University of Queensland, Australia

The London-based QS ranks UQ #43 worldwide while Times Higher Education ranks it #65 in its World University Rankings 2014

Founded in 1909, the University of Queensland (UQ) is consistently ranked among the Top 100 varsities of the world by reputed international rating agencies. The London-based Quacquarelli Symonds ranks UQ #43 worldwide with employers rating it 55th for graduate employability, while Times Higher Education ranks it #65 in its World University Rankings 2014. A member of Australia’s research-intensive Group of Eight and a founding charter member of Edx, the online higher education consortium led by Harvard University and Massachusetts Institute of Technology (USA), UQ has established nine world-class research institutes which together have attracted more Australian Research Council funding than any other higher ed institution in Oz.

The university’s six faculties — business, economics and law; engineering, architecture and information technology; health and behavioural sciences; humanities and social sciences; medicine and biomedical sciences; science — offer 400 degree programmes and 4,000 courses to 50,749 students, including 11,513 international students from 142 countries.

Spread across two campuses in Brisbane and one each in Gatton and Ipswich, UQ was founded 106 years ago by the Queensland Parliament to mark the 50th anniversary of Queensland’s independence from New South Wales.

Brisbane. The administrative capital of Queensland, Brisbane (pop.2.1 million) is characterised by a subtropical climate, outdoor lifestyle, sprawling parks, bustling restaurants and cafes and thriving arts, sports and entertainment venues. The city also hosts a diverse range of market-leading industries such as advanced manufacturing, alternative and renewable fuels, aviation and aerospace, biotechnology, creative industries, information and communication technology, and nanotechnology.

Brisbane’s year-round sunny weather provides students opportunities for outdoor adventure activities including kayaking in the Brisbane river, rock climbing, and bicycling along more than 20 km of riverside pathways. An hour’s drive from the city are the golden beaches and theme parks of the Gold Coast.

Campus facilities. UQ’s four main campuses are St. Lucia, Herston, Gatton and Ipswich. A mere seven km from Brisbane’s city centre and bounded by the Brisbane River on three sides, the 114-hectare St. Lucia campus offers world-class teaching and research facilities, including Queensland’s largest research library, fully equipped laboratories and lecture theatres amidst parklands and lakes.

The Herston campus, contiguous to the Royal Brisbane Children’s Hospital, is UQ’s core site for clinical health teaching and research. Over an hour’s drive west of Brisbane, the 1,068-hectare Gatton campus combines the rural traditions of Queensland Agricultural College with modern research and teaching facilities in agriculture, agribusiness, animals and veterinary science. 

The Ipswich campus (40 km from Brisbane) offers programmes in medicine, nursing and midwifery, health science, paramedic science, and arts, and features a suite of health clinics plus a water garden within the library. UQ has 15 library branches, spread across the four campuses, which host an aggregate of over 2 million printed volumes.

All four campuses have extensive sports facilities for which Oz is justly famous. St. Lucia offers a three-level sport and fitness centre featuring a weights gym, cardio studio, squash courts, martial arts gymnasium, and fitness studio; an Olympic-length swimming pool; 21 flood-lit tennis courts; an international-standard athletics centre and running track; eight ovals for cricket, hockey, athletics, ultimate disc, and football. The Ipswich campus offers a workout room, multipurpose courts, and a large playing field while Gatton hosts a comprehensive fitness and aquatics centre with a heated, outdoor swimming pool, fully equipped cardio room, squash and tennis courts, a cricket oval and rugby field.

In addition, UQ offers more than 190 social, sports and academic clubs and societies.  

Admission. The minimum eligibility requirements for admission into UQ’s undergraduate programmes are successful completion of Plus Two (CBSE, CISCE and state boards of Maharashtra, Gujarat, Karnataka and West Bengal) and English language proficiency — IELTS/TOEFL scores need to be submitted. The completed application form (available on www.uq.edu.au) must be supported with the following documents: certified copies of all transcripts of exam results, award certificates, grading systems, proof of English language proficiency and an application fee of AUD $100 (Rs.4,842). The application deadline is November 15 for term beginning July.

For admission into postgraduate programmes, the minimum eligibility criteria are successful completion of a bachelor’s degree and English language proficiency.

For further information, contact UQ International, Level 2, JD Story building, St. Lucia campus, the University of Queensland, Brisbane, Queensland 4072, Australia. Tel: +61 3 8676 7004; email: applicationstatus@uq.edu.au; website: www.uq.edu.au.

Accommodation. Students can choose to live in on-campus residential colleges, off-campus student housing, or privately rented homes. At the St. Lucia campus, 2,350 students live in 10 residential colleges. The Gatton campus offers halls of residence housing over 430 students with the university also managing several shared houses on campus. At the Herston and Ipswich campuses, several off-campus housing options are available.

Degree programmes. UQ’s six faculties offer over 400 undergraduate, postgrad, certificate, diploma and doctoral programmes (see box).

SUMMIYA YASMEEN