View source for University of Sydney

{{Short description|Public research university in Australia}}
{{Use Australian English|date=October 2022}}{{Use dmy dates|date=October 2022}}
{{Infobox university
 | name                   = The University of Sydney<!--This is according to the University of Sydney Act 1989, please do not modify unless updated by Act of Parliament of New South Wales or legislation at a federal level.-->
 | image                  = University of Sydney coat of arms.png
 | image_upright          = .7
 | caption                = [[Coat of arms]]<ref name="Motto and coat of arms">{{Cite web |title=Our motto and coat of arms |url=https://www.sydney.edu.au/about-us/our-story/our-motto-and-coat-of-arms.html |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20241002111136/https://www.sydney.edu.au/about-us/our-story/our-motto-and-coat-of-arms.html |archive-date=2 October 2024 |access-date=4 November 2024 |website=The University of Sydney |language=en-AU |publication-place=[[Sydney]], [[New South Wales]]}}</ref>
 | latin_name             = Universitas Sidneiensis<ref>{{Cite book |title=Records of The Tercentenary Festival of Dublin University |date=1894 |publisher=[[Hodges Figgis|Hodges, Figgis & Co.]] |year= |isbn=9781355361602 |publication-place=[[Dublin]], [[United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland|Ireland]] |language=en-IE }}</ref><ref>{{Cite book |last=Anderson |first=Peter John |author-link=Peter John Anderson |title=Record of the Celebration of the Quatercentenary of the University of Aberdeen: From 25th to 28th September, 1906 |date=1907 |publisher=Aberdeen University Press ([[University of Aberdeen]]) |isbn=9781363625079 |publication-place=[[Aberdeen]], [[United Kingdom]] |language=en-GB |asin=B001PK7B5G}}</ref><ref>{{Cite book |title=Actes du Jubilé de 1909 |date=1910 |publisher=Georg Keck & Cie |isbn=9781360078335 |publication-place=[[Geneva]], [[Switzerland]] |language=fr-CH }}</ref>
 | logo                   = The_University_of_Sydney_Logo.svg
 | motto                  = {{langx|la|Sidere mens eadem mutato}}<ref name="Motto and coat of arms" />
 | motto_lang             = lat
 | mottoeng               = "The stars change, the mind remains the same"<ref name="Motto and coat of arms" />
 | established            = {{start date and age|df=yes|1850|10|01}}<ref>{{Cite news |date=21 May 1872 |title=WILLIAM CHARLES WENTWORTH. |url=https://trove.nla.gov.au/newspaper/article/51788553 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220822060424/https://trove.nla.gov.au/newspaper/article/51788553 |archive-date=22 August 2022 |access-date=22 August 2022 |work=[[The Morning Bulletin|Rockhampton Bulletin]] |page=4 |language=en-AU |publication-place=[[Rockhampton]], [[Queensland]]}}</ref>
 | endowment              = {{A$|4.92 [[1000000000 (number)|billion]]}} (2024)<ref>{{Cite web |date= |title=University of Sydney Investment and Capital Management Report 2024 |url=https://www.sydney.edu.au/content/dam/corporate/documents/about-us/governance-and-structure/our-portfolios/investment-and-capital-management-report-2024.pdf |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20250504164306/https://www.sydney.edu.au/content/dam/corporate/documents/about-us/governance-and-structure/our-portfolios/investment-and-capital-management-report-2024.pdf |archive-date=4 May 2025 |access-date=4 May 2025 |website=The University of Sydney |language=en-AU |publication-place=[[Sydney]], [[New South Wales]]}}</ref>
 | budget                 = {{AUD}}3.07 [[1,000,000,000|billion]] (2023)<ref name="Annual Report 2023">{{Cite web |title=Annual Report 2023 |url=https://www.sydney.edu.au/content/dam/corporate/documents/about-us/values-and-visions/annual-report/university-of-sydney-2023-annual-report.pdf |access-date=4 November 2024 |website=The University of Sydney |language=en-AU |publication-place=[[Sydney]], [[New South Wales]]}}</ref>
 | type                   = [[Public university|Public]] [[research university]]
 | visitor                = [[Governor of New South Wales]] ''([[ex officio]])''<ref>{{Cite web |title=Visitor of the University |url=https://www.sydney.edu.au/about-us/governance-and-structure/governance/visitor-of-the-university.html |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240726041349/https://www.sydney.edu.au/about-us/governance-and-structure/governance/visitor-of-the-university.html |archive-date=26 July 2024 |access-date=4 November 2024 |website=The University of Sydney |language=en-AU |publication-place=[[Sydney]], [[New South Wales]]}}</ref>
 | chancellor             = [[David Thodey]]<ref>{{Cite web |title=Chancellor David Thodey |url=https://www.sydney.edu.au/about-us/governance-and-structure/governance/chancellor.html |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240812015124/https://www.sydney.edu.au/about-us/governance-and-structure/governance/chancellor.html |archive-date=12 August 2024 |access-date=4 November 2024 |website=The University of Sydney |language=en-AU |publication-place=[[Sydney]], [[New South Wales]]}}</ref>
