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Murdoch University

Murdoch University

Established	1975
Type	Public
Chancellor	Terry Budge
Vice-Chancellor	Professor John Yovich AM
Faculty	1,300
Undergraduates	10,200
Postgraduates	2,200
Location	Perth, WA, 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 commenced 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

History

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.

Curtin University of Technology and Murdoch University agreed in June 2005 to undertake a feasibility study on merging. On 7 November 2005, both institutions issued a press release stating that such a merger will not be undertaken.

In 2006 and 2007, the South Street campus library underwent major building works to remove asbestos from the roof (in an ongoing project involving other university buildings)^{[not in citation given]} and construct the new Learning Common. As part of these works, some library items were rearranged, including the re-shelving of most items to be in DDC sequence on the South Wing.^[1][2]

Faculties and schools

There are six faculties and sixteen schools at Murdoch University:^[3]

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

Research

Asia Research Centre

The Asia Research Centre undertakes in interdisciplinary and disciplinary research into a range of social, political and economic dynamics within the region. The thematic focus, however, is on the analysis of forces within the region that mediate the form and impact of globalisation.^[4]

The Centre encompasses researchers from across Murdoch University. It also regularly engages in collaboration with researchers from other universities around the world.^[4]

The Director of Asia Research Centre is Professor Garry Rodan, a Professor in the Politics and International Studies Programme of the School of Social Sciences and Humanities. ^[5]

Strengths and affiliations

Murdoch University is a highly re

search intensive institution and a member of Innovative Research Universities Australia (IRU Australia). Its Asia Research Centre, founded in 1991 as a Special Research Centre of the Australia Research Council, is regarded as an international leader in the study of social, political and economic dynamics in East and Southeast Asia.

According to The Australian newspaper (“What makes a good school of journalism”), the Graduate Careers Council of Australia found its Journalism School is one of Australia’s top five.^[6]

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 inIndonesia, for Australian university students.^[7]

Chancellery Building

Campuses

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

8 South Street

The main campus is located at South Street in the suburb of Murdoch, near the Kwinana Freeway (32.066520°S 115.835080°E). South Street campus is Australia’s geographically largest campus at 2.27 square kilometres (0.88 sq mi), necessary in order to accommodate Western Australia’s only veterinary school. Most of the southern part of the university consists of paddocks of livestock, farm and renewable energy facilities.

The original group of buildings surround an open court, known as “Bush Court”, in the northern part of Murdoch campus. Bush Court contains the highest point on campus. Features around campus include the Chinese garden and the Joglo Rahayu (Peace Pavilion).

9 Student Village

Murdoch University Student Village is an on-campus residential community consisting of 98 self-contained flats. Rooms are divided between single bedrooms and twin-share rooms. It hosts over 500 resident students and student organisations which run events with free attendance for residents. The student village is located north-west of the main campus, and placement is only available to full-time Murdoch University students upon application.

Student Village at night

10 Joglo Rahayu

The Joglo Rahayu (Peace Pavilion) is a semi-enclosed pavilion located near the Education and Humanities building. Built as a monument to 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]}

11 Rockingham Regional Campus

The Rockingham Regional Campus is located 38 kilometres (23.61 mi) south of central Perth in the suburb of Rockingham (32.277917°S 115.750945°E). Opened in 1996, it is co-located with Rockingham TAFE campus, and features an arts and commerce building. Engineering teaching facilities were formerly located at Rockingham, but were moved to Murdoch campus in 2008. The campus is underutilised.

12 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 Rockinghamand Challenger TAFE. Members of all of these groups have free access to library membership.

Membership entitles all patrons to access to TAFE, university and public library resources at Rockingham.^[8]

13 Kwinana Industries Education Partnership (KIEP)

The Kwinana Industries Education Partnership (KIEP), an ongoing project located in the main courtyard at the Rockingham Campus, is a formal agreement between members of the Kwinana Industries Council and local senior high schools. It was initiated in 1993 by major industry members of the Kwinana Industries Council and officially launched in 1995.^[9]

14 Communities Linking Computer Knowledge (CLiCK)

Communities Linking Computer Knowledge (CLiCK), located at the Rockingham Campus, first started in 2005 as the Regional Students’ Association Computer Recycling Program, and has since become an incorporated non-profit organisation. It “helps students, people unable to afford computers and non-profit organisations obtain computers free of charge.”^[10]

15 Peel Campus

The Peel Campus is located 64 kilometres (39.77 mi) south of central Perth in the suburb of Greenfields, Western Australia, near the regional centre of Mandurah (32.517380°S 115.755934°E). Opened in 2004, it houses teaching facilities for nursing and life sciences.

Student demographics

Murdoch University is home to 14,271 students (as of 31 August 2006),^[11] of whom over 2,000 are international students.

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

Murdoch has many students from the United Kingdom, the United States, and Canada. ^[12]

Student organisations
18 Student Guild

The Murdoch University Guild of Students is the student representative association at Murdoch University. Under the previous universal student membership legislation, all students automatically became members of the guild, although they could subsequently opt out or opt in of membership. In 2005, voluntary student unionism legislation was introduced by the Federal government. Students can now choose not to be members of the guild, or choose to be basic or financial members (financial members pay fees and receive additional entitlements, including discounts).

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. In 2007 the Guild introduced a new department called “Students Without Borders”. SWB comprises many programs that enable students to get involved and contribute to the community, such as tutoring, language classes, social justice campaigns, and the computer recycling program. At the beginning of 2008, the Guild opened the new ‘Social Justice Centre’ in Bush Court, the focal point of the South Street campus. The Social Justice Centre is designed to facilitate campus activism, and is a place where students can hold meetings and get involved in campaigns. 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 affiliated with the National Union of Students, and its postgraduate student association (Murdoch University Postgraduate Student Association (MUPSA)) is a member of the Council of Australian Postgraduate Associations.

In 2009 the Guild President is Basha Stasak, and the Education Vice President is Emma Kingdon. ^[13]

19 Regional Students’ Association (RSA)

Formed officially in 1998 as the Rockingham Student Council, the Regional Students’ Association is the official Guild council representing students at the Rockingham and Peel Campuses. During 2000-2001, it officially changed its name to the Rockingham Students’ Association. After the Peel Campus was opened, it changed to its current name.^[14]

20 Murdoch University Postgraduate Student Association (MUPSA)

The Murdoch University Postgraduate Student Association (MUPSA) is a subsidiary council of the Guild intdended to help postgraduates with all aspects of their candidature. “MUPSA is run by postgraduates for postgraduates.”^[15]

Feeder institutions
22 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.

23 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
25 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.