History
The university was established in 1964 following the assent of the La Trobe University Act by the Victorian Parliament on 9 December 1964. The passing of the Act of Victorian Parliament to establish La Trobe University followed earlier University Acts to establish the University of Melbourne (1853) and Monash University (1958). The Minister of Education at the time and the appointed planning council were "unanimous in their enthusiasm that the new institution should be innovative in its approach", and the university adopted an academic structure based on schools of studies (rather than on faculties) and a collegiate format, where a large number of students lived on campus. At this time, Flinders University and Macquarie University were also establishing a school-based system.
Many prominent Victorians were involved in La Trobe's establishment process, and there was a strong belief that it was important to increase research and learning in Victoria. One of the major individuals involved was Davis McCaughey, who later became Governor of Victoria. The university was named after Charles Joseph La Trobe, the first Governor of Victoria, and the university motto, 'whoever seeks shall find', is adapted from Charles La Trobe's family motto. The La Trobe University Coat of Arms incorporates the scallop shells from the La Trobe family bearings, the Australian wedge-tailed eagle to represent Australia, and sprigs of heath to represent Victoria.
For more than 50 years, La Trobe University has been transforming people and societies. We put our students at the center of everything we do - with a dual emphasis on excellence and inclusivity. La Trobe is firmly entrenched in the top 400 of all three major world university rankings - during the past few years, we've recorded our best results. Learn more about La Trobe's rankings and ratings. La Trobe University's Key Statistics 2015 - 2017 contains information about the University's student count, student load, graduate outcomes, staff, research income, and publications.
La Trobe has been one of Australia's pioneering universities for more than 50 years. Discover our unique history, including our motto and coat of arms. In 1967, 552 students enrolled at La Trobe University, the third university to open in Victoria, which has grown to accommodate more than 36,000 students, with over 7,000 international students from 110 countries. We now have a network of campuses, with over 28,000 students at our Melbourne Campus and over 7,500 at our campuses in Albury-Wodonga, Bendigo, Mildura, Melbourne City (Collins Street), Shepparton and Sydney.
RANKINGS AND RATINGS
HOW WE STACK UP AGAINST THE WORLD'S BEST
Whether it’s our innovations in teaching and learning, our strong graduate employment outcomes or our leading research, the world’s most respected university ranking agencies consistently rate La Trobe among the world’s best.
Year after year, these results reflect our commitment to outstanding student experience, the career-readiness of our graduates, our ambitious research culture and our partnerships with communities, government and industry.
Times Higher Education (THE) World University Rankings
Times Higher Education (THE) World University Rankings
THE evaluates world-class universities against 13 separate performance indicators.
Our THE rankings
QS Top Universities
QS Top Universities
A ranking pioneer, producing the QS World University Rankings and QS Stars rating system.
Our QS rankings
Academic Ranking of World Universities (ARWU)
Academic Ranking of World Universities (ARWU)
ARWU uses six objective indicators to rank more than 1,800 world universities.
Our ARWU rankings
Excellence in Research for Australia (ERA)
Excellence in Research for Australia (ERA)
The Australian Research Council’s national research evaluation framework.
Our ERA rankings
THE Impact Rankings
THE Impact Rankings
Universities assessed against the United Nations’ Sustainable Development Goals.
Our impact rankings
QS Stars
QS Stars
Focusing on topics such as teaching strength, employability, research strength, inclusiveness and innovation.
Our QS Stars rankings
Quality Indicators for Learning and Teaching (QILT)
Quality Indicators for Learning and Teaching (QILT)
Covers a range of areas in higher education, including student and employer satisfaction and graduate outcomes.
Our QILT rankings
ERA research impact
ERA research impact
How our research has enhanced the economy, society, environment or culture,
Our research impact ranking