 | vice_chancellor        = [[Mark Scott (businessman)|Mark Scott]]<ref>{{Cite web |title=Vice-Chancellor and President Professor Mark Scott AO |url=https://www.sydney.edu.au/about-us/governance-and-structure/governance/vice-chancellor.html |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20241001023701/https://www.sydney.edu.au/about-us/governance-and-structure/governance/vice-chancellor.html |archive-date=1 October 2024 |access-date=4 November 2024 |website=The University of Sydney |language=en-AU |publication-place=[[Sydney]], [[New South Wales]]}}</ref>
 | academic_staff         = 3,980 (2024)<ref name="Annual Report 2024" />
 | administrative_staff   = 5,961 (2024)<ref name="Annual Report 2024" />
 | total_staff            = 9,941 (2024)<ref name="Annual Report 2024" />
 | students               = 70,298 (2024)<ref name="Annual Report 2024">{{Cite web |title=Annual Report 2024 |url=https://www.sydney.edu.au/content/dam/corporate/documents/about-us/values-and-visions/annual-report/university-of-sydney-2024-annual-report.pdf |access-date=1 August 2025 |website=The University of Sydney |language=en-AU |publication-place=[[Sydney]], [[New South Wales]]}}</ref>
 | undergrad              = 40,388 (2024)<ref name="Annual Report 2024">{{Cite web |title=Annual Report 2024 |url=https://www.sydney.edu.au/content/dam/corporate/documents/about-us/values-and-visions/annual-report/university-of-sydney-2024-annual-report.pdf |access-date=1 August 2025 |website=The University of Sydney |language=en-AU |publication-place=[[Sydney]], [[New South Wales]]}}</ref>
 | postgrad               = 29,910 (2024)<ref name="Annual Report 2024">{{Cite web |title=Annual Report 2024 |url=https://www.sydney.edu.au/content/dam/corporate/documents/about-us/values-and-visions/annual-report/university-of-sydney-2024-annual-report.pdf |access-date=1 August 2025 |website=The University of Sydney |language=en-AU |publication-place=[[Sydney]], [[New South Wales]]}}</ref>
 | doctoral               = 3,510 (2024)<ref name="Annual Report 2024">{{Cite web |title=Annual Report 2024 |url=https://www.sydney.edu.au/content/dam/corporate/documents/about-us/values-and-visions/annual-report/university-of-sydney-2024-annual-report.pdf |access-date=1 August 2025 |website=The University of Sydney |language=en-AU |publication-place=[[Sydney]], [[New South Wales]]}}</ref>
 | city                   = Sydney
 | state                  = [[New South Wales]]
 | country                = Australia<ref name="Campuses" />
 | coordinates            = {{Coord|33|53|15|S|151|11|24|E|region:AU-NSW_type:edu|display=inline,title}}
 | campus                 = Urban, [[Rural area|regional]] and parkland<ref name="Campuses">{{Cite web |title=Our campuses |url=https://www.sydney.edu.au/about-us/campuses.html |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240930221910/https://www.sydney.edu.au/about-us/campuses.html |archive-date=30 September 2024 |access-date=4 November 2024 |website=The University of Sydney |language=en-AU |publication-place=[[Sydney]], [[New South Wales]]}}</ref>
 | colours                = <span style="background:#E64626; border:1px; color:#fff; padding:2px 16px;">Ochre</span> <span style="background:#424242; border:1px; color:#fff; padding:2px 16px;">Charcoal</span>
 | accreditation          = [[Tertiary Education Quality and Standards Agency|TEQSA]]<ref>{{Cite web |title=The University of Sydney |url=https://www.teqsa.gov.au/provider/university-sydney |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240301120002/https://www.teqsa.gov.au/provider/university-sydney |archive-date=1 March 2024 |access-date=4 November 2024 |website=[[Tertiary Education Quality and Standards Agency]] |language=en-AU |publication-place=[[Melbourne]], [[Victoria (state)|Victoria]]}}</ref>
 | affiliation            = [[Group of Eight (Australian universities)|Group of Eight]] (Go8)
 | academic_affiliations  = {{hlist|
|[[Association of Pacific Rim Universities|APRU]]
|[[Universitas 21|U21]]
|[[Universities Australia|UA]]
}}
 | sporting_affiliations  = {{hlist |[[UniSport]] |[[Australian Institute of Sport#Elite Athlete Education Network|EAEN]] |[[University Basketball League Australia|UBL]] }}
 | sports_nickname        = 
 | mascot                 = Simba the Lion<ref>{{Cite web |date=10 October 2019 |title=Facebook |url=https://www.facebook.com/sydunisport/posts/time-to-wave-goodbye-to-our-school-holiday-sports-program-superstars-who-receive/10157291343853153/ |access-date=4 November 2024 |publisher=The University of Sydney |language=en-AU |publication-place=[[Sydney]], [[New South Wales]]}}</ref>
 | logo_size              = 200px
 | website                = {{URL|https://www.sydney.edu.au/|sydney.edu.au}}
 | footnotes              = 
}}

