OUR UNIVERSITY...

UQ is the oldest university in Queensland. The main campus is on a tranquil site on a bend of the Brisbane River, 7km from the CBD. Much university promotional material focuses on UQ's 1920s sandstone cloisters with the jacarandas in full bloom as a splendid foil, but the newer buildings (i.e. most of them) are less glamorous. A second campus at Gatton, about 100km west of Brisbane, was once an agricultural college (older than UQ, in fact), but has expanded into business and other courses. Gatton's future was a controversial topic during 1999, but the university reports it is to get a funding injection and increased enrolments. A third campus at Ipswich, 40km west of Brisbane, opened in 1999 and has around 1500 studying IT, cultural studies, behavioural studies and vocational business courses. Other UQ sites and facilities are scattered across Brisbane, and Queensland, and include the medical and dental schools in the city.

With almost 30 000 students and 4500 staff, seven faculties, 22 schools and 43 academic departments, it's a biggie. New student centres on all campuses provide a one-stop-shop for just about any student inquiry or service. It has established and internationally significant institute for the molecular biosciences, one of the hottest of new academic fields. From 2003, the university will be home to a new Rotary Centre for International Studies, with a focus on conflict resolution and diplomacy. A very strong research institution, UQ is one of Australia's biggest producers of PhDs and ranks high on all research indicators. Numbers of international students, which have been low, are growing quickly.

Students in the 'Great-Court'

UQ is at the top of academic and student status hierarchies in Queensland but is kept honest by a large, long-established, inner-city technological and vocational institution, Queensland University of Technology (QUT), and the newer Griffith University with its range of interdisciplinary and vocational courses. Our student correspondent notes that there is a disproportionate number of students from private schools; that there are great facilities on campus but no student quarter near by; that the university is of a traditional style and treats its students accordingly; but concludes that it is, all in all, a great institution. UQ has a very good graduate employment and further study record, and it was the Good Universities Guide 1998 University of the Year for outstanding graduate outcomes.

UNDERGRADUATE STUDY

UQ is Queensland's only provider in many disciplines including medicine, dentistry, veterinary science, pharmacy, speech pathology, space engineering, and mining and minerals processing. The extensive undergraduate menu is being restructured. UQ Link offers special entry for socio-economically disadvantaged students from targeted schools. Special entry is also available to Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people. UQ aims to boost numbers of women enrolled in non-traditional courses. The Adult Tertiary Preparation Certificate of the local TAFE system is accepted for entry to some courses. The Gatton and Ipswich campuses have offer easier access. There are summer semesters in some courses. Medicine is open to graduates only; dentistry is open to students who have completed one year of specific science subjects. All universities have their own complicated rules for admission so check out UQ and tertiary admissions centre publications.

POSTGRADUATE STUDY

A very big research institution, UQ is one of Australia?s biggest producers of PhDs and ranks high on all research indicators. It is at the top of academic and student status hierarchies in Queensland but is kept honest by a long-established, inner-city institution with large postgraduate course work enrolments, Queensland University of Technology (QUT), and the newer and expanding Griffith University with its range of inter-disciplinary and vocational courses and research focus. PhD graduate numbers doubled over the past decade or so and there are plans for further increases in the proportion of postgraduates and of research students. The main fields are the sciences, the humanities and social sciences, engineering, agriculture, and medicine, but many niche fields also enrol significant numbers. UQ has been taking the life and work of its research students seriously, putting the whole enterprise on a properly planned footing with a graduate school launched in 1998, new supervision policies and more scholarships including a travel award scheme. An oral exam option reduces the average time between completion and awarding of the degree to 10 weeks. UQ has a number of major research centres, in areas including molecular biosciences, functional and applied genomics, and human factors and applied cognitive psychology. It is a core partner in one Commonwealth-funded key centre for teaching and research (cultural and media policy) and 16 cooperative research centres.

UQ has set itself a target to increase postgraduate course work enrolments by 70 per cent and postgraduate student numbers overall by 30 percent by 2004, which may alter the balance of its traditional emphasis on research. Course work is a more important part of Gatton's work, with programs available across its menu. UQ has been reviewing its course work programs, resulting in new and restructured courses. The sizeable groups are in education, environmental studies, management, law, and the humanities and social sciences, but there are significant enrolments in some of the niche fields.

INTERNATIONAL CONNECTIONS

In 1999 students from 91 countries studied at UQ, across English language, degree and research programs. The study abroad program is growing. Services include special preparatory and orientation programs and help with English. There is a foundation studies program as well as preparatory English language tuition.