The University of Adelaide is a public research university based in Adelaide, South Australia. Established in 1874, it is the third-oldest university in Australia. Its main campus in the Adelaide city centre includes many sandstone buildings of historical and architectural significance, such as Bonython Hall. It is co-located on its east with the historical Royal South Australian Society of Arts. The institution, which predates the university, then included the Art Gallery of South Australia, the South Australian Museum and the State Library of South Australia where studies were conducted prior to its construction. It is also adjacent with the Australian Space Agency headquarters on Lot Fourteen, through which it plays a notable role in the Australian space industry.

On its east, the university neighbours the former South Australian Institute of Technology, with which the university had maintained historically strong ties. The institute later became the independent University of South Australia during the Dawkins Revolution following an amalgamation with various tertiary colleges dating back to 1856. The two universities, which account for over 72% of the state's public university population, agreed to merge in mid-2023. The combined institution will be re-branded as Adelaide University with the amalgamation expected to complete by 2026.

The university has four campuses, three in South Australia: its historic North Terrace campus in central Adelaide, the Waite campus in Urrbrae, a regional campus in Roseworthy and one in Melbourne, Victoria. Its academic activities are organised into three faculties, which are subdivided into numerous teaching schools. It also has a number of research institutes and centres. In 2023, the university had a total revenue of A$1.13 billion, with A$334.15 million from research grants and funding. It also has the third-largest endowment in Australia, behind only Melbourne and Sydney.

It is a member of the Group of Eight, an association of research-intensive universities in Australia, and the Association of Pacific Rim Universities. The university is associated with five Nobel laureates, constituting one-third of Australia's total Nobel laureates, 116 Rhodes scholars and 164 Fulbright scholars. It has generated a considerable impact on the public life of South Australia, having educated many of the state's leading businesspeople, lawyers, medical professionals and politicians. It also has been associated with the discovery and development of penicillin, the development of space exploration, sunscreen, the military tank, Wi-Fi, polymer banknotes and X-ray crystallography, and the study of viticulture and oenology.

History

Foundation

The history of the university dates back the Union College established in 1872 as a precursor to the university. The college provided education in the natural sciences, mathematics, English literature and theological studies of the Greek Testament. The college was approached by Scottish-born grazier and businessman Sir Walter Watson Hughes with the proposal for a then called Adelaide University with offers for endowment towards its creation. The Adelaide University Association was established by the Union College in 23 September 1872 to manage the creation of the university in the South Australia. The University of Adelaide, which is named after its founding city namesake to Queen Adelaide, was formally established on 6 November 1874 following the passage of The Adelaide University Act of 1874 though the South Australian parliament.

It was founded with the backing of the Walter Hughes and Sir Thomas Elder, also a Scottish-born grazier and founder of the university, who each donated £20,000 towards the association. The university initially occupied the South Australian Institute Building prior to the construction of the now called Mitchell Building, which serves as the chancellery of the university. Elder also bequeathed an additional £65,000 in his will following his death in 1897. Additionally, Sir Thomas and Robert Barr Smith and their family donated a combined £50,000 towards books and the construction of the Barr Smith Library.

According to its founding Act, it was intended as a secular institution to "promote sound learning in the Province of South Australia" to be "open to all classes and denominations of Her Majesty's subjects". It commenced its first class, a Latin lecture towards the Bachelor of Arts, in March 1876 following its inauguration at the Adelaide Town Hall. Its first chancellor was former premier Sir Richard Hanson and its first vice chancellor was Anglican bishop Augustus Short. Its first graduate was Thomas Ainslie Caterer, who graduated in 1879 with a Bachelor of Arts. In 1882, it was also the first university in Australia to provide degree programs in science and its faculty of arts was founded inaugurated in 1887. Its Adelaide Law School, established in 1883 as Australia's second law school, and medical school established in 1885 have produced some of Australia's earliest medical doctors and lawyers.

Bonython Hall, the great hall of the university, was built in 1936 following a donation of over £50,000 from the owner of The Advertiser newspaper, Sir John Langdon Bonython, who was inspired following his visit to the Great Hall of the University of Sydney. The hall, which is used during graduation ceremonies among other events, was designed by architect Louis Laybourne-Smith based on medieval great halls in a Gothic Revival architecture style inspired by the ancient universities in Europe.

The institution was the third of its kind on the Australian continent after the Universities of Sydney and Melbourne, which then educated solely men. The university, which allowed women to study alongside men since its commencement including eligibility for all academic prizes and honours, became the second university in the English-speaking world following the University of London in 1878 to formally admit women on equal terms as men in 1881. This has contributed to its long history of achieving notable milestones and firsts for women's rights in higher education.

Its first female graduate was Edith Emily Dornwell who concurrently became the first person in Australia to receive the degree of Bachelor of Science in 1885. The university also graduated Australia's first female surgeon Laura Margaret Fowler in 1891. Ruby Claudia Davy was the first Australian woman to receive a doctorate in music in 1918. In 1914, the university was also the first to elect a woman, Helen Mayo, to a university council in Australia. It is also the alma mater of Dame Roma Mitchell who was Australia's first female judge, the first woman to be a Queen's Counsel, a chancellor of an Australian university and the governor of an Australian state. Australia's first female prime minister Julia Gillard had also studied at the university and the first Aboriginal Rhodes Scholar Rebecca Richards in 2010.