The '''University of Sydney''' ('''USYD''') is a [[public university|public]] [[research university]] in Sydney, Australia. Founded in 1850, it is the oldest university in both Australia and Oceania.<ref>{{cite news |url=https://www.theaustralian.com.au/higher-education/in-an-australian-first-casuals-will-get-sick-leave-at-sydney-uni/news-story/b36ccc06ecb914fc6518c282fde8776c |title=Casual staff will get sick leave at University of Sydney |work=[[The Australian]] |date=3 May 2023 |access-date=29 February 2024| url-access=subscription}}</ref> One of Australia's six [[sandstone universities]], it was one of the world's first universities to admit students solely on academic merit, and opened its doors to women on the same basis as men.<ref>{{cite web |title=A history of thinking forward |url=https://www.sydney.edu.au/about-us/our-story/australias-first-university.html |website=University of Sydney |access-date=8 May 2020 |archive-date=27 February 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210227003606/https://www.sydney.edu.au/about-us/our-story/australias-first-university.html |url-status=live}}</ref> The university comprises eight academic faculties and university schools, through which it offers bachelor, master and doctoral degrees.

Five [[Nobel Prize|Nobel]] and two [[Crafoord Prize|Crafoord]] laureates have been affiliated with the university as graduates and faculty.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.topuniversities.com/institution/university-sydney/wur |title=The University of Sydney – QS |publisher=Times QS |date=2012 |access-date=1 October 2012 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121107035321/http://www.topuniversities.com/institution/university-sydney/wur |archive-date=7 November 2012 |df=dmy-all}}</ref> The university has educated 8 [[Prime minister of Australia|Australian prime ministers]], including incumbent [[Anthony Albanese]]; 2 [[Governor-General of Australia|governors-general of Australia]]; 13 [[Premier of New South Wales|premiers of New South Wales]]; and 26 justices of the [[High Court of Australia]], including 5 [[Chief Justice of Australia|chief justices]]. The university has produced 110 [[Rhodes Scholarship|Rhodes Scholars]] and 19 [[Gates Cambridge Scholarship|Gates Scholars]]. The University of Sydney is a member of the [[Group of Eight (Australian universities)|Group of Eight]], [[Global Alliance in Management Education|CEMS]], the [[Association of Pacific Rim Universities]] and the [[Association of Commonwealth Universities]].

==History==
===1850–1950===
{{See also|William Wentworth#Education advocate|Charles Nicholson#Sydney University}}[[File:Parramattard1870susyd.jpg|thumb|The University of Sydney as viewed from [[Parramatta Road]] in the early 1870s]]
[[File:Sydney-university-regiment-duke-of-york-visit-1927.jpg|thumb|The [[Sydney University Regiment]] forming a guard of honour for the visit of the [[George VI|Duke of York]] (later [[George VI]]) to the university in 1927]]

In 1848, [[New South Wales Legislative Council|Legislative Council]] members [[William Wentworth]], a [[University of Cambridge]] alumnus, and Sir [[Charles Nicholson]], a [[University of Edinburgh Medical School]] alumnus, proposed a plan to expand the existing [[Sydney Grammar School|Sydney College]] into a university. Wentworth argued that it would provide the opportunity for "the child of every class, to become great and useful in the destinies of his country" and that a state secular university was imperative for a society aspiring towards self-government."<ref name=":5" /><ref name=":4" /><blockquote>So far from being an institution for the rich, I take It to be an institution for the poor. ... I trust that, from the pregnant womb of this institution will arise a long list of illustrious names—of statesmen—of patriots—of philanthropists—of philosophers—of poets and of heroes, who will shed a deathless halo, not only on their country, but upon the University which called them into being.<ref>{{Cite news |date=24 April 1907 |title=Sydney University. Its origin and development. |work=[[The Daily Telegraph (Sydney)|The Daily Telegraph]] |url=https://trove.nla.gov.au/newspaper/article/238045283 |access-date=9 August 2023 |language=en-AU |archive-date=10 August 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230810225141/https://trove.nla.gov.au/newspaper/article/238045283 |url-status=live }}</ref></blockquote>He promoted access on the basis of merit rather than religious or social status. It took two attempts on Wentworth's behalf before the plan was finally adopted.<ref name=":5">{{cite web |url=http://foundingdocs.gov.au/item-sdid-79.html |title=University of Sydney Act 1850 (NSW) |work=Documenting Democracy |access-date=21 June 2013 |archive-date=21 April 2013 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130421133635/http://foundingdocs.gov.au/item-sdid-79.html |url-status=live}}; J. Horne, Political machinations and sectarian intrigue in the making of Sydney University, [http://australiancatholichistoricalsociety.com.au/pdfs/achs%20journal%202016%20altered%20final.pdf ''Journal of the Australian Catholic Historical Society'' 36 (2015)] {{Webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170215001047/http://australiancatholichistoricalsociety.com.au/pdfs/achs%20journal%202016%20altered%20final.pdf |date=15 February 2017 }}, 4-15.</ref><ref name=":4">{{Cite web |title=Founding of Sydney University |url=https://www.nma.gov.au/defining-moments/resources/sydney-university |access-date=2023-08-08 |website=[[National Museum of Australia]] |archive-date=10 August 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230810225241/https://www.nma.gov.au/defining-moments/resources/sydney-university |url-status=live }}</ref>

The university was established via the passage of the ''University of Sydney Act 1850'' (NSW) on 24 September 1850,<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.foundingdocs.gov.au/item.asp?sdID=79 |title=Documenting Democracy |website=Documenting Democracy |access-date=22 February 2010 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20091017060853/http://foundingdocs.gov.au/item.asp?sdID=79 |archive-date=17 October 2009 |df=dmy-all}}</ref> and was assented on 1 October 1850 by governor Sir [[Charles Augustus FitzRoy|Charles Fitzroy]].<ref>{{cite news |url=http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article51788553 |title=William Charles Wentworth. |newspaper=[[Rockhampton Bulletin]] |location=Qld. |date=21 May 1872 |access-date=1 May 2012 |page=4 |via=National Library of Australia |archive-date=22 August 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220822060424/https://trove.nla.gov.au/newspaper/article/51788553 |url-status=live}}</ref> Wentworth was among the first members of the university's senate, mentioned in the governor's proclamation alongside three religious ministers.<ref name=":4" /> Two years later, the university was inaugurated on 11 October 1852 in the Big Schoolroom of what is now [[Sydney Grammar School]]. The first principal was [[John Woolley (educator)|John Woolley]],<ref>
{{Australian Dictionary of Biography
 |first=K. J. |last=Cable
 |title=Woolley, John (1816–66)
 |id2=woolley-john-4885
 |access-date=24 August 2013 }}</ref> the first professor of chemistry and experimental physics was [[John Smith (New South Wales politician, born 1821)|John Smith]].<ref>
{{Australian Dictionary of Biography
 |last=Michael Hoare |first=Joan T. Radford
 |title=Smith, John (1821–85)
 |id2=smith-john-4608
 |access-date=23 August 2013
}}</ref> Sir [[William Charles Windeyer]] was the first graduate.<ref name=":3">{{cite journal |author1= |title=One Hundred Years of Tertiary Education |journal=Education |volume=31 |issue=14 |pages=4 |publication-date=1950-09-28 |publisher=N.S.W. Public School Teachers Federation |issn=0013-1156}}</ref> The university was Australia's first, as well as being one of the first public, non-denominational and secular universities in the [[British Empire]].<ref name=":4" /> On 27 February 1858, the university received a [[royal charter]] from [[Victoria of the United Kingdom|Queen Victoria]], giving degrees conferred by the university rank and recognition equal to those given by universities in the United Kingdom.<ref name="royal_charter">{{Cite web |last=Romilly |first=C. |date=27 February 1858 |title=Royal Charter of the University of Sydney |url=https://www.sydney.edu.au/policies/showdoc.aspx?recnum=PDOC2011/51&RendNum=0 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130116094643/http://sydney.edu.au/policies/showdoc.aspx?recnum=PDOC2011%2F51&RendNum=0 |archive-date=Jan 16, 2013 |website=University of Sydney}}</ref>

