Federation University Australia (FedUni) is a

public university A public university, state university, or public college is a university or college that is State ownership, owned by the state or receives significant funding from a government. Whether a national university is considered public varies from o ...

based in Victoria,

Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country comprising mainland Australia, the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania and list of islands of Australia, numerous smaller isl ...

. It is the modern descendant of the School of Mines Ballarat, established in 1870 as the fourth tertiary institution in Australia, which evolved to form the modern university as it is today. Formerly known as the University of Ballarat, it changed its name to Federation University in 2014 as it became a multi-campus institution with a strong presence both in

Ballarat Ballarat ( ) () is a city in the Central Highlands of Victoria, Australia. At the 2021 census, Ballarat had a population of 111,973, making it the third-largest urban inland city in Australia and the third-largest city in Victoria. Within mo ...

and across the state. The university is a dual-sector institution that provides both higher and

vocational education Vocational education is education that prepares people for a skilled craft. Vocational education can also be seen as that type of education given to an individual to prepare that individual to be gainfully employed or self employed with req ...

. It offers study programs in

healthcare Health care, or healthcare, is the improvement or maintenance of health via the preventive healthcare, prevention, diagnosis, therapy, treatment, wikt:amelioration, amelioration or cure of disease, illness, injury, and other disability, physic ...

education Education is the transmission of knowledge and skills and the development of character traits. Formal education occurs within a structured institutional framework, such as public schools, following a curriculum. Non-formal education als ...

computational science Computational science, also known as scientific computing, technical computing or scientific computation (SC), is a division of science, and more specifically the Computer Sciences, which uses advanced computing capabilities to understand and s ...

engineering Engineering is the practice of using natural science, mathematics, and the engineering design process to Problem solving#Engineering, solve problems within technology, increase efficiency and productivity, and improve Systems engineering, s ...

and various other fields including

commerce Commerce is the organized Complex system, system of activities, functions, procedures and institutions that directly or indirectly contribute to the smooth, unhindered large-scale exchange (distribution through Financial transaction, transactiona ...

the arts The arts or creative arts are a vast range of human practices involving creative expression, storytelling, and cultural participation. The arts encompass diverse and plural modes of thought, deeds, and existence in an extensive range of m ...

and

sciences Science is a systematic discipline that builds and organises knowledge in the form of testable hypotheses and predictions about the universe. Modern science is typically divided into twoor threemajor branches: the natural sciences, which stu ...

. It also offers

technical and further education Technical and further education or simply TAFE () is the common name in Australia for vocational education, as a subset of tertiary education. TAFE institutions provide a wide range of predominantly vocational courses. Colloquially also known ...

(TAFE), a

Doctor of Philosophy A Doctor of Philosophy (PhD, DPhil; or ) is a terminal degree that usually denotes the highest level of academic achievement in a given discipline and is awarded following a course of Postgraduate education, graduate study and original resear ...

(PhD) and other research programs. The university has a multi-campus presence in and around

, including the old School of Mines campus which is notable for its red brick buildings, and also has campuses in Berwick (

Melbourne Melbourne ( , ; Boonwurrung language, Boonwurrung/ or ) is the List of Australian capital cities, capital and List of cities in Australia by population, most populous city of the States and territories of Australia, Australian state of Victori ...

) and

Horsham Horsham () is a market town on the upper reaches of the River Arun on the fringe of the Weald in West Sussex, England. The town is south south-west of London, north-west of Brighton and north-east of the county town of Chichester. Nearby to ...

(

Wimmera The Victorian government's Wimmera Southern Mallee subregion is part of the Grampians region in western Victoria. It includes most of what is considered the Wimmera, and part of the southern Mallee region. The subregion is based on the social ...

). In 2013, the university merged with Monash University's former Gippsland campus in Churchill, an amalgamation that was followed by its renaming to Federation University.

History

1870–2013

Tertiary education Tertiary education (higher education, or post-secondary education) is the educational level following the completion of secondary education. The World Bank defines tertiary education as including universities, colleges, and vocational schools ...

at Ballarat began in 1870, making it Australia's fourth oldest tertiary institution.

2014–present

On 6 September 2013, the

Victorian Parliament The Parliament of Victoria is the bicameral legislature of the Australian state of Victoria that follows a Westminster-derived parliamentary system. It consists of the King, represented by the governor of Victoria, the Legislative Assembly ...

passed legislation to establish Federation University Australia. The name change officially began in 2014. The then Vice-Chancellor justified the name change as an attempt to broaden the reach of the university nationally and internationally, and in fairness to the campuses outside Ballarat. Other names considered were Eureka University, Robert Menzies University, and Vida Goldstein University and several others, before narrowing down the choice to two names: State University of Victoria or Federation University Australia. After consultation with the community and over 100 stakeholders, the present name was decided upon.