The university has a number of historical sports clubs associated with Rhodes scholars. The Adelaide University Boat Club was founded in 1881 and operates from the River Torrens in the Adelaide city centre and from West Lakes. Its primary boat shed was donated by Robert Barr Smith in 1909. Each year the club competes in a number of events including the Oxford and Cambridge Cup, which was donated by Old Blues of the Universities of Oxford and Cambridge in the 1890s. The Adelaide University Tennis Club was founded in 1885 and is a lawn tennis club. The Adelaide University Lacrosse Club was founded in 1889 by future Nobel Prize laureate William Henry Bragg and is one of the oldest in Australia. Following the establishment of the Adelaide University Union in 1895, the student union, the three clubs co-founded the Adelaide University Sports Association in 1896 and additional sports clubs were established throughout the 20th century. The association became directly affiliated with the university in 2010.

Neighbouring amalgamations

The university has long maintained close relations with neighbouring institutions, including coordinated studies and cross-leadership structures. The Adelaide School of Art was founded in 1856 as part of the Royal Society of Arts South Australia, predating the university which was established alongside it in 1874. The art school, which went by many names throughout its history, resided at the Jubilee Exhibition Building on the campus until 1962 when it was demolished to make way for the a number of university buildings. The society also then included the Art Gallery of South Australia, the South Australian Museum and the State Library of South Australia where studies were conducted prior to its construction.

The Adelaide Teachers College was also co-located with the university with which it had a close relationship after transferring between locations since its establishment in 1876, later renaming to the Adelaide College of Advanced Education in 1973. It was the mother college to the Wattle Park Teachers College in 1957 and the Western Teachers College in 1962, the latter of which merged with the art school to form the Torrens College of Advanced Education in 1973. The Adelaide and Torrens Colleges of Advanced Education merged in 1979 to become the Adelaide College of the Arts and Education and the Wattle Park Teachers College renamed to Murray Park College of Advanced Education in 1973 during its relocation to Magill.

The Jubilee Exhibition Building was also the birthplace of the South Australian Institute of Technology which was established in 1889 as the South Australian School of Mines and Industries. It moved to the Brookman Building in 1903, named after the Scottish-born businessman George Brookman who contributed £15,000 towards its construction. The institution maintained a strong relationship with the neighbouring university since its inception having combined teaching, laboratories and examinations across fields of engineering. The strong relationship was intertwined to the University Council and studies completed at one was recognised as equivalent at the other. The institution expanded into the former Adelaide Technical High School prior to its vacation in 1963, to regional city of Whyalla in 1962 and to the Adelaidean suburb of Mawson Lakes as The Levels in 1972.

The Adelaide College of the Arts and Education merged with the Hartley, Salisbury and Sturt Colleges of Advanced Education in 1982 to form the South Australian College of Advanced Education with which the university had maintained a joint teaching, facilities and committees. The Hartley College of Advanced Education was formed in 1979 following the merger between the Murray Park and Kingston Colleges of Advanced Education, the latter of which was established in 1907 as the Kindergarten Training College. The Salisbury College of Advanced Education was established in 1973 as the Salisbury Teachers College and was initially located on the western side of the university, which later took over the branch following the its departure in 1969. The Sturt College of Advanced Education was established in 1966 as the Bedford Park Teachers College. The resulting South Australian College of Advanced Education's campus neighbouring the university was absorbed by it in 1991.

Stronger demand for advanced college places throughout the country resulted from a broadening appeal of higher education beyond the traditionally elite education provided by the universities. Colleges of Advanced Education were originally designed to complement universities, forming a binary system modelled on that of the United Kingdom. It was originally created by the Menzies government following World War II on the advice a committee led by physicist Sir Leslie H. Martin, during a period of high population growth the corresponding demand for secondary and tertiary education. This sector ceased to exist when, between 1989 and 1992, the Hawke-Keating government implemented the sweeping reforms of Education Minister John Dawkins. The states, eager for increased education funding, merged the colleges either with existing universities or with each other to form new universities. Following its increasing expansion and autonomy from the University of Adelaide, the South Australian Institute of Technology was given the option to merge with either TAFE South Australia or the South Australian College of Advanced Education. It chose to merge with the latter advanced college and the resulting University of South Australia was established in 1991.

Ongoing merger with the University of South Australia

In June 2018, the University of Adelaide and University of South Australia began discussions regarding the possibility of a merger. The proposition was described as the formation of a "super uni" by then South Australian premier, Steven Marshall, and Simon Birmingham, but the merger was called off in October 2018 as they "were unable to reach agreement on the threshold issues and strategic risks". Vice Chancellor David Lloyd, in an email to University of South Australia staff, claimed that the amalgamation lacked a compelling case. This statement was contradicted by the University of Adelaide's Chancellor that the merger continues to be in the state's best interests. Following the release of several internal FOI documents retrieved by ABC News, it was later revealed that the merger talks failed due to disagreements on the post-merger institution's leadership structure. The name Adelaide University of South Australia was agreed upon by both universities and Chris Schacht, who previously served on the University of Adelaide Council, alleged that the merger talks failed due to disagreement on which Vice Chancellor would replace the other.

In early 2022, the topic of a merger was raised again by the new state government led by premier Peter Malinauskas, which proposed setting up a commission to investigate the possibility of a merger of the University of South Australia, the University of Adelaide and Flinders University. He had promised to take a heavy-handed approach towards the merger to reduce students departing to higher-ranking institutions on the east coast and to improve the state's ability to attract researchers. At the time, staff's opinions were evenly divided on the idea of the commission. Following the appointment of merger advocate Peter Høj as University of Adelaide Vice Chancellor, both universities announced that a merger would once again be considered. The universities began a feasibility study into a potential merger.

