History
The history of UNSW embraces our spirit of community, innovation, and "knowledge by heart, mind and hand."
Since our foundation in 1949, UNSW Sydney has made an ongoing commitment to improve and transform lives in Australia and globally.
Welcome to UNSW Sydney (the University of New South Wales), one of Australia's leading research and teaching universities. At UNSW, we take pride in the broad range and high quality of our teaching programs. Our teaching gains strength and currency from our research activities, strong industry links and our international nature; UNSW has strong regional and global engagement.
Aboriginal history of UNSW
UNSW is located on unceded territory, and we recognise the Traditional Owners of the lands where each campus of UNSW is situated. This timeline of Australian history helps us understand the impact of laws and policies upon the lives of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples.
UNSW through the decades
Our history tells the story of a University forged by a commitment to discovery, creativity and challenging the status quo. We chronicle milestones from UNSW’s earliest foundations in 1949, and celebrate trailblazers such as our first international student in 1950, our first female graduate in 1952, and Australia’s first Indigenous law graduate in 1976 — to name just a few.
Our University has since been shaped by the addition of new schools, centres and institutes, by changes to the physical campus and strategic planning processes. Today UNSW is building a legacy of transformative and positive impact.
Leadership & governance
Learn about UNSW’s senior leaders and initiatives. UNSW's senior leaders guide our University towards ambitious goals, building on distinction and innovative education in service to the community, nation and world.
- At UNSW, offered a world-class education giving you everything you need to catapult your career forward.
- UNSW graduates are the number one choice for in-demand employers, according to a recent LinkedIn study.
- We have state-of-the-art facilities that rub shoulders with great cafes, shops, libraries, interesting clubs, societies and heaps of support services - all made to be accessible and welcoming.
- UNSW is where you have the freedom to be yourself, move to the beat of your own drum and take control of your future. You're independent, but far from alone.
- 47 schools providing world-class education.
- 7 faculties - Arts, Design & Architecture; Business; Engineering; Law & Justice; Medicine & Health; Science; UNSW Canberra.
- 4 main campuses - Kensington, Paddington, Sydney CBD, Canberra
- 53 centres & institutes including internal and external entities
- Top #20 Worldwide QS World University Rankings, 2024
- Leading Innovation - #1 Australian uni attended by startup founders
- 27th Employer Reputation - QS World Graduate Employability Rankings, 2020
- UNSW is one of the top 50 universities in the world. In 2020, it ranked 44 in the QS World University Rankings.
- UNSW is the first university in Australia to be awarded the maximum QS Five Star Plus rating. The categories include teaching, research, employability, facilities and innovation.
- 17 of the world’s Top 50 Subjects, with Accounting & Finance in the Top 20 QS World University Rankings 2019
- In the 2018 Academic Ranking of World Universities, UNSW was ranked in the 101-150th bracket and 7-8th in Australia
- UNSW has more subjects ranked in the ShanghaiRanking's Global Ranking of Academic Subjects 2018 than any other Australian university with 38 in the top 100, 24 in the top 50 and 3 in the top 10 in the world.It has nine subjects ranked first in Australia: Finance (16th in the world), Water Resources (5th in the world), Management (50th in the world), Mechanical Engineering (45th in the world), Remote Sensing (16th in the world), Library and information science (26th in the world), Civil Engineering (10th in the world), and Instrument Science and technology (42nd in the world).
- More opportunities for graduates. UNSW is the top-performing university in the world for graduate employability. Ranked 28th in the world for employer reputation – QS World University Rankings 2019.
- Leading innovation: UNSW is leading the way in technological advances. UNSW has produced more technology entrepreneurs in the past 15 years than any other Australian university. We have the biggest student start-up program in Australia.
Our rankings
UNSW is consistently placed within the top 50 world rankings and rank 44th in the 2021 QS Global University Rankings. UNSW Business School has the #1 online MBA program in the country, while the Australian Research Council's latest assessment found that our business research "well above world standard" in fields of Economics and Commerce.
2023 rankings
1st in Australia and 21st worldwide for Accounting and Finance (QS World University Rankings by Subject)
1st in Sydney, 2nd in Australia and 42nd worldwide for Business and Management Studies (QS World University Rankings by Subject)
1st in Sydney, 4th in Australia and 42nd worldwide for Economics and Econometrics (QS World University Rankings by Subject)
