About us

Deakin University is a public university in Victoria, Australia. Founded in 1974, the university was named after Alfred Deakin, the second Prime Minister of Australia.

Its main campuses are in Melbourne's Burwood suburb, Geelong Waurn Ponds, Geelong Waterfront, and Warrnambool, as well as the online Cloud Campus. Deakin also has learning centres in Dandenong and Werribee, all in the state of Victoria.

As of 2021, Deakin University is ranked among the top 30% of universities in the world, is ranked one of the top 26 young universities in the world, is the 3rd-highest-ranked university in the world for Sport Science, is one of the top 29 universities in the world for Nursing, is one of the top 32 universities in the world for Education, and is among fewer than 5% of Business Schools worldwide with Association to Advance Collegiate Schools of Business accreditation.

Deakin's research activities are growing. 100% of Deakin research was rated at or above world standard in the 2018 Excellence in Research Australia (ERA) ratings. Its combined research funding increased from A$4.5 million in 1997 to A$47.2 million in 2015. In 2020, the university's research income was $87.6 million, with 247 Higher degree by Research completions.

Deakin University consistently ranks highly in undergraduate student satisfaction; in the 2019 Student Experience Survey, Deakin had the fourth-highest student satisfaction rating nationally, the highest student satisfaction rating out of all Australian public universities, and the highest student satisfaction rating out of all Victorian universities. Deakin has had the highest undergraduate student satisfaction ratings out of all Victorian universities every year since 2010 and has consistently placed in the top two for highest postgraduate student satisfaction out of all Victorian universities every year since 2010.

Deakin University was formally established in 1974 with the passage of the Deakin University Act 1974. Deakin was Victoria's fourth university, the first to be established in regional Victoria, and the first to specialise in distance education.

Deakin University's first campus was established at Waurn Ponds. The university was the result of a merger between State College of Victoria, Geelong (formerly Geelong Teachers College), and the higher education courses of the Gordon Institute of Technology. Deakin enrolled its first students at Waurn Ponds in 1977.

The Burwood campus is on the site of the former Burwood Teachers' College, and also takes in the former sites of the Bennettswood Primary School and the Burwood Secondary School. The teachers' college conducted two-year training courses for Primary School teachers, and three year courses for Infant Teachers (females only). It provided live-on-site accommodation for country students.

As part of the Dawkins education reforms that were announced in 1988 by the Commonwealth government, a merger with Warrnambool Institute of Advanced Education took place in 1990, which was followed by a merger with most of Victoria College in 1991, with its campuses in Burwood, Rusden and Toorak.

The Rusden Campus was closed in 2003 and all courses were transferred to the Melbourne Burwood campus. Rusden was subsequently acquired by Monash University for its student accommodation purposes.

The former Toorak Campus, located in Malvern, was offered for sale in 2006 as the university considered the campus surplus to its requirements. The courses and resources were relocated to the Melbourne Burwood campus in November 2007. As a Deakin campus, it was home to the Deakin Business School, Deakin University English Language Institute (DUELI), and the Melbourne Institute of Business and Technology, which have since relocated to the International Centre and Business Building at the Melbourne Burwood campus..

The main building on the site was the 116-year-old historic Stonnington Mansion The sale of Stonnington Mansion by Deakin provoked public outrage as it involved the mansion which was at risk of redevelopment by property developers. The Stonnington Stables art gallery and the university's contemporary art collection were located here, but has since relocated to the Deakin University Art Gallery at the Melbourne Burwood campus. The university's action of offering the campus, including the mansion, provoked public outrage over the potential privatization of what had been public space. In December 2006, the three-mansion was sold for $33 million to a joint venture between Hamton Property Group and Industry Superannuation Property Trust.