The agreement for the merger was reached in 1 July 2023 by the University of South Australia and the University of Adelaide in consultation with the South Australian Government. The rationale for the amalgamation was a larger institutional scale may be needed in order to increase the universities' ranking positions, ability to secure future research income and a net positive impact on the state economy. The two universities argued that by combining their expertise, resources and finances into a single institution, they can be more financially viable, with stronger teaching and research outcomes. Warren Bebbington, who previously served at Vice Chancellor at the University of Adelaide, described the proposed institution as a "lumbering dinosaur". Vice Chancellor Colin Stirling described plans to provide the new institution to AU$300 million in research funding and scholarships "unfair" to students who choose to study at Flinders University. The combined figure was later revised to AU$464.5 million to include land purchases, with an additional AU$40 million research fund set up for Flinders University.

In November 2023, legislation passed state parliament enabling the creation of the new university, to be named Adelaide University. An application for self-accreditation authority was submitted to the Tertiary Education Quality and Standards Agency (TEQSA) on 15 January 2024, which was needed for the institution to offer courses that issue qualifications. Following approval on 22 May 2024, students starting studies at the pre-merger institutions from 2025 onwards will be issued degree certificates from Adelaide University. Students enrolled on or prior to 2024 will also be able to opt in adding antecedent institutions' names and logos on their parchments. The combined institution is expected to become operational by January 2026, with an additional transitional period extending to 2034. The state government projects the combined institution will enrol over 70,000 students, create 1,200 new jobs and bring in an estimated A$500 million per year to the South Australian economy by 2034. The amalgamation decision has been subject to mixed reactions.

Campuses and buildings

Adelaide

The main campus of the university is on North Terrace in the Adelaide city centre. It is bordered by the Art Gallery of South Australia, the State Library of South Australia, the South Australian Museum and the "City East" campus of the University of South Australia. The Adelaide University Medical and Dental Schools were located across Frome Road, behind the old Royal Adelaide Hospital (now Lot Fourteen). The hospital moved to the western end of North Terrace and so have the schools; the Medical School North and South buildings were renamed Helen Mayo North and South from 1 January 2018, in honour of Helen Mayo, a doctor at the Royal Adelaide Hospital and a graduate of the University of Adelaide.

The vast majority of students and staff of the university are based at the North Terrace campus, where the majority of courses are taught and schools are based. The central administration of the university and the main library, the Barr Smith Library, are both located on this campus. While many other universities have law and business schools or satellite campuses within the central business district, the University of Adelaide is unique among Australian sandstone universities for having its main presence adjacent to the main business and shopping precinct.

Buildings

Bonython Hall (the great hall of the university), the Elder Hall, the Reading Room of the Barr Smith Library, along with the Napier, Mitchell, and Ligertwood buildings, form the North Terrace street frontage of the campus.

The Napier Building (signed simply as Napier) was built between 1958 and 1965, funded by grants from the state and Commonwealth governments. It was named after Sir Mellis Napier, who was Chancellor of the university from 1948 to 1961. The modernist building, using vertical lines with connecting bands of orange tiles, is ten storeys high, and comprises a podium containing lecture theatres and teaching rooms, along with the tower housing offices and smaller seminar rooms.

The Adelaide University Union redevelopment, also known as Union Buildings or Union Building Group, was completed in stages between 1967 and 1975, created one of the most significant buildings in the complex. The award-winning redevelopment was designed by lead architect Robert Dickson The heritage-listed group of buildings includes the new Union House, and incorporates include the Lady Symon Building (named after the wife of Sir Josiah Symon), the George Murray Building (named after George John Robert Murray, vice-chancellor and later chancellor of the university), the Cloisters, and the Western Annexe. The earlier Georgian-style buildings were designed by the architects Woods, Bagot, Jory and Laybourne-Smith (who also designed Bonython Hall, the Mitchell Gates and Johnson Laboratory, the Barr Smith Library and the Bentham Building) in 1929 and 1937.

Masterplan (2016–)

In 2016, the university commenced work on a A$1 billion, 20-year "masterplan" for its three campuses. The masterplan envisages new facilities for all schools, and greatly enhanced campus amenities for students, with a focus on pedestrians and cyclists, providing better, safer pathways through the campus, and eliminating vehicle traffic where possible. At North Terrace, the Schulz building will be repurposed as an on-campus residential college, with accommodation, and recreational facilities including a gym. This major transformation of the university's physical presence across all campuses comes in conjunction with the multimillion-dollar renewal and redevelopment of the old Royal Adelaide Hospital (RAH) site on North Terrace. In September 2017, the RAH moved to the western end of North Terrace, in the $4 billion South Australian Health and Biomedical Precinct (SAHBP), at which the University of Adelaide also has a physical presence in the form of the Adelaide Health and Medical Sciences Building.

Waite

The Waite campus has a strong focus on agricultural science, plant breeding and biotechnology. The School of Agriculture, Food and Wine is based on the Waite campus and the campus contains components of the School of Earth and Environmental Sciences. It is adjacent to the Urrbrae Agricultural High School.

A number of other organisations are co-located in the Waite Research Precinct, including the South Australian Research and Development Institute (SARDI) (which is part of Primary Industries and Regions SA (PIRSA), whose headquarters are also at the campus); Australian Grain Technologies; the Australian Wine Research Institute. the Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation (CSIRO); and the Australian Centre for Plant Functional Genomics (ACPFG).

It is situated in Adelaide's south-eastern foothills, in the suburb of Urrbrae on 174 hectares (430 acres). A large amount of the land was donated in 1924 by the pastoralist Peter Waite. A large amount of money was donated by Rosina and John, the widow and son of William Tennant Mortlock. These donations were initially used to establish the Peter Waite Institute of Agricultural Research (first Director A. E. V. Richardson), which later became the Waite campus.

A Soil Research Centre was founded in 1929 with a donation of £10,000 from Harold Darling of J. Darling and Son, grain merchants.

