University of Sydney

People, places and events from our past

The University of Sydney was founded in 1850 as a public institution of higher education.

The University has a vast history covering many aspects of intellectual, scientific and socio-political life in Australia. Below are pathways to explore our history.

Foundational principles

The University was founded on two main principles — religious tolerance and the admission of students on academic merit. The first principle ensured students were admitted regardless of religious belief. The second, that students ‘matriculated’ to university by passing an academic examination.

 

Both ideas were new ways of thinking about universities in the mid-nineteenth century and challenged traditional university models. They emerged out of serious conversations in Britain and Europe about the purpose of universities and were adapted by our founders to create a university to suit the colonial circumstances of New South Wales.

 

These principles are enshrined in the opening pages of the first University of Sydney Calendar.

 

Other key milestones:

 

1881: The University of Sydney Senate formally approved women’s admission to all undergraduate courses in 1881. The first women undergraduate students commenced in 1882

 

1885: Mary Elizabeth Brown and Isola Florence Thompson each graduate with a Bachelor of Arts.

 

1890: 12 percent of undergraduates were women increasing to 27% in 1919

 

1919: 50 percent of undergraduate enrolments in the faculties of arts, science and architecture were women. Women enrolments in these faculties remain almost 50 percent until the end of World War 2 when they increase due to the introduction of Commonwealth Scholarships.

 

1963: Charles Perkins, an Arrernte and Kalkadoon man, and Gary Williams, a Gumbayngirr and Mullumbimby man, matriculate to the University of Sydney, the first two students to identify as Aboriginal.

 

1965: Felcia Corowa matriculated from Tweed River High School and enrolled in Arts at the University of Sydney, the first woman student to identify as Aboriginal.

 

1966: Charles Perkins, Bachelor of Arts, the first University of Sydney graduate to identify as Aboriginal.

 

Scholarship

Australia Awards scholarships

The Australia Awards scholarships (AAS) are a development award offered by the Australian Government to international students from Australia’s partner countries. 

Australia Awards scholarships provide opportunities for students from developing countries to promote education and build strong links between Australia including Asia, the Pacific, Africa, and the Middle East through the scholarship program. The University of Sydney is helping to develop the global leaders of tomorrow to drive change and contribute to development in their own countries.

Programs

Sydney, Australia

Partner: No