Macquarie University
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Template:Infobox University Macquarie University, "Australia's Innovative University", is an Australian university located in Sydney. It is ranked in the top 10 Universities in Australia, and 67th in the world by the UK's 2005 The Times Higher Education Supplement. More than a third of Macquarie University's students are enrolled in postgraduate programs, and just under a third of Macqaurie's students are international students. The grounds of the University are spacious and feature creeks, grasslands, a lake, trees, a renowned sculpture park and even a marsupial research facility. Macquarie University is a member of Innovative Research Universities Australia.
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Location
University publications and material indicate that its campus is located in the suburb of North Ryde, although the Geographical Names Board of NSW indicates it is located in the suburb of Macquarie Park. The University has its own postcode: 2109.
The grounds of Macquarie University contain the Macquarie University Research Park. The Research Park is a joint venture between Macquarie University and Baulderstone Hornibrook and is designed to attract high-technology organisations to the area. North Ryde and Macquarie Park are often referred to as "Australia's Silicon Valley" and are home to more than 500 technology companies, which means Macquarie University is well placed for collaborative research in the technology field. The University is also located adjacent to Macquarie Centre, a large shopping centre for the district.
History
With the rapid expansion of Sydney's size and population in the 1960s, there arose a need for a third tertiary institution in the Sydney metropolitan area (in addition to the more centrally-located University of New South Wales and the University of Sydney). A future campus location was selected in what was then a semi-rural part of North Ryde, and - after much debate - it was decided that the future university be named after Lachlan Macquarie, an important early governor of the colony of New South Wales.
The Macquarie University was formally established in 1964 with the passage of the Macquarie University Act 1964 by the New South Wales Government, the university first opening to students in 1967. At the time the University was hailed as a "radical, bold experiment", with all students undertaking a single degree with a wide variety of subjects. While this is no longer the case, interdisciplinary study remains a defining feature of Macquarie University.
The Macquarie Graduate School of Management was subsequently established in 1969. In 1990 the university absorbed the Institute of Early Childhood Studies of the Sydney College of Advanced Education, under the terms of the Higher Education (Amalgamation) Act 1989.
Academic structure
Image:Macquarie University, Sydney, Australia - central courtyard.jpg
College of Commerce
- Division of Economics and Financial Studies covers the fields of Accounting, Economics, Business, Statistics, Actuarial Studies and Finance.
- Macquarie Graduate School of Management is a business school run by the university.
College of Humanities and Social Sciences
- Australian Centre for Educational Studies includes the school of Education and the Institute of Early Childhood.
- Division of Humanities includes the departments of Ancient History, Modern History, Languages and Politics.
- Division of Law includes the departments of Law and Business Law.
- Division of Society, Culture, Media and Philosophy. covers the areas of Anthropology, Indigenous Studies, International Communications, Media, Sociology, Philosophy, Women's Studies, and Cultural Studies.
College of Science and Technology
- Division of Environmental and Life Sciences covers the fields of Chemistry, Biology, Geography, Environmental science and Chiropractic
- Division of Linguistics and Psychology includes the departments of Linguistics and Psychology
- Division of Information and Communication Sciences which covers Mathematics, Physics, Electronics and Computer Science
Affiliated Organizations
- Sydney Institute of Business and Technology (SIBT) provides diploma (first-year university-equivalent) courses in economics, information technology and media studies for full fee-paying, mainly international, students.
- National Centre for English Language Teaching and Research (NCELTR) provides English language courses for international students.
- Macquarie Christian Studies Institute provides theology courses, recognized by the University for the purpose of accumulating credit points towards gaining a university degree.
Library
The Macquarie University Library currently has over one million volumes.
Student life
Image:Macquarie University, Sydney, Australia - lake.jpg The university offers many types of programmes, from Bachelor's degrees through to Doctorate level qualifications. Courses may be offered as full-time, part-time or through correspondence.