Campuses and buildings

In addition to the following campuses, the university also had joint-degree programmes with international colleges, including PLK Vicwood KT Chong Sixth Form College in Hong Kong.

Ballarat

*Camp Street Campus – located in central Ballarat, this campus houses the Arts Academy. The campus consists of the Old General Post Office Building, the Old Courthouse, and several newer buildings which were completed in 2002. *SMB Campus – located in central Ballarat and incorporates the original School of Mines Ballarat and the Old Ballarat Gaol. The campus offers training from certificate level through to advanced diploma and degree-level study.

Buildings and architecture

The former Ballarat Gaol, a maximum security prison that operated from 1862 until 1965, was located on the site of the university's School of Mines (SMB) campus, at the southern end of Lydiard Street. The area is known for being a well preserved Victorian era street. While the prison was mostly demolished in the 1960s, the old prison walls, gate and guard towers, as well as the residences of the governor and warden, still exist. One of the bedrooms was used by

Bella Guerin Julia Margaret Guerin Halloran Lavender (23 April 1858 in Williamstown, Colony of Victoria – 26 July 1923 in Adelaide, South Australia), known popularly as Bella Guerin, was an Australian feminist, women's rights activist, women's suffr ...

, who in 1883 became the first woman to graduate from an Australian university. The campus also includes the old School of Mines buildings.

Western Victorian campuses

Campus – offers TAFE courses and a higher education course in nursing.

Mt Helen Campus

Located in Mt Helen, 10 km south of Ballarat. The university's largest campus, it has three residences,

Peter Lalor Peter Fintan Lalor ( ); 5 February 1827 – 9 February 1889) was an Irish-Australian rebel and, later, politician, who rose to fame for his leading role in the Eureka Rebellion, an event identified with the "birth of democracy" in Austra ...

South Hall,

North Hall, and

Hall. Its programs include the Institute of Education, Arts and Community; Institute of Health and Wellbeing: Institute of Innovation, Science and Sustainability.

Gippsland Campus

The Gippsland Campus is located in the township of Churchill in the foothills of the Strzelecki Ranges. The campus is home to over 2,500 students and approximately 400 staff. The campus was formerly Monash University, Gippsland Campus, but became part of Federation University Australia on 1 January 2014.

Berwick Campus

The Berwick Campus is located south-east of the Melbourne city centre. It was transitioning itself from the Monash University, Berwick campus in 2017 and completed its transition in early 2018. The exact location of the building is 100 Clyde Road Berwick VIC 3806. The university has four buildings naming 901, 902, 903, and 930 as well as additional buildings for on-campus living. Nursing has the highest enrolment rate at the Berwick Campus, with a focus also on education courses, IT, and psychology.

Brisbane Campus

The Brisbane Campus, situated in the centre of Brisbane city and offers a range of undergraduate and postgraduate programs in information technology, business and allied health.

Technology park

The university has a technology park with the mission to facilitate the development of technology-based companies or companies that benefit from the technological resources of the university. The following organisations operate in the park. *

Ambulance Victoria Ambulance Victoria (AV), a Victorian agency of the Department of Health, is the statutory provider of pre-hospital emergency care and ambulance services in Victoria. Ambulance Victoria was formed on 1 July 2008 with the merger of the Metrop ...

* Country Fire Authority * Emergency Services Telecommunications Authority (ESTA) * Global Innovation Centre * Greenhill Enterprise Centre *

IBM International Business Machines Corporation (using the trademark IBM), nicknamed Big Blue, is an American Multinational corporation, multinational technology company headquartered in Armonk, New York, and present in over 175 countries. It is ...

South East Asia * IBM Regional Software Solutions Centre * ID Research * State Revenue Office More than 1350 people are employed by tenants at the technology park and approximately half of those holding Federation University Australia qualifications. In 2008,

announced that it would expand its workforce with the construction of a new $10 million building on the park.