In 2004, Premier Mike Rann opened the multimillion-dollar Plant Genomics Centre at the Waite campus. Then in 2010 Premier Rann opened The Plant Accelerator, a $30 million research facility – the largest and most advanced of its kind in the world.

Malcolm Oades was the director from November 1996 to 2001.

Roseworthy

Located north of the city, the Roseworthy campus comprises 16 km of farmland and is a large centre for agricultural research. It was the first agricultural college in Australia, established in 1883 and the first veterinary school in SA in 2008. Other organisations linked to the campus include SARDI and the Murray TAFE.

In 1991, the college merged with the University of Adelaide and became the university's Roseworthy campus, part of the Faculty of Agricultural and Natural Resource Sciences. The merger would see teaching and research in oenology and viticulture transferred to the university's Waite campus, along with the bulk of its work in plant breeding. Before the degree in oenology was transferred to the Waite campus, Roseworthy produced a number of highly regarded and awarded winemakers and wine critics.

From the mid-1990s, the major focus of the campus turned to dryland agriculture, natural resource management and animal production. The campus is also now home to South Australia's first veterinary science training program, which commenced in 2008. The new Veterinary Science Centre houses not only teaching facilities, including a surgical skills suite, but also a public veterinary clinic offering general practice as well as emergency and specialist veterinary services for pet animals. There are also specialised pathology laboratories in this centre for teaching, research and diagnostic work. In 2013, the veterinary science facilities were expanded with the opening of the Equine Health and Performance Centre, a state-of-the-art facility for equine surgery, sports medicine, internal medicine and reproduction.

In 2021, the university opened the $7 million Roseworthy Solar and Energy Storage Project, a solar farm with an output of 1.2MW with a 420/1200kWh hybrid battery. Its 3,200 solar panels are estimated to produce 42% of the campuses' energy requirements.

Other locations

National Wine Centre

Located in the Adelaide Park Lands at the eastern end of North Terrace, the Wine Centre offers some of the university's oenology courses. Opened in 2001, the facility also hosts public exhibitions about winemaking and its industry in South Australia. It contains an interactive permanent exhibition of winemaking, introducing visitors to the technology, varieties and styles of wine. It also has a wine tasting area, giving visitors the opportunity to taste and compare wines from different areas of Australia.

The Wine Centre is situated at the eastern end of North Terrace, Adelaide in the eastern parklands and adjacent to the Adelaide Botanic Gardens. The building, designed by Cox Grieve Gillett, uses building materials to reflect items used in making wine.

Thebarton

Thebarton is the base of the university's Office of Industry Liaison. The precinct works in conjunction with the university's commercial partners. Commercial enterprises at Thebarton include businesses involved in materials engineering, biotechnology, environmental services, information technology, industrial design, laser/optics technology, health products, engineering services, radar systems, telecommunications and petroleum services. The flames for the Sydney and Athens Olympic Games were developed at the Thebarton campus by the TEC group.

Ngee Ann (Singapore)

The Ngee Ann – Adelaide Education Centre (NAAEC) was the University of Adelaide's first overseas centre. It was a joint venture with the Ngee Ann Kongsi foundation, started in 1998. In 2016, the University of Adelaide withdrew from the partnership, after about 3000 students had graduated over the 18 years of operation.

In 2018 the Singapore institution was rebranded as the Ngee Ann Academy, and in 2019 partnered with the University of Adelaide as well as three British universities.

Governance and structure

Faculties and departments

The university's research and teaching is organised into three faculties, each of which contains a number of schools, departments and institutes. This is down from five in 2022 following a merger between the Arts and Professions faculties and the Faculty of Sciences into the Faculty of Engineering, Computer and Mathematical Sciences. The establishment of faculties and academic departments is formally the responsibility of the University Council.

Faculty of Health and Medical Sciences

• Adelaide Dental School
• Adelaide Medical School
• Adelaide Nursing School
• Adelaide Rural Clinical School
• School of Allied Health Science and Practice
• School of Biomedicine
• School of Psychology
• School of Public Health

Faculty of Sciences, Engineering and Technology

• School of Agriculture, Food and Wine
• School of Architecture and Civil Engineering
• School of Biological Sciences
• School of Chemical Engineering
• School of Computer and Mathematical Sciences
• School of Electrical and Mechanical Engineering
• School of Physics, Chemistry and Earth Sciences
• School of Animal and Veterinary Sciences

Faculty of Arts, Business, Law and Economics

• Adelaide Business School
• Adelaide Law School
• Elder Conservatorium of Music
• School of Economics and Public Policy
• School of Education
• School of Humanities
• School of Social Sciences

Research institutes and centres

The university operates a large number of disciplinary-specific research institutes and centres in partnership with other research institutions and private enterprises. Notable examples include:

Australian Institute for Machine Learning

The Australian Institute for Machine Learning (AIML) is an artificial intelligence and machine learning research and translation institute based at Lot Fourteen, a business and technology precinct. It is located in a former Royal Adelaide Hospital building in-between the Australian Space Agency headquarters and the University of South Australia's Brookman Building. Established in 2018 with funding from the South Australian government, it is the largest university-based research site dedicated to machine learning in Australia, as well as ranking among the global top sites for its computer vision research capability.

The institute runs on an open access basis; most of its research is open to the rest of the world, either through conferences and journals or via open source software. Its researchers have used machine learning to support industries such as agriculture, medical imaging, defence, space exploration, manufacturing, mining operations and filmmaking. Notable partners have included its foundational partner Lockheed Martin, Rising Sun Pictures and Microsoft.

Defence and Security Institute

The Defence and Security Institute in Lot Fourteen conducts research in the defence and security sectors including lasers, robotics, autonomous systems, CBRN defence, space exploration, artificial intelligence, cybersecurity and fields of quantum mechanics.

