In just 40 years, University of Wollongong (UOW) has become a benchmark for Australia’s new generation of universities. It is ranked among the best 20 modern universities in the world* and has built a reputation as an enterprising institution with a multi-disciplinary approach to research and a personalized approach to teaching.

With five Faculties – Business; Engineering and Information Sciences; Law, Humanities and the Arts; Science, Medicine and Health; and Social Sciences, UOW currently offers around 180 undergraduate, 160 postgraduate courses and 30 research degrees to more than 33,000 students around the world.

UOW’s research is underpinned by the University’s strong partnerships with industry, a multi-disciplinary approach that sees close cooperation and collaboration between Faculties and research centers, as well as world-class facilities. Its research portfolio includes leading centers in next generation materials technologies, medical chemistry and physics, social sciences, archaeological science and education.

The UOW Global Challenges Program is designed to harness the expertise of our world-class researchers and partners, to solve complex, real-world problems – to transform lives and regions. The Program encompasses research in areas where UOW is building its research excellence and making an impact in terms of both research outcomes and public benefit. The Program, launched in 2013, is initially focusing on three Challenges: Living Well, Longer; Manufacturing Innovation; Sustaining Coastal and Marine Zones, under the unifying theme of Transforming Lives and Regions. Another exciting UOW initiative is Early Start based in the Faculty of Social Sciences. Early Start is transforming teaching, research and community engagement in the early education sector, connecting regional, rural and remote communities.

The University’s Innovation Campus (iC) is designed to give innovative companies and organisations the opportunity to locate alongside and collaborate with its leading research institutes. It is attracting corporations from Australia and overseas. iC houses the Australian Institute of Innovative Materials (AIIM), the new Sustainable Buildings Research Centre, and the iAccelerate Centre, a purpose built innovation accelerator housing over 280 start-up entrepreneurs. UOW’s other research institutes include the Illawarra Health and Medical Research Institute (IHMRI); and the Smart Infrastructure Research Facility (SMART).

UOW has a strong international focus and reputation, and attracts close to 6000 international students each year to study at its Australian campuses.  For over 20 years it has operated the University of Wollongong Dubai in the United Arab Emirates, where more than 4000 students are undertaking undergraduate and postgraduate degrees.

In 2015 UOW became the first ever overseas-based university to enter Hong Kong when it was selected by City University of Hong Kong to take custodianship of the Community College of City University Hong Kong (CCCU) and develop it into an internationally accredited degree-offering institution.

The University also has two campuses in Sydney (in the CBD and at Loftus in the southern suburbs), as well as campuses at Nowra, Batemans Bay and Bega on the NSW South Coast, and at Moss Vale in the Southern Highlands.