In 1858, the passage of the ''Electoral Act'' provided for the university to become a constituency for the [[New South Wales Legislative Assembly]] as soon as there were 100 graduates of the university holding higher degrees eligible for candidacy. This [[Electoral district of University of Sydney|seat in the New South Wales legislature]] was first filled in 1876, but was abolished in 1880, one year after its second member, Sir [[Edmund Barton]], who later became the first [[Prime Minister of Australia]], was elected to the Legislative Assembly.<ref name="5B record">{{NSW Parliamentary Record |part=5B |access-date=2020-10-31 }}</ref><ref name="Green University of Sydney">{{Cite NSW election |last=Green |first=Antony |author-link=Antony Green |title=Elections for the District of University of Sydney |year=DistrictIndexes |district=University of Sydney |access-date=2020-10-31}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news |last=Thorpe |first=Will |date=15 October 2024 |title=Parliament and the University |url=https://honisoit.com/2024/10/parliament-and-the-university/ |access-date=22 October 2025 |work=Honi Soit}}</ref>

The university was one of the first in the world to admit women on an equal basis with men, doing so from 1881.<ref name=":4" /> In 1885 the first women to receive BA degrees from the university were [[Mary Elizabeth Brown]] and [[Isola Florence Thompson]],<ref name=":3" /> while Thompson became the first woman to graduate with an MA in 1887.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Isola Florence Thompson |url=https://wmoa.com.au/herstory-archive/thompson-isola-florence |access-date=2022-11-30 |website=Women's Museum of Australia |archive-date=30 November 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221130062916/https://wmoa.com.au/herstory-archive/thompson-isola-florence |url-status=dead}}</ref>

Most of the estate of [[John Henry Challis]] was bequeathed to the university, which received a sum of £200,000 in 1889. This was thanks in part due to Sir [[William Montagu Manning]] (chancellor 1878–95) who argued against the claims by British tax commissioners. The following year, seven professorships were created in anatomy, zoology, engineering, history, law, logic and mental philosophy, and modern literature.

In 1924, the university awarded its first Doctor of Science in Engineering degree to [[John Bradfield (engineer)|John Bradfield]]. His thesis was titled "The City and Suburban Electric Railways and the Sydney Harbour Bridge". Bradfield went on to be the lead engineer for the construction of the [[Sydney Harbour Bridge]].<ref>{{Cite journal |last=Bradfield |first=John Jacob Crew |date=1924 |title=The City and Suburban Electric Railways and the Sydney Harbour Bridge |url=https://ses.library.usyd.edu.au/handle/2123/11968 |url-status=live |access-date=15 October 2021 |website=University of Sydney |archive-date=23 January 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220123014516/https://ses.library.usyd.edu.au/handle/2123/11968}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |date=2015-12-11 |title=Sydney Harbour Bridge Guide |url=https://www.records.nsw.gov.au/archives/collections-and-research/guides-and-indexes/sydney-harbour-bridge-guide |access-date=2021-10-15 |website=State Records NSW |archive-date=18 February 2011 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110218203227/http://www.records.nsw.gov.au/state-archives/guides-and-finding-aids/archives-in-brief/archives-in-brief-37 |url-status=live}}</ref>

The university's professor of philosophy from 1927 to 1958, [[John Anderson (philosopher)|John Anderson]], was a significant figure referred to as "Sydney's best known academic".<ref name="Franklin 2003">{{cite book |last=Franklin |first=James |author-link=James Franklin (philosopher) |date=2003 |title=Corrupting the Youth: A history of philosophy in Australia |url=https://web.maths.unsw.edu.au/~jim/corruptingtheyouthch1.pdf |location=Sydney |publisher=Macleay Press |page=7 |isbn=1876492082 |access-date=7 January 2024 |archive-date=7 January 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240107064634/https://web.maths.unsw.edu.au/~jim/corruptingtheyouthch1.pdf |url-status=live }}</ref> A native of Scotland, Anderson's controversial views as a self-proclaimed [[atheist]] and advocate of [[Freethought|free thought]] in all subjects raised the ire of many, even to the point of being censured by the state legislature in 1943.<ref name="Franklin 2003" />{{rp|20–1}}