Environment Institute

The Environment Institute specialises in environmental sciences and research in the areas of climate, biodiversity, ecology and marine sciences.

Institute for Photonics and Advanced Sensing

The Institute for Photonics and Advanced Sensing specialises in photonics, sensing and precision measurement technology. It is based in the Braggs Building, a purpose-built A$95 million headquarters funded with support from the federal and state governments. The institute is home to various interdisciplinary scientific and advanced manufacturing facilities. It has developed high precision measuring instruments used in the agriculture, defence, health, space exploration, tectonics, earth system science, manufacturing, mining and resources sectors.

Institute for Sustainability, Energy and Resources

The Institute for Sustainability, Energy and Resources conducts research in the sustainability, energy, mining and resources sectors. It has over 20 research centres in fields including mineralology, geosciences, ecology, energy generation, space resources, food production, mineral processing, radiation science, hydrogen production, supply chains, environmental and natural resources.

Robinson Research Institute

The Robinson Research Institute conducts biomedical research concerning fertility, pregnancy and child health. It has over 45 research groups specialising in fields including biotechnology, congenital disorders, endocrinology, epigenics, genomics, gynaecology, immunology, medical machine learning, medicine, metabolic health, neurology, nutrition, obesity, obstetrics, oncology, ovarian development, placental development, pharmacology, polysomnography, reproductive biology, vaccinology and women's health.

South Australian immunoGENomics Cancer Institute

The South Australian immunoGENomics Cancer Institute a planned cancer research institute. It was established though an A$80 million funding from the federal government. It is located in the Adelaide Health and Medical Sciences Building in-between the University of South Australia's Bradley Building and the South Australian Health and Medical Research Institute adjacent to the Royal Adelaide Hospital.

Waite Research Institute

The Waite Research Institute is specialises and conducts research in agricultural science, viticulture, oenology, plant breeding, food research and biotechnology. It is located on the Waite campus in Adelaide's south-eastern foothills, in the suburb of Urrbrae on 184 hectares (450 acres), a large amount of which was donated in 1924 by the pastoralist Peter Waite. Following donations from Rosina and John, the widow and son of William Tennant Mortlock, the institute was established originally as the Peter Waite Institute of Agricultural Research. A Soil Research Centre was founded in 1929 with a donation of £10,000 from Harold Darling of J. Darling and Son, grain merchants. The institute produces approximately 70% of Australia's research output in viticulture and oenology and around 80% of cereal varieties used in southern Australia were created there. In 2004, State Premier Mike Rann opened the A$9.2 million Plant Genomics Centre at the campus. In 2010, he opened The Plant Accelerator, a A$30 million research facility – the largest and most advanced of its kind in the world.

Chancellor and Vice Chancellor

The Chancellor of the university is limitless term position that is mainly ceremonial and is held currently by former Federal Court judge Catherine Branson who succeeded Kevin Scarce following his retirement in May 2020. Branson was appointed by University Council. The current Vice Chancellor is Danish biochemist Peter Høj, who began his role in February 2021 following similar roles at the University of South Australia and the University of Queensland. While the Chancellor's office is ceremonial, the Vice Chancellor serves as the university's de facto principal administrative officer. The university's internal governance is carried out by the University Council formed though the University of Adelaide Act 1971. The legislation, which superseded the Adelaide University Act 1874, is scheduled to be superseded by the Adelaide University Act 2023.

Finances and endowment

In 2023, the University of Adelaide had a total revenue of A$1.13 billion (2022 – A$1 billion) and a total expenditure of A$1.09 billion (2022 – A$995.46 million). Key sources of income included A$228.2 million from research grants and fees (2022 – A$190.97 million), A$105.95 million from other research funding (2022 – A$93.22 million), A$350.71 million from tuition fees and grants (2022 – A$318.44 million), A$313.91 million from HESA funding (2022 – A$305.91 million) and A$134.47 million from donations and investments (2022 – A$86.48 million). At year end the university had endowments of A$393.4 million (2022 – A$366.3 million) and total net assets of A$2.19 billion (2022 – A$2.15 billion).

In 2023, the State Government estimated the merger with the University of South Australia will inject A$500 million to the South Australian economy by 2034 and announced plans to create a A$350 million investment fund to support research and accessibility.

Heraldry and insignia

Coat of arms

While all Australian universities have common seals that are used on parchments, some Australian universities also possess a coat of arms. These were usually grant by the College of Arms in London due to, as opposed to the United Kingdom and Canada, an absence of a national heraldic authority. The coat of arms of the University of Adelaide was grant during the reign of George V in 1925 and has historically since been used on all degree parchments issued by the university. While some universities such as the University of Western Australia have modified the coat of arms issued on parchments over time, the University of Adelaide's design has mostly remained the same with the exception of a minor tweak to the crux. The motto in Latin reads Sub Cruce Lumen translated "the light (of learning) under the (Southern) Cross". The official coat of arms, in heraldic terminology, is:

Coat of arms of the University of Adelaide

Granted in 1925 by the College of Arms, London Escutcheon Per pale Or and Argent an Open Book proper edged Gold on a Chief Azure five Mullets, one of eight, two of seven, one of six and one of five points of the second, representing the Constellation of the Southern Cross

University mace

Many universities, including the University of Adelaide, possess ceremonial maces used during graduation ceremonies. The University of Adelaide Mace was forged by silversmiths using silver-gilt under the supervision of Frederick Millward Grey. It features the coat of arms on an orb symbolising the world protruding from an open book representing learning with gum leaves-inspired design. Grey was a designer based at the School of Fine Arts in Adelaide which later became an antecedent institution of the University of South Australia. The first mace bearer was KH Boykett in 1926 who carried it during the 50th anniversary jubilee of the first classes at St Peter's Cathedral. The mace symbolises protection of the chancellor and the mace bearer, who is usually a student of the university, carries it in front of the chancellor during ceremonies.

