerce was established along with the School of Creative Arts, followed by the creation of the Faculty of Education in 1984. 1984 also saw the commencement of the new Wollongong University building program which led to the construction/opening of the Illawarra Technology Centre (1985), Kooloobong (1985, 1986, 1990), Weerona College (1986), Administration, Union Mall (now known as UniCentre), URAC (1987), multi-storey carpark (1990), and heated swimming pool (1990).