===1950–2000===
[[File:Imran Khan at Sydney University Luncheon, 1984.png|thumb|right|Test cricketer [[Imran Khan]] as a guest at a luncheon hosted by Vice-Chancellor [[John Manning Ward]] before playing for the university club.<br><br>Seated: Imran Khan, Chancellor Sir [[Hermann Black]] and Coach [[John Dyson (cricketer, born 1954)|John Dyson]].<br><br>Standing: Dr Damon Ridley, Vice Chancellor Ward, Stephen Harrison, Hugh McCredie, Keith Jennings, Fred Bennett, Giles Cheadle, Deputy Vice Chancellor John Dunston, and Alan Crompton, 1984.]]
The PhD research degree was first discussed in 1944 and began in 1947. The university awarded the first PhD in 1951 to [[Bill Wittrick|William H. Wittrick]] from the Faculty of Engineering on 28 April 1951 and the next two were awarded to Eleanora C. Gyarfas and George F. Humphrey from the Faculty of Science on 2 May 1951.<ref>{{Cite web |last=University Archives and Records Management Services |date=2008 |title=The University of Sydney Record 2007-08 |url=https://www.sydney.edu.au/content/dam/corporate/documents/university-archives/record/record-2007-08.pdf |url-status=live |access-date=3 June 2021 |publisher=University of Sydney |archive-date=16 June 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220616053237/https://www.sydney.edu.au/content/dam/corporate/documents/university-archives/record/record-2007-08.pdf}}</ref>

The [[New England (New South Wales)|New England]] University College was founded as part of the University of Sydney in 1938 and in 1954 was separated to become the [[University of New England (Australia)|University of New England]].<ref name=about>{{cite web |url=http://www.une.edu.au/about-une |title=About UNE |work=University of New England |access-date=4 August 2017 |archive-date=2021-11-23 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211123161117/https://www.une.edu.au/about-une |url-status=live}}</ref>

During the late 1960s, the University of Sydney was at the centre of rows to introduce courses on [[Marxism]] and [[feminism]] at the major Australian universities. At one stage, newspaper reporters descended on the university to cover brawls, demonstrations, secret memos and a walk-out by [[David Malet Armstrong|David Armstrong]], a philosopher who held the Challis Chair of Philosophy from 1959 to 1991, after students at one of his lectures openly demanded a course on feminism.<ref>{{cite news |last=West |first=William |title=Argumentative days over |work=[[The Australian]] |date=1 January 1992 |page=15, Higher Education Supplement}}</ref> The philosophy department split over the issue into the Traditional and Modern Philosophy Department, headed by Armstrong and following a more [[analytic philosophy|traditional approach to philosophy]], and the General Philosophy Department, which follows the French [[continental philosophy|continental approach]].<ref>{{cite journal |last=Franklin |first=James |authorlink=James Franklin (philosopher) |date=1999 |title=The Sydney Philosophy Disturbances |url=https://web.maths.unsw.edu.au/~jim/sydq.html |journal=Quadrant |volume=43 |issue=4 |pages=16–21 |access-date=5 Jan 2024 |archive-date=7 January 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240107063232/https://web.maths.unsw.edu.au/~jim/sydq.html |url-status=live }}</ref> The [[Builders Labourers Federation]] placed a ban on the university after two women tutors were not allowed to teach a course but the issue was quickly resolved internally.<ref>{{Cite web |url=http://libcom.org/history/list-green-bans-1971-1974 |title=List of green bans, 1971-1974 |website=libcom.org |access-date=2019-10-16 |archive-date=30 September 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190930095853/http://libcom.org/history/list-green-bans-1971-1974 |url-status=live}}</ref>

Under the terms of the ''Higher Education (Amalgamation) Act 1989'' (NSW),<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.austlii.edu.au/au/legis/nsw/consol_act/hea1989248/ |title=HIGHER EDUCATION (AMALGAMATION) ACT 1989 |website=Austlii |date=20 June 2006 |access-date=22 February 2010 |archive-date=4 February 2009 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090204031328/http://www.austlii.edu.au/au/legis/nsw/consol_act/hea1989248/ |url-status=live}}</ref> the following bodies were incorporated into the university in 1990:

* Sydney branch of the [[Sydney Conservatorium of Music]]
* [[Cumberland College of Health Sciences]]
* [[Sydney College of the Arts]] of the Institute of the Arts
* [[Sydney Institute of Education]] of the [[Sydney College of Advanced Education]] (prior to 1981, named the [[Sydney Teachers College]]).
* Institute of Nursing Studies of the Sydney College of Advanced Education
* Guild Centre of the Sydney College of Advanced Education.

The Orange Agricultural College (OAC) was originally transferred to the [[University of New England, Australia|University of New England]] under the act, but then transferred to the University of Sydney in 1994, as part of the reforms to the University of New England undertaken by the ''University of New England Act 1993''<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.austlii.edu.au/au/legis/nsw/consol_act/uonea1993281/ |title=UNIVERSITY OF NEW ENGLAND ACT 1993 |website=Austlii |date=22 September 2008 |access-date=22 February 2010 |archive-date=4 February 2009 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090204031607/http://www.austlii.edu.au/au/legis/nsw/consol_act/uonea1993281/ |url-status=live}}</ref> and the ''Southern Cross University Act 1993''.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.austlii.edu.au/au/legis/nsw/consol_act/scua1993354/ |title=SOUTHERN CROSS UNIVERSITY ACT 1993 |website=Austlii |date=22 September 2008 |access-date=22 February 2010 |archive-date=1 February 2009 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090201193731/http://www.austlii.edu.au/au/legis/nsw/consol_act/scua1993354/ |url-status=live}}</ref> In January 2005, the University of Sydney transferred the OAC to [[Charles Sturt University]].