Academic profile

The university is a member of the Group of Eight, a coalition of research-led Australian universities. It is also a member of the Association of Pacific Rim Universities, an international association of research-intensive universities, and the Academic Consortium 21. The university maintains historically strong ties with the neighbouring University of South Australia and the adjacent Australian Space Agency. The university also offers a wide range of free online MOOC courses on three global platforms edX and FutureLearn, including the MathTrackX bridging program.

Research and publications

In 2023, the University of Adelaide had a total research income of A$261.59 million, of which A$121.62 million was from the National Competitive Grants Program; A$65.48 million from other public sector research; A$8.04 million from Cooperative Research Centres; and A$66.44 million from industry and other research. Additionally, it also received A$49.59 million from the Research Support Program and A$53.24 million from the Research Training Program as research block grants.

In the 2018 ERA National Report, the Australian Research Council evaluated work produced between 2014 and 2018. 100 per cent of the university's research activity was judged to be "at or above world standard" (3-5*) with 57 of the 67 fields of research evaluated being "above world standard" (4*) or "well above world standard" (5*). The university had a positive trajectory since 2010.

The Centre for Automotive Safety Research (CASR), based at the University of Adelaide, was founded in 1973 as the Road Accident Research Unit and focuses on road safety and injury control.

The University of Adelaide has capitalised on opportunities to commercialise its research. The university has the highest volume of commercial research agreements of all Australian universities. It engages in extensive contract research and collaborative work in conjunction with local and international companies, as well as federal, state and local governments. This activity is managed by the university's commercial development company, Adelaide Research & Innovation Pty Ltd (ARI).

Some examples of recent influences to the university's teaching and research priorities are the Defence Science and Technology Group (DSTG; previously the Defence Science and Technology Organisation, or DSTO) in Adelaide's northern suburbs to which the university provides many psychology, physics, engineering, and IT graduates; and the growth in South Australia's wine industry, which is supported by the Waite and National Wine Centre campuses producing oenology and agriculture/viticulture graduates.

In addition, the university participates in the Auto-ID Labs, a network of seven research universities in the field of networked radio-frequency identification (RFID) and emerging sensing technologies.

A four year research project built a miniature satellite called CubeSat which was launched by NASA and deployed from the International Space Station, through a European funded project to build an international network.

In August 2019, Primary Industries and Regions SA (PIRSA) and the South Australian Research and Development Institute (SARDI) entered a partnership with the university, in which scientists in diverse disciplines will be able to access PIRSA's research farms share their academic knowledge to the agricultural sector. The collaboration is anticipated to help develop SA's expertise in dryland agriculture, by encouraging multi-disciplinary research and help to bring about new export opportunities.

In 2020, the university partnered with SA Health to train Covid detector dogs.

Other university partners include the Royal Adelaide Hospital and the Hanson Institute.

In March 2022, the Australian Space Agency and the University of Adelaide stated that they would work together on space research.

Lecture series

The university hosts a number of lecture series, including the Joseph Fisher Lecture in Commerce, established in 1903 following a donation by politician and newspaper proprietor Joseph Fisher of £1000 to the university "for the purpose of promoting the study of commerce". The Gavin David Young Lectures in Philosophy began in 1956, owing their existence to a bequest made by Jessie Frances Raven, in memory of her father, for "the promotion, advancement, teaching and diffusion of the study of philosophy…".

The university also presents the James Crawford Biennial Lecture Series on International Law, named for James Richard Crawford SC, a graduate of the university who went on to be Dean of Law at the University of Sydney and subsequently Whewell Professor of International Law at the University of Cambridge. Crawford delivered the first lecture in 2004. The university is one of a number of institutions to have established an Edward Said Memorial Lecture. The first in this series was given in 2005.

Academic reputation

University rankings
Global rankings
QS	=82
THE	=111
ARWU	151-200
U.S. News & World Report	92
CWTS Leiden	220
Australian rankings
QS	8
THE	7
ARWU	8
U.S. News & World Report	9
CWTS Leiden	7
ERA	8
AFR	5

National publications

In the 2023 AFR Best Universities Ranking, the university attained a position of #5 among Australian universities.

Global publications

In the 2025 QS World University Rankings (published 2024), the university tied 82nd place (8th nationally) with a net increase of 7 places. In the 2024 Times Higher Education World University Rankings, the university tied 111th place (7th nationally). The university had a positive trajectory since 2016. In the 2023 Academic Ranking of World Universities, the university attained a position of #151-200 (8th nationally). In the 2024-2025 U.S. News & World Report Best Global Universities rankings, the university attained 92th place (9th nationally) with a net decrease of 20 places. In the 2023 Aggregate Ranking of Top Universities, which measures aggregate performance across the QS, Times and ARWU rankings, the university attained a position of 98th place (8th nationally). The university had a positive trajectory since 2012. Additionally, the university ranked within the top 100 in a number of subject rankings across all four publications.

Student life

Student association

As of 1 July 2006, membership of the Adelaide University Union (AUU) has been voluntary for all students, following the passing of voluntary student unionism (VSU) legislation by the Federal Government. The AUU funds five affiliates which carry out their functions autonomously. They are the Adelaide Postgraduate Students' Association (APGSA), the Clubs Association (CA), the Roseworthy Agricultural Campus Student Union Council (RACSUC), the Student Representative Council (preceded by the now defunct Students' Association of the University of Adelaide) and the Waite Institute Students' Association (WISA).

