University of Western Australia facts for kids

Quick facts for kids
The University of Western Australia

Coat of arms
Latin: Universitas Australia Occidentalis
Motto	Seek wisdom
Type	Public research university
Established	February 1911; 114 years ago (1911-02)
Accreditation	TEQSA
Affiliation	Group of Eight (Go8)
Academic affiliations	MNU ACU AACSB EA ASAIHL ICPSR IATUL EQUIS AIPS AAL AMC CSI CPA UA
Budget	A$920.98 million (2022)
Chancellor	Robert French
Vice-Chancellor	Amit Chakma
Academic staff	1,702 (2023)
Administrative staff	2,093 (2023)
Total staff	3,795 (2023)
Students	29,426 (2023)
Undergraduates	18,792 (2023)
Postgraduates	8,740 coursework (2023) 1,894 research (2023)
Address	35 Stirling Highway , Crawley , Western Australia , 6009 , Australia Lua error in Module:Coordinates at line 614: attempt to index field 'wikibase' (a nil value).
Campus	Suburban and regional with multiple sites, 300 hectares (3.0 km2)
Colours	Blue Gold
Sporting affiliations	UniSport EAEN UBL
Mascot	Laurence the Peacock

The University of Western Australia (UWA) is a big public university in Western Australia. It focuses on research. The main campus is in Crawley, a suburb near Perth. UWA started in 1911 by a special law from the Parliament of Western Australia.

UWA is the oldest university in Western Australia. It is also the sixth-oldest in all of Australia. It is known as one of the "sandstone universities". This is a special name for the oldest university in each Australian state.

UWA is part of the Group of Eight. This group includes the eight best research universities in Australia. UWA is also a member of the international Matariki Network of Universities.

Many groups rank UWA among the top 100 universities in the world. All graduates of UWA become lifelong members of the university through something called Convocation. This lets them attend meetings and help choose leaders for the university.

Many famous people have studied at UWA. This includes former Australian Prime Minister Bob Hawke. Five judges from Australia's highest court also studied here. Two UWA professors, Barry Marshall and Robin Warren, won Nobel Prizes for their research at the university.

History of UWA

Winthrop Hall, a famous building at the main UWA campus

The university began in 1911 after some ideas were suggested in 1910. The first students started in March 1913. The original campus was on Irwin Street in Perth. It had several buildings with corrugated iron roofs. People called this area "Tin Pan Alley."

These buildings were used until 1932. Then, the university moved to its current location in Crawley.

The first leader of the university was Sir John Winthrop Hackett. He passed away in 1916. He left a lot of money to the university. This money helped build many of the main buildings. Many places at UWA are named after him, like Winthrop Hall. His gift also paid for many scholarships. He wanted to help students who could not afford to study.

One of the original buildings, the "Irwin Street Building," is still around today. In the 1930s, it was moved to the new campus. It has been used for many things. In 1987, it was moved again to James Oval. Today, it is used for meetings and as part of the cricket pavilion. This building is now a protected heritage site.

The architect Rodney Alsop won an award in 1932 for his design of Winthrop Hall. He spent six years working on the Hackett Memorial buildings. He thought these buildings were his greatest work.

UWA started offering the Doctorate of Philosophy (PhD) degree in 1946. The first PhD was given in 1950. It was for research on the chemistry of plants in Western Australia.

UWA Campus

UWA owns a lot of land in Perth. This is because of gifts from the government and private people. The university is always adding new buildings. Some recent additions include:

• The University Club, opened in 2005.
• The UWA Watersports Complex, opened in 2005.
• The Molecular and Chemical Sciences building, opened in 2005.
• A new Business School building, opened in 2008.
• A CO₂ research facility, finished in 2014.
• The Indian Ocean Marine Research Centre, finished in 2016.

Arts and Culture at UWA

Limestone arches are common on older walkways at UWA

The Crawley campus is about 5 km west of Perth city. It is next to the Swan River. Many buildings are made of local stone. Winthrop Hall is a large and famous building with a special Romanesque Revival style.