===2000s===
[[File:Charles Perkins Centre, University of Sydney.jpg|thumb|270x270px|[[Charles Perkins Centre]]]]
In 2001, the University of Sydney chancellor, Dame [[Leonie Kramer]], was forced to resign by the university's governing body.<ref>[[Australian Broadcasting Corporation]] – PM, [http://www.abc.net.au/pm/stories/s322262.htm Dame Leonie Kramer Resigns] {{Webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090201065516/http://www.abc.net.au/pm/stories/s322262.htm |date=1 February 2009}}. Retrieved 6 January 2007.</ref> In 2003, [[Nick Greiner]], a former [[Premier of New South Wales]], resigned from his position as chair of the university's Graduate School of Management because of academic protests against his simultaneous chairmanship of [[British American Tobacco]] (Australia). Subsequently, his wife, [[Kathryn Greiner]], resigned in protest from the two positions she held at the university as chair of the Sydney Peace Foundation and a member of the executive council of the Research Institute for Asia and the Pacific.<ref>''[[Sydney Morning Herald]]'', [http://www.smh.com.au/articles/2003/08/11/1060588325238.html Kathryn Follows Nick Out of Door in Protest] {{Webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170705153533/http://www.smh.com.au/articles/2003/08/11/1060588325238.html |date=5 July 2017}}, 8 November 2003. Retrieved 6 January 2007.</ref>

In 2005, the [[Public Service Association of New South Wales]] and the [[Community and Public Sector Union]] were in dispute with the university over a proposal to privatise security at the main campus (and the [[Cumberland]] campus).<ref>Public Service Association of NSW, [http://www.psa.labor.net.au/campaigns/1124934892_16999.html ''Sydney University Petition on Security Services''] {{webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070304220002/http://www.psa.labor.net.au/campaigns/1124934892_16999.html |date=4 March 2007}}. Retrieved 6 January 2007.</ref>

In 2007, the university agreed to acquire a portion of the land granted to [[St John's College, University of Sydney|St John's College]] (a residential college of the university) to develop the Sydney Institute of Health and Medical Research, now the [[Charles Perkins Centre]], named in honour of the first [[Indigenous Australian]] man to graduate from the university, [[Charles Perkins (Aboriginal activist)|Charles Perkins]].<ref>{{cite web |title=Building starts on Charles Perkins Centre |website=ArchitectureAU |date=24 March 2012 |url=https://architectureau.com/articles/building-starts-on-charles-perkins-centre/ |access-date=14 November 2021 |archive-date=23 September 2016 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160923062524/http://architectureau.com/articles/building-starts-on-charles-perkins-centre/ |url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |title=Charles Perkins |website=[[Charles Perkins Centre]] |publisher=University of Sydney |date=12 March 2012 |url=http://sydney.edu.au/perkins/about/charles_perkins.shtml |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120321050805/http://sydney.edu.au/perkins/about/charles_perkins.shtml |archive-date=21 March 2012 |url-status=dead |access-date=15 November 2021}}</ref>

=== 2010s ===
At the start of 2010, the University of Sydney controversially adopted a new logo. It retains the same arms, but they take on a more modern look. There have been stylistic changes, the main one being the coat of arm's [[mantling]], the shape of the [[escutcheon (heraldry)|escutcheon]] (shield), the removal of the motto scroll, and also others more subtle within the arms itself, such as the mane and fur of the lion, the number of lines in the open book and the colouration.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://sydney.edu.au/news/84.html?newscategoryid=9&newsstoryid=4371 |title=New decade, new dynamic &#124; The University of Sydney |website=University of Sydney |date=8 January 2010 |access-date=22 February 2010 |archive-date=16 January 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210116001650/https://www.sydney.edu.au/news/84.html?newscategoryid=9&newsstoryid=4371 |url-status=live}}</ref> The original Coat of Arms from 1857 continues to be used for ceremonial and other formal purposes, such as on testamurs.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://sydney.edu.au/ab/about/2009/VC_Rpt_to_Senate_0609.pdf |title=Report of the Vice-Chancellor and Principal |publisher=University of Sydney |date=15 June 2009 |access-date=12 June 2011 |archive-date=16 January 2013 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130116094742/http://sydney.edu.au/ab/about/2009/VC_Rpt_to_Senate_0609.pdf |url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=http://sydney.edu.au/alumni/sam/archive/SAM_March10.pdf |title=Sydney Alumni Magazine |website=University of Sydney |date=March 2010 |access-date=12 June 2011 |archive-date=7 May 2016 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160507022635/http://sydney.edu.au/alumni/sam/archive/SAM_March10.pdf |url-status=live}}</ref>

In 2010, the university received a [[Pablo Picasso]] painting from the private collection of an anonymous donor. The painting, ''[[Jeune Fille Endormie]]'', which had not been publicly seen since 1939, depicts the artist's lover, [[Marie-Thérèse Walter]] and was donated on the strict understanding that it would be sold and the proceeds directed to medical research.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://sydney.edu.au/perkins/partners/picasso.shtml |title=Donate |website=University of Sydney |access-date=23 July 2018 |archive-date=22 August 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220822060426/https://www.sydney.edu.au/charles-perkins-centre/donate.html |url-status=live}}</ref> The painting was auctioned at [[Christie's]] in London and sold for £13.5&nbsp;million ($20.6&nbsp;million AUD). The proceeds of the sale funded the establishment of many endowed professorial chairs at the [[Charles Perkins Centre]], where a room dedicated to the painting, now exists.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://sydney.edu.au/news/84.html?newscategoryid=11&newsstoryid=7151 |title=Picasso masterpiece raises A$20.6 million to fund Sydney research |website=University of Sydney |access-date=23 July 2018 |archive-date=5 December 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201205230855/https://www.sydney.edu.au/news/84.html?newscategoryid=11&newsstoryid=7151 |url-status=live}}</ref>