The Adelaide University Union was responsible for organising the annual Prosh (University of Adelaide) events.

The Adelaide University Society of Architecture and Built Environment (AUSABE) is a student-run organisation of architectural students within the Faculty Of Science, Engineering And Technology, established in 2020. The aim of the society is to support students in the School of Architecture and Built Environment, and its events include competitions, networking, and social events. It also helps students to get industry-ready.

Student newspapers and radio

The University of Adelaide has three print news publications; these are:

• On Dit, the student magazine,
• Adelaidean, the university's newspaper,
• Lumen, the alumni magazine.

The University of Adelaide Press publishes staff scholarship and works of interest about the history and activities of the university. The Press is also responsible for publishing the Adelaide Law Review.

The University of Adelaide founded Australia's first community radio station, Radio Adelaide, in 1972.

Opportunities to participate in theatre productions are available through the University of Adelaide Theatre Guild and the Law School Revue.

Sports and athletics

Most university sport is organised by the Adelaide University Sports Association (AUSA). The Sports Association was founded in 1896 by the Adelaide University Boat, Tennis and Lacrosse Clubs. The Association disaffiliated from the Adelaide University Union (AUU) on 1 January 2010 and is currently directly affiliated to the University of Adelaide. The AUSA supports 37 sporting clubs which provide a diverse range of sporting opportunities to students of the University of Adelaide (AU). The AUSA is a major stakeholder in the AU North Terrace Campus based Sports Hub fitness centre and the North Adelaide-based university playing fields.

Residential colleges

The University of Adelaide, unlike most universities, did not set any land aside on its North Terrace campus for student accommodation, due mainly to an ideological opposition to the culture of live-in students, but also influenced by the small size of the original campus. However, demand for residential college accommodation led to the establishment of private colleges affiliated to the university. St. Mark's College was founded by the Anglican Church (then called the Church of England) in 1925, Aquinas College in 1950 by the Catholic Church, Lincoln College in 1952 by the Methodist Church, and later St Ann's College, Kathleen Lumley College and Australian Lutheran College. All are located within close walking distance of the university, across the River Torrens in North Adelaide. In addition to providing accommodation and meals for local, interstate and international students, each college organises academic support, social activities and sporting opportunities for its members.

Venues

UniBar

The old UniBar was closed in 2018, with a new one opened in a new venue on the ground floor of Union House, in the former Mayo Cafe.

College Green

On 4 November 2020, a new venue known as the College Green, stretching from the Cloisters across the lawns down to Victoria Drive, next to the Torrens River. From opening night until New Year's Eve 2020/21, live bands, DJs, free open-air cinema, the South Australian Music Awards and Christmas markets were on the schedule. The move was partly in response to the impact of social distancing restrictions owing to the COVID-19 pandemic in Australia, which hit many live music venues.

Little Theatre

The Little Theatre is located in The Cloisters. It has seating for 120 people, and is primarily used for dramatic performances by the University of Adelaide Theatre Guild. The Little Theatre has been the home of the University of Adelaide Theatre Guild since the demise of the Union Hall in 2010. The venue is also used by other university courses, clubs, and associations, as well as a range of amateur theatre companies, including Independent Theatre. During the Adelaide Fringe Festival, the venue is also used by professional companies and performers.

Scott Theatre

The Scott Theatre, as the largest lecture theatre on the North Terrace campus, is frequently hired out for performances of various kinds, such as for Adelaide Fringe events.

Notable people

• Notable students of the university include:
• 
  Julia Gillard
  First female Prime Minister of Australia
• 
  Andy Thomas
  Aerospace engineer and first Australian-born astronaut
• 
  Julie Bishop
  Former politician and Minister for Foreign Affairs
• 
  Tony Tan
  7th President of the Republic of Singapore
• 
  Penny Wong
  Current Leader of the Senate and Minister for Foreign Affairs
• 
  Roma Mitchell
  First female Australian judge, chancellor and state governor
• 
  Howard Florey
  Nobel laureate pharmacologist and pathologist
• 
  Lawrence Bragg
  Nobel laureate physicist and X-ray crystallographer
• 
  William Henry Bragg
  British physicist, chemist, mathematician and Nobel laureate
• 
  J. M. Coetzee
  Nobel laureate author, essayist and linguist
• 
  Robin Warren
  Nobel laureate pathologist
• 
  Laura Margaret Hope
  First female surgeon in Australia
• 
  Guy Sebastian
  Singer-songwriter and musician
• 
  Ong Teng Cheong
  5th President of the Republic of Singapore
• 
  Simon Birmingham
  Senate opposition leader and former minister
• 
  Don Dustan
  Former Premier of South Australia
• 
  Mark Oliphant
  Nuclear physicist and humanitarian
• 
  Lionel Logue
  Speech and language therapist
• 
  Matthew Cowdrey
  Paralympian and state politician
• 
  Peter Malinauskas
  Current premier of South Australia
• 
  Christopher Pyne
  Former politician and minister with portfolio
• 
  Helen Mayo
  First female university council member in Australia
• 
  Edward Holden
  Industrialist and founder of GM Holden
• 
  Winifred Kiek
  First female minister of a church in Australia
• 
  Edith Emily Dornwell
  First Australian Bachelor of Science graduate

The history of the University of Adelaide includes a large number of distinguished alumni and staff, including domestic and international heads of state; Nobel laureates; business and political leaders; pioneers in science, mathematics, and medicine; media personalities; accomplished musical, visual, performance, and written artists; and sportspeople, including multiple Olympic medallists.

Distinguished alumni include 16 chancellors, 20 vice-chancellors, 114 Rhodes Scholars, 5 Nobel laureates (one of whom was once the youngest laureate ever, Lawrence Bragg, co-recipient, with his father William Henry Bragg for physics in 1915, at 25 years of age), and one Prime Minister (Julia Gillard, the first female Prime Minister of Australia) have all graduated or attended the University of Adelaide.