The Arts Faculty building has the New Fortune Theatre. This outdoor theatre was built to celebrate Shakespeare. It is a copy of an old Elizabethan theatre. It is used for plays and performances. A family of peafowl (peacocks and peahens) lives here. They were given to the university in 1975.

Other places for performances include the Octagon and Dolphin Theatres. There is also Somerville Auditorium, Winthrop Hall, and the Sunken Garden. These places host many plays and music shows.

The UWA Conservatorium of Music has many concerts each year. Students and visiting artists perform there. They often have free lunchtime concerts.

The Berndt Museum of Anthropology has a very important collection. It holds cultural items from Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people. It also has interesting Asian and Melanesian collections. It was started in 1976.

UWA Libraries

Reid Library

UWA has five libraries on its campus. The Reid Library is the largest and most famous. The other libraries are:

• Barry J Marshall Library (for science, math, and psychology)
• J Robin Warren Library (for medicine and dentistry)
• Beasley Law Library
• Education, Fine Arts and Architecture Library

Student Homes

Many student homes are located near the campus. These are called residential colleges. They include University Hall, St George's College, St Catherine's College, Trinity Residential College, and St Thomas More College.

These colleges are all next to each other on a road called "college row." All the colleges have both male and female students. They hold many events where students compete against each other. Some fun events include lip dub competitions and battle of the bands.

Each college has its own mascot. St Catherine's has a cat, St George's has a dragon, and St Thomas More's has a rooster. Students often use short names for the colleges, like "St Cat's" or "Tommy More."

Other UWA Locations

UWA Centre Albany

UWA opened a center in Albany in 1999. This was to help students in rural areas. In 2005, another university joined UWA in Albany. This allowed more courses to be offered.

UWA also has facilities in Nedlands. These are connected to the main campus by walkways. The university also bought facilities in Claremont in 2005. It calls these "UWA Claremont."

UWA works with universities in Malaysia and Singapore. Students there can get UWA degrees. The university also works with Australian Doctors for Africa. They send staff to teach medical students in countries like Somalia.

Centre for Integrative Bee Research

Centre for Integrative Bee Research

The Centre for Integrative Bee Research (CIBER) is on the Crawley campus. CIBER studies honeybees. They research how bees reproduce, stay healthy, and live in their environment. They also work with businesses and governments.

What Students Study

Irwin Street Building

UWA changed its degree system in 2012. Now, students usually start with a three-year bachelor's degree. The university offers:

• Bachelor of Science (BSc)
• Bachelor of Commerce (BCom)
• Bachelor of Arts (BA)
• Bachelor of Biomedical Science (BBiomedSc)

Bachelor of Philosophy

UWA also has a special degree called the Bachelor of Philosophy (BPhil). This is for students who have achieved very high grades. It is a four-year degree that includes a lot of research. Students can choose subjects from any of the other bachelor's degrees. Only about 30 students are accepted into this program each year.

Assured Entry Pathways

Students who do very well in high school can apply for "assured pathways." This means they are guaranteed a spot in a postgraduate degree. They get this spot after finishing their undergraduate degree. These pathways are offered for fields like medicine, law, dentistry, and engineering.

Postgraduate Courses

After a bachelor's degree, students can study for a postgraduate degree. These include Master's degrees and PhDs (Doctor of Philosophy). Some postgraduate courses, like medicine or law, do not require a related undergraduate degree. Other courses, like engineering, build on earlier studies.

Students from other universities can also transfer to UWA for postgraduate study. Sometimes, undergraduate students can transfer too.