Action initiated by then-Vice Chancellor [[Michael Spence (legal scholar)|Michael Spence]] to improve the financial sustainability of the university caused controversy among some students and staff.<ref name="The man, the myth, the manager">Max Chalmers (10 March 2014). "[http://honisoit.com/2014/03/the-man-the-myth-the-manager/ The man, the myth, the manager] {{Webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150714094252/http://honisoit.com/2014/03/the-man-the-myth-the-manager/ |date=14 July 2015}}". Retrieved 10 March 2014.</ref> In 2012, Spence led efforts to cut the university's expenditure to address the financial impact of a slowdown in international student enrolments across Australia. This included redundancies of a number of university staff and faculty, though some at the university argued that the institution should have cut back on building programs instead.<ref>{{cite web |author=Stephen Matchett |date=12 March 2012 |title=Academics argue VC has not made his case |url=http://www.theaustralian.com.au/higher-education/academics-argue-vc-has-not-made-his-case/story-e6frgcjx-1226296360644 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120319142924/http://www.theaustralian.com.au/higher-education/academics-argue-vc-has-not-made-his-case/story-e6frgcjx-1226296360644 |archive-date=19 March 2012 |access-date=12 February 2013 |work=The Australian}}</ref> Critics argued the push for savings was driven by managerial incompetence and indifference, fuelling industrial action during a round of enterprise bargaining in 2013 that also reflected widespread concerns about public funding for higher education.<ref name="The man, the myth, the manager" /><ref>{{cite web |last=Barnsley |first=Kate |date=22 March 2013 |title=FAQs for Strike Day – March 26 and March 27 |url=http://www.nteu.org.au/sydney/article/FAQs-for-Strike-Day---March-26-and-March-27-14288 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150214003029/http://www.nteu.org.au/sydney/article/FAQs-for-Strike-Day---March-26-and-March-27-14288 |archive-date=14 February 2015 |access-date=24 March 2013}}</ref>

An internal staff survey in 2012/13, which found widespread dissatisfaction with how the university was being managed.<ref>Kirsty Needham (9 June 2013). "[http://www.smh.com.au/nsw/sydney-uni-staff-rank-as-most-dissatisfied-20130608-2nwrt.html Sydney Uni staff rank as most dissatisfied] {{Webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150924215217/http://www.smh.com.au/nsw/sydney-uni-staff-rank-as-most-dissatisfied-20130608-2nwrt.html |date=24 September 2015}}"</ref> Asked to rate their level of agreement with a series of statements about the university, 19 per cent of those surveyed believed "change and innovation" were handled well by the university. In the survey, 75 per cent of university staff indicated senior executives were not listening to them, while only 22 per cent said change was handled well and 33 per cent said senior executives were good role models.<ref>{{cite web |author=Max Chalmers |date=14 January 2014 |title=Staff Give Sydney Uni A Poor Grade |url=https://newmatilda.com/2014/01/14/staff-give-sydney-uni-poor-grade/ |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160815013023/https://newmatilda.com/2014/01/14/staff-give-sydney-uni-poor-grade/ |archive-date=15 August 2016 |access-date=14 January 2014}}</ref>

During Spence's term, the university community was divided over allowing students from an elite private school, [[Scots College (Sydney)|Scots College]], to enter university via a "pathway of privilege" by means of enrolling in a Diploma of Tertiary Preparation rather than meeting HSC entry requirements.<ref>{{cite news |author=Rick Feneley |date=5 April 2015 |title=Scots boys got into Sydney University without HSC |url=http://www.smh.com.au/national/scots-boys-got-into-sydney-university-without-hsc-20150405-1medae.html |newspaper=The Sydney Morning Herald |access-date=16 July 2015 |language=en-AU |archive-date=9 July 2015 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150709134111/http://www.smh.com.au/national/scots-boys-got-into-sydney-university-without-hsc-20150405-1medae.html |url-status=live}}</ref> The university charged students $12,000 to take the course and have since successfully admitted a number of students to degree courses. An exposé by Fairfax which turned out to be based on a misunderstanding as to VET and UAC matriculation standards, the scheme has been criticised by Phillip Heath, the national chairman of the Association of Heads of Independent Schools of Australia.<ref>{{cite news |author=Rick Feneley |date=10 April 2015 |title=Scots scandal: We don't want elitist, sweetheart deals with universities, says independent school principals chairman Phillip Heath |url=http://www.smh.com.au/national/scots-scandal-we-dont-want-elitist-sweetheart-deals-with-universities-says-independent-school-principals-chairman-phillip-heath-20150410-1mi2xb.html |newspaper=The Sydney Morning Herald |access-date=16 July 2015 |language=en-AU |archive-date=21 July 2015 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150721113027/http://www.smh.com.au/national/scots-scandal-we-dont-want-elitist-sweetheart-deals-with-universities-says-independent-school-principals-chairman-phillip-heath-20150410-1mi2xb.html |url-status=live}}</ref>

Concerns about public funding for higher education were reflected again in 2014 following the federal government's [[Abbott Government#University and TAFE deregulation|proposal to deregulate student fees]]. The university held a wide-ranging consultation process, which included a "town hall meeting" at the university's Great Hall on 25 August 2014, where an audience of students, staff and alumni expressed deep concern about the government's plans and called on university leadership to lobby against the proposals.<ref>{{cite news |author=Alexandra Back |date=25 August 2014 |title=Overwhelming opposition to fee deregulation at historic University of Sydney town hall meeting |url=http://www.smh.com.au/federal-politics/political-news/overwhelming-opposition-to-fee-deregulation-at-historic-university-of-sydney-town-hall-meeting-20140826-108btl.html |newspaper=The Sydney Morning Herald |access-date=16 July 2015 |language=en-AU |archive-date=18 November 2014 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141118021233/http://www.smh.com.au/federal-politics/political-news/overwhelming-opposition-to-fee-deregulation-at-historic-university-of-sydney-town-hall-meeting-20140826-108btl.html |url-status=live}}</ref> Throughout 2014, Spence took a leading position among Australian vice-chancellors in repeatedly calling for any change to funding to not undermine equitable access to university while arguing for fee deregulation to raise course costs for the majority of higher education students.<ref>{{cite news |author=Michael Spence |date=28 May 2014 |title=Middle income families the losers in race to university |url=http://www.smh.com.au/comment/middle-income-families-the-losers-in-race-to-university-20140528-zrqgy.html |newspaper=The Sydney Morning Herald |access-date=16 July 2015 |language=en-AU |archive-date=24 September 2015 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150924152829/http://www.smh.com.au/comment/middle-income-families-the-losers-in-race-to-university-20140528-zrqgy.html |url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |last=Alberici |first=Emma |title=Universities too reliant on international student fees |work=[[ABC News (Australia)|ABC News]] |date=26 August 2014 |url=http://www.abc.net.au/lateline/content/2014/s4075107.htm |access-date=16 July 2015 |language=en-AU |archive-date=14 July 2015 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150714075729/http://www.abc.net.au/lateline/content/2014/s4075107.htm |url-status=live}}</ref>