Robin Warren, who alongside Barry Marshall, discovered that peptic ulcers were largely caused by the infection Helicobacter pylori, graduated from the university in the 1950s. Warren and Marshall won the Nobel Prize for their discovery in 2005.

Other Nobel prizewinners are Howard Florey (pharmacologist and pathologist who shared the Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine in 1945 with Sir Ernst Chain and Sir Alexander Fleming for his role in the development of penicillin); and J.M. Coetzee (novelist and linguist, recipient of the 2003 Nobel Prize in Literature),

Other notable graduates and professors include Leo Blair (the father of British Prime Minister Tony Blair; law lecturer at the University of Adelaide while Tony was a child); Edward Charles Stirling (physiologist, politician and advocate for women's suffrage), Tim Flannery (Australian of the Year), Margaret Reid (first female president of the Australian Senate), Janine Haines (first female federal parliamentary leader of an Australian political party), Margaret White (first female judge of the Supreme Court of Queensland), Roma Mitchell (first female Queen's Counsel in Australia (1962), Justice of the Supreme Court of South Australia and the first female superior court judge in the British Commonwealth (1965) and first female state Governor), and Joni Madraiwiwi, Vice-President of the Republic of Fiji and Chief Justice of the Republic of Nauru.

Controversies and criticism

Rathjen sexual misconduct

In May 2020, Rathjen commenced an indefinite leave of absence after University of Adelaide Chancellor Kevin Scarce resigned without public explanation the previous day. Later in the week, the Independent Commissioner Against Corruption (ICAC) confirmed he was investigating allegations of improper conduct by the Vice-Chancellor of the University of Adelaide. Rathjen, accused of engaging in "a personal relationship with a staff member", was succeeded by Acting Vice-Chancellor Mike Brooks. Rathjen formally resigned in July 2020, "due to ill health". In August 2020, the ICAC found that Rathjen had committed "serious misconduct" by sexually harassing two University of Adelaide colleagues, had lied to the then Chancellor Kevin Scarce, and also lied to the Commissioner in his evidence with respect to an investigation of sexual misconduct with a postgraduate student when he was employed at the University of Melbourne. The ICAC Commissioner Bruce Lander acknowledged there were "further issues" in the full 170-page report on the investigation which he chose not to release due to privacy concerns surrounding the victims, instead releasing an abridged 12-page version 'Statement about an Investigation: Misconduct by the Vice-Chancellor of the University of Adelaide'. In determining his findings, the Commissioner relied in part on the personal blog of US journalist Michael Balter who documented Rathjens prior history of sexual harassment, and was largely responsible for bringing the matter to the public's attention, and ultimately ICAC's. The ICAC Commissioner's damning findings against Rathjen have put the University of Adelaide's culture under intense scrutiny in both the local and international media.

Claiming ill-health, Rathjen formally resigned in July 2020 and, despite the ICAC Commissioner's findings, received a large payout from the university.

University merger

Initial merger discussions

The University of Adelaide and the University of South Australia had previously engaged to discuss a merger in 2018 but failed due to disagreements from the latter about the post-merger leadership structure.

Opinion polling on staff

The National Tertiary Education Union conducted a survey of 1100 university staff and found that only a quarter of respondents were in support of a merger. In addition, the state government has been accused of coercing the universities to agree to merge, indicating that a commission of inquiry would be established to find ways to compel the two universities to merge had their two councils refused to do so, with less financial support available. The post-merger plan to switch to a trimester academic calendar has been criticised by the union whose internal poll showed that more than 4 in 5 members were against the move. The University of New South Wales had previously also switched to a trimester model, allowing students to complete a 3 year bachelor degree program in 2 years with shorter breaks. As of 2024, UNSW is considering reversing the change following a 40% drop in paid hours for staff, decreased time for non-academic activities and student burnout from increased workload.

Land re-development

In February 2024, the State Government drew criticism for its future plans to convert sports parks it had purchased from two University of South Australia campuses for housing and commercial re-development. As part of the merger agreement, the sports parks adjacent to the campus were sold to the South Australian Government for A$114.5 million and leased back to the university. Following the release of several internal FOI documents retrieved by InDaily from the Premier's Office, it was later revealed that the land was "earmarked for future development" for residential and commercial purposes. The original media release replaced the phrase with "short-term transitional lease to university", referring to the leaseback period of 10 years, following concerns from UniSA Vice Chancellor David Lloyd that the original draft would "create enormous community reaction which will be particularly unhelpful at this time".

Gallery

• 
  View of eastern side of the Mitchell Building from North Terrace, 2007.
• 
  Bonython Hall & the Ligertwood Building (viewed from North Terrace).
• 
  Bust of Sir Douglas Mawson & the Elder Conservatorium of Music (viewed from North Terrace).
• 
  Bonython Hall & the Elder Conservatorium of Music (viewed from North Terrace).
• 
  Bonython Hall & the Elder Conservatorium of Music (viewed from the north).
• 
  Bonython Hall & the Napier Building (viewed from the north).
• 
  The Cloisters.
• 
  The Cloisters and the Student Union Building.
• 
  The Barr Smith Library with the Napier building visible in the background
• 
  Barr Smith Lawns.
• 
  The old Adelaide Teachers College buildings, now part of the university.
• 
  University of Adelaide site map 1926
• 
  Statue of foundation philanthropist, Sir Walter Watson Hughes, facing North Tce.

See also

• List of universities in Australia
• The Environment Institute
• University of Adelaide College, a pre-University pathways College for international students