The students' union Students at Macquarie (SAM) provides many student services and benefits such as food outlets, entertainment, banking facilities, etc. The Macquarie University Students' Council Inc. (MUSC Inc.) officially represents students, and has Legal Aid Services, Accounting Services and Academic Services, along with other student services. Postgraduate students are represented by the Macquarie University Postgraduate Representative Association (MUPRA), a member of the Council of Australian Postgraduate Associations.
Conception Day
The biggest event at the university is Conception Day, an annual festival put on by SAM. Traditionally held on the last day of classes before the September mid-semester break, the day is supposedly named after the day the university's namesake, Lachlan Macquarie, was conceived (although this is in fact impossible, since Lachlan Macquarie's birthday was on January 31). It features many big-name bands, and a lot of sun and alcohol. Previously open to all, entry to Conception Day 2005 was for the first time restricted to Macquarie University students and staff.
Transport
Access to the university is primarily by means of bus and car, although students who live on or near campus will often walk or ride. The nearest railway station is at Epping; however the university will eventually gain its own station with the completion of the Epping to Chatswood Line set for 2008.
Parking is available, costing from $4 for one hour to $125 for a full-year permit. There is significant demand for parking at the University, and it is often difficult to find car spaces, especially in the middle of the day.
Accommodation
While the majority of students reside off-campus, there are several options on-campus for accommodation. Dunmore Lang College and Robert Menzies College are both traditional residential colleges, providing students with individual rooms and fully catered meals. Macquarie University Village provides townhouse style accommodation.
Sport
The university has a large number of sporting clubs and extensive facilities, which are co-ordinated by Macquarie University Sport and Recreation Inc (MUSR). Clubs participate in local competitions and also send teams to the annual Australian University Games. One of the most famous clubs is the Rugby Club, commonly referred to as the "Beacons". The club recently won a Bronze medal at the prestigious Australian University Games in Perth and are known Australia wide for their tenacious "thirsty thirds". The Macquarie University Real Tennis Club is working to build a new court on university grounds.
Trivia
- The emblem of the university depicts Macquarie Lighthouse, the first and longest operating lighthouse in Australia.
- Macquarie University is nicknamed "Club Mac" (an allusion to Club Med), because Macquarie students supposedly have more holidays than their counterparts from the other universities in Sydney. This is only half-true, for while Macquarie students have longer holidays, they do not have pre-exam breaks ("stuvac" or studying vacation) as students from the other universities do. Typically, full-time undergraduate students attend classes for 26 weeks a year, this excludes exam time, which can add 1-4 weeks to each semester (depending on timetabling and individual circumstances).
- Construction of a swimming pool began in 2006. Macquarie has its own golf driving range which is open to the public. It also has a real tennis court, one of only four in Australia (and the only one in Sydney).
- Macquarie University is home to Joy, the only public statue of a prostitute in the world.
- A one-day alternative music festival was held on the Macquarie University campus in 1997 called Equinox (as it was held on the Southern Hemisphere Autumn equinox) - which included major international acts including Tool, Skunk Anansie and a then relatively unknown blink-182. Unfortunately, noise complaints were received from neighbouring suburbs including Epping and Beecroft. The cause was apparently the just constructed M2 Motorway as it had "channeled" the sound from university into the neighbouring suburbs, and subsequently no major rock concerts have been held at Macquarie since.
- There are rumours that radioactive waste was dumped near the present site of the Macquarie Graduate School of Management during the early 1960s, although this has never been substantiated.
- Macquarie University is also home to the Macquarie Dictionary
- Macquarie University has Australia's largest Student Life, a Christian movement with groups on universities across Australia.
- Macquarie University was the only university to offer an actuarial studies program in New South Wales for many years until rival University of NSW began their program in 1998.
Notes
See also
- List of Macquarie University staff and alumni
- List of universities in Australia
- Macquarie University News
External links
- General
- Macquarie University
- Students at Macquarie
- Macquarie University Students' Council Incorporated
- Centre for Policing, Intelligence and Counter Terrorism
- History
- 40 years - a visual history of Macquarie University 1964-2004 (Macquarie University Alumni Office)
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