The University of Sydney

About The University of Sydney

The University of Sydney was established by an act of the New South Wales Parliament in 1850 and opened in 1852, making it Australia's first university. It awarded its first degrees in 1856, admitted its first women undergraduates in 1882 and awarded its first PhDs in 1951; in 1990 the Sydney Conservatorium of Music and other colleges were incorporated. Teaching and research are organised into five faculties and three university schools, spanning arts and social sciences, business, engineering, medicine and health, science, architecture, law and music. The main campus is at Camperdown/Darlington, with further sites including Camden, Westmead, Surry Hills, the Conservatorium in central Sydney and rural clinical schools across New South Wales. The university lists more than 450 courses across 10 study areas and conferred 22,722 degrees in 2024.

Schools and faculties

• Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences

  Teaches and researches across the humanities and social sciences.

• University of Sydney Business School

  The university's school for business education and research.

• Faculty of Engineering

  Covers engineering and technology disciplines.

• Faculty of Medicine and Health

  Covers medicine and health, with the Sydney Dental School and clinical schools across New South Wales.

• Faculty of Science

  Focuses on discovery and innovation across the sciences.

• Sydney School of Architecture, Design and Planning

  Focuses on built and designed environments.

• Sydney Law School

  The university's school for legal education and research.

• Sydney Conservatorium of Music

  A music school with a history of more than a century, based in central Sydney.

Study options

• Undergraduate degrees
• Postgraduate coursework degrees
• PhD and research degrees
• Short courses

Research

The university reports more than 150 research centres and more than 20 major research areas. Named institutes and centres include the Charles Perkins Centre, Brain and Mind Centre, Sydney Nano Institute, Sydney Environment Institute, Sydney Infectious Diseases Institute and the Net Zero Institute, and the university operates the One Tree Island Research Station on the southern Great Barrier Reef.

Rank in Australia

#2 of 5

Research works

337,871

Citations

31.2 million

h-index

1,462

Research figures from OpenAlex (October 2026). How the directory is made.

This profile was written by WAC from The University of Sydney’s own website and checked in October 2026. It describes the institution and is not an endorsement or a ranking of teaching quality. Is this your institution? Send a correction.