In a world of mass production, ACU stands for meaningful education, rewarding research, and life-changing community engagement.
Our mission and values form the core of who we are as a Catholic organisation. Discover our history, structure, and our journey to be a leader in research and teaching – a goal we’re already achieving as a top 2% world-ranked university.
At ACU, we’re a university unlike any other. Large enough to make our mark on the world, but small enough that you’ll feel part of the ACU family. Driven by the Catholic intellectual tradition, but welcoming of people from all cultures and faiths. When you choose ACU, you’ll be choosing more than just a university qualification from an overseas university. You’ll be choosing a place to call home.
We may have started small, but today, we’re one of the fastest growing universities in Australia. We have more than 33,000 students from more than 103 countries, and over 2,300 highly qualified staff who are committed to ACU’s unique approach to education.
It’s not just our staff and student numbers that are growing, either. We recently opened a new campus in Blacktown, New South Wales, which sits alongside our six Australian campuses in Ballarat, Brisbane, Canberra, Melbourne, Strathfield and North Sydney) and our campus in Rome, Italy. With international experiences available for students in all faculties, the ACU experience is truly global.
As a publicly-funded university, we strongly believe in our responsibility to advance the common good. We’re committed to standing up for people in need and for causes that matter, and if you’ve got the desire to make an impact, we’ll give you the skills to change the world.
We’re also using our research as a catalyst for change, through investing heavily in strategic research programs and research capacity. As a result, ACU is now a highly-ranked, globally-recognised university that’s home to multiple research institutes. We’re continuing to build the research workforce through the recruitment and ongoing training of masters and PhD candidates.
As a student, you have a lot to gain from an ACU degree. You’ll become part of the fabric of the university, an expert in your field of enquiry and an agent of community change. And, once you graduate, you can stay connected to ACU through our 125,000-strong alumni cohort, no matter where you are.
Why Choose ACU?
In Australia:
- No. 1
GRADUATE EMPLOYMENT
Graduate Outcomes Survey – Longitudinal 2021, medium-term outcomes, full-time employment for domestic undergraduate students
- 100% POWERED BY RENEWABLE ENERGY ON AUSTRALIAN CAMPUSES
- Top 2
GRADUATE EMPLOYER SATISFACTION
Employer Satisfaction Survey, 2018 – 2020 aggregated for domestic undergraduate students
- 5 stars
EMPLOYABILITY, INTERNATIONALISATION AND FACILITIES
(QS Stars 2019 5 stars)
- No. 1
LEARNER ENGAGEMENT, SKILLS DEVELOPMENT AND LEARNING RESOURCES
(Good Universities Guide 2022)
In the World:
- Top 2%
UNIVERSITIES
(Times Higher Education World University Rankings 2022)
- Top 10
CATHOLIC UNIVERSITIES
(Times Higher Education World University Rankings 2022, ranked IFCU members)
- No. 39
YOUNG UNIVERSITY
(Times Higher Education Young University Rankings 2022)
- No. 18
NURSING
(Shanghai Ranking, Global Ranking of Academic Subjects 2021)
- No. 36
SPORTS SCIENCE
(Shanghai Ranking, Global Ranking of Sport Science Schools of
Departments 2021)
- Top 50
EDUCATION
(Shanghai Ranking, Global Ranking of Academic Subjects 2021)
In Research:
1st or equal 1st in Australia
CARDIORESPIRATORY MEDICINE AND HAEMATOLOGY
CLINICAL SCIENCES
COGNITIVE SCIENCES
HUMAN MOVEMENT AND SPORTS SCIENCE
NURSING
NUTRITION AND DIETETICS
PSYCHOLOGY
PUBLIC HEALTH AND HEALTH SERVICES
RELIGION AND RELIGIOUS STUDIES
SPECIALIST STUDIES IN EDUCATION
(Four-digit FoRs, Excellence in Research for Australia (ERA) 2018)
*Percentage calculated as ACU’s world rank as a proportion of the total number of universities in the world: International Handbook of Universities 2019, Palgrave MacMillan.