Academic profile

Undergraduate curriculum

Students can undertake undergraduate degrees across a wide range of study areas, which are: * Humanities and social sciences * Engineering * Business * Science and mathematics * Education and early childhood * Nursing, midwifery and paramedicine * Psychology * Performing arts * Visual arts * Information technology * Occupational health and safety * Sport, outdoor and physical education * TAFE

Research divisions

Researchers – academics and post-graduate students – undertake work within various centres, as well as within the disciplines. The research priority areas of the university are information forensics and security, transformative and preventative health, dynamic landscapes, history and heritage, and improving policy and practice in VET. The research centres are: * Australian Retirement Research Institute (ARRI) * Centre for Biopsychosocial and eHealth Research and Innovation (CBeRI) * Centre for eResearch and Digital Innovation (CeRDI) * Centre for Gippsland Studies (CGS) * Centre for Informatics and Applied Optimisation (CIAO) * Centre for Multimedia Computing, Communications, and Artificial Intelligence Research (MCCAIR) * Geotechnical and Hydrogeological Engineering Research Group (GHERG) * Researching Adult and Vocational Education (RAVE) * Water Research Network * Visiting Friends and Relatives Research *Centre for eResearch and Digital Innovation *Health Innovation and Transformation Centre *Future Regions Research Centre *Centre for Smart Analytics *Centre for New Energy Transition Research *Collaborative Evaluation and Research Group *Geotechnical and Hydrogeological Engineering Research Group There are also research facilities at Ballarat Technology Park, the Gippsland Enterprise Centre and Nanya Station in rural NSW.

Academic reputation

; National publications In the ''Australian Financial Review'' Best Universities Ranking 2024, the university was ranked #31 amongst Australian universities. ; Global publications In the ''Times Higher Education'' World University Rankings 2025 (published 2024), the university attained a position of #401–500 (26–33rd nationally). In the 2025–2026 ''U.S. News & World Report'' Best Global Universities, the university attained a tied position of #989 (34th nationally).

Student outcomes

The Australian Government's QILT conducts national surveys documenting the student life cycle from enrolment through to employment. These surveys place more emphasis on criteria such as student experience, graduate outcomes and employer satisfaction than perceived reputation, research output and citation counts. In the 2023 Employer Satisfaction Survey, graduates of the university had an overall employer satisfaction rate of 84.3%. In the 2023 Graduate Outcomes Survey, graduates of the university had a full-time employment rate of 80.8% for undergraduates and 95.3% for postgraduates. The initial full-time salary was for undergraduates and for postgraduates. In the 2023 Student Experience Survey, undergraduates at the university rated the quality of their entire educational experience at 76% meanwhile postgraduates rated their overall education experience at 75.9%.

Student life

Student demographics

In 2017, 80% of undergraduate students study full-time and on campus, which is unique for a regional university, and 35% of students are international students.

Notable people

Notable alumni

* Kate Allen, triathlete *

Martin Andanar Jose Ruperto Martin Marfori Andanar (born August 21, 1974) is a Filipino television news personality, news anchor, radio commentator, podcaster, voice-over artist and a columnist. He served as the former secretary of the Presidential Communica ...

, press secretary of the Philippines under Duterte administration *

Aunty Donna Aunty Donna is an Australian surrealist comedy group formed in Melbourne in 2011. The group currently consists of performers and writers Mark Bonanno, Broden Kelly and Zachary Ruane, alongside writer and director Sam Lingham, director Max Mill ...

, absurdist sketch comedy troupe * William Baragwanath, geologist * Phillip Bellingham, winter olympian * Steve Bracks, former Premier of Victoria * Sandy Blythe, wheelchair basketball player * Dr Cyril P. Callister, inventor of

Vegemite Vegemite ( ) is a thick, dark brown Australian food spread made from leftover brewers' yeast extract with various vegetable and spice Food additive, additives. It was developed by Cyril Callister in Melbourne, Victoria (state), Victoria, for ...

Darren Cheeseman Darren Leicester Cheeseman (born 8 June 1976) is an Australian politician. He has been a member of the Victorian Legislative Assembly since November 2018, representing the seat of South Barwon. He previously held the federal seat of Corangamit ...

, politician * C. J. Coventry, historian * Peter Crisp, politician * Jacqueline Dark, opera singer * David Davies, artist * Jack Gervasoni, Australian Rules footballer * Keith Hamilton, former Minister for Agriculture and former Minister for Aboriginal Affairs * Ben Hardman, politician * Emma Kearney, AFLW player * Will Longstaff, artist * Brad McEwan, Ten Network sports reporter * Kiran Mazumdar-Shaw, businesswoman and associate of Biocon * Steve Moneghetti, Olympic marathon runner * Richard W Richards, physicist and Antarctic explorer * Henry Sutton, inventor * Libby Tanner, actress * Wes Walters, artist * Marcus Wills, artist

Footnotes

References

External links

Federation University Australia
– official website {{Authority control Australian vocational education and training providers Universities in Victoria (state) Ballarat Educational institutions established in 2013 2013 establishments in Australia