Scholarships

UWA offers scholarships to students who get excellent grades. They also help students who might have financial difficulties. Some UWA scholarships include:

• Academic Excellence: For students with outstanding grades.
• Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion: For students facing challenges due to financial conditions.
• Leadership, Talent, and Social Impact: For students who do well in sports or cultural events and show leadership skills.
• Global Excellence Scholarship – For top undergraduate and postgraduate students from around the world. It offers up to AUD 48,000 for undergraduates and AUD 24,000 for postgraduates.
• Global Sporting Excellence Scholarship – For high-performing athletes, coaches, and officials. It offers up to AUD 48,000 for undergraduates and AUD 24,000 for postgraduates.
• UWA International Student Award – Helps international students by reducing their fees by AUD 5,000 per year.

UWA Students

Most UWA students are from Western Australia. Many come from the Perth area. There are also many international students, especially from Southeast Asia. In 2020, UWA had over 4,300 international students.

The entrance area of the Chemical and Molecular Sciences building, with a unique "double helix staircase"

Research at UWA

UWA gets a lot of money for research. More than any other university in Western Australia. Each year, it spends over $117 million on research. Over 300 students earn research degrees, mostly PhDs.

The university has more than 80 research centers. These include the Oceans Institute and the Centre for Energy. In 2008, UWA helped create The Centre for Social Impact.

The Zadko Telescope is a special telescope used for astronomy research at UWA. It is located 70 km north of Perth. It helps scientists study space. A local businessman, James Zadko, helped fund the telescope.

UWA also received money for The International Centre for Radio Astronomy Research. This center studies space using radio waves. UWA played a big part in Australia's plan to host the Square Kilometre Array. This is a huge international radio telescope project. It will help us see how galaxies, stars, and planets first formed.

The university is also part of the Western Australian Pregnancy Cohort (Raine) Study. This is one of the largest studies of pregnancy, childhood, and early adulthood in the world.

University Rankings

Many important groups rank UWA among the top 100 universities in the world. These include QS World University rankings and US News World University rankings. The Academic Ranking of World Universities (ARWU) also consistently ranks UWA in the top 100.

In 2022, UWA was ranked 85th in the world. This was based on combining results from QS, THE, and ARWU.

Student Life

The Reflection Pool was mostly built by student volunteers

The University of Western Australia Student Guild is the main group that represents students. It helps students and offers many services. These include food and financial advice.

There are over 100 clubs and societies at UWA. They are supported by the Guild. The Guild also publishes the student newspaper, Pelican. It also helps with the Prosh charity event.

Publishing at UWA

UWA has had a publishing group since 1935. In 2009, it was renamed UWA Publishing.

Notable People

Many famous people have graduated from UWA. They have done well in many jobs, especially in politics. Some former leaders of Western Australia studied here. These include Alan Carpenter and Colin Barnett. Former Australian Prime Minister Bob Hawke also graduated from UWA.

The former Chief Justice of Australia's highest court, Robert French, is also a UWA graduate. Famous scientists and doctors include Nobel Prize winner Barry Marshall. Fiona Stanley and Fiona Wood, who were named Australian of the Year, also studied here.

Sir Rod Eddington, who led big airlines, graduated from UWA Engineering. Ric Charlesworth, a famous hockey player and coach, also studied here. The comedian Tim Minchin attended UWA. Parwinder Kaur, a scientist, is also a UWA graduate.

Other notable graduates include business leaders Andrew Forrest and Richard Goyder.

Current staff members include psychologist David Indermaur. Cheryl Praeger, a famous scientist, also works at UWA. Former Western Australian Premier Colin Barnett and former federal minister Stephen Smith are also current staff.

Images for kids

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  Socrates bust

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  Great gate mosaic

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  Clock tower balcony

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  Winthrop Hall foyer

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  Administration building

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  North entrance to the Geology building

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  The Geology building seen through The Grove

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  Sundial near the Sunken Garden

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  Adult white peahen, New Fortune Theatre

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  St George's College

See also

In Spanish: Universidad de Australia Occidental para niños

• List of universities in Australia
• List of official openings by Elizabeth II in Australia
• Rural Clinical School of Western Australia
• UWA Telerobot
• UWA School of Medicine
• UWA Business School