An investigation by Fairfax in 2015 revealed widespread cheating at universities across NSW, including the University of Sydney.<ref>{{cite web |author=Alexandra Smith |date=11 August 2015 |title=The lengths university students will go to cheat |url=http://www.smh.com.au/national/education/the-lengths-university-students-will-go-to-cheat-20150811-giwjog.html |newspaper=The Sydney Morning Herald |access-date=11 August 2015 |archive-date=12 August 2015 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150812143947/http://www.smh.com.au/national/education/the-lengths-university-students-will-go-to-cheat-20150811-giwjog.html |url-status=live}}</ref> The university later established a taskforce on academic misconduct to reduce cheating and academic misconduct.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://sydney.edu.au/news/84.html?newscategoryid=8&newsstoryid=14810 |title=News – The University of Sydney. |access-date=30 January 2022 |archive-date=5 December 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201205230648/https://www.sydney.edu.au/news/84.html?newscategoryid=8&newsstoryid=14810 |url-status=live}}</ref>

In 2016, the university introduced plans to consolidate existing degrees to reduce the overall number of programs it offered.<ref>{{cite news |last=Bagshaw |first=Eryk |date=2016-03-31 |title=University of Sydney to cut 100 degrees and triple research investment |url=https://www.smh.com.au/education/university-of-sydney-to-cut-100-degrees-and-triple-research-investment-20160331-gnv1fc.html |newspaper=The Sydney Morning Herald |access-date=2018-03-22 |language=en-AU |archive-date=22 March 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180322204929/https://www.smh.com.au/education/university-of-sydney-to-cut-100-degrees-and-triple-research-investment-20160331-gnv1fc.html |url-status=live}}</ref> In the 2019 Student Experience Survey, the University of Sydney recorded the second lowest student satisfaction rating out of all Australian universities, and the second lowest student satisfaction rating out of all New South Wales universities, with an overall satisfaction rating of 74.2; this was lower than the national average rating of 78.4.<ref>{{cite web |title=2019 Student Experience Survey |url=https://www.qilt.edu.au/docs/default-source/ses/ses-2019/2019-ses-national-report.pdf?sfvrsn=6486ec3c_10 |access-date=19 June 2020 |archive-date=18 April 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200418184719/https://www.qilt.edu.au/docs/default-source/ses/ses-2019/2019-ses-national-report.pdf?sfvrsn=6486ec3c_10 |url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |last1=Baker |first1=Jordan |date=10 March 2020 |title=UNSW students least satisfied in the country, survey shows |url=https://www.smh.com.au/national/unsw-students-least-satisfied-in-the-country-due-to-trimesters-20200310-p548t0.html |newspaper=The Sydney Morning Herald |access-date=19 June 2020 |language=en-AU |archive-date=22 June 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200622070448/https://www.smh.com.au/national/unsw-students-least-satisfied-in-the-country-due-to-trimesters-20200310-p548t0.html |url-status=live}}</ref>

===2020s===
In the 2021 National Student Safety Survey (NSSS) on sexual assault and harassment on university campuses, the University of Sydney recorded the lowest response rate with nearly a fifth (18.5%) of student respondents reporting experiencing sexual harassment since starting university and 6.7% experiencing sexual assault.<ref>{{Cite web |date=14 March 2022 |title=NSSS University of Sydney summary infographic |url=https://www.sydney.edu.au/content/dam/corporate/documents/about-us/values-and-visions/safer-communities/nsss_infographic_the-university-of-sydney.pdf |publisher=University of Sydney |access-date=28 May 2023 |archive-date=28 May 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230528012753/https://www.sydney.edu.au/content/dam/corporate/documents/about-us/values-and-visions/safer-communities/nsss_infographic_the-university-of-sydney.pdf |url-status=live }}</ref>

In 2022, the university's National Tertiary Education Union voted to go on strike for 48 hours, demanding an end to job insecurity, protection of academics’ right to a 40 per cent research component in their workload, a pay rise, enforceable targets for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander employment, and improved rights for professional members.<ref>{{cite news |author=Daniella White |date=14 April 2022 |title=Our members have had enough': Sydney University staff to strike for 48 hours |url=https://www.smh.com.au/national/nsw/our-members-have-had-enough-sydney-university-staff-to-strike-for-48-hours-20220414-p5adkw.html |newspaper=The Sydney Morning Herald |access-date=6 August 2023 |archive-date=6 August 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230806223042/https://www.smh.com.au/national/nsw/our-members-have-had-enough-sydney-university-staff-to-strike-for-48-hours-20220414-p5adkw.html |url-status=live }}</ref>

Starting on 23 April 2024, as a protest of the [[Gaza war]], pro-[[State of Palestine|Palestinian]] students and staff of the university began [[Occupation (protest)|occupying part of campus]].<ref>{{Cite news |last=Chidiac |first=Valerie |last2=Khochaiche |first2=Zeina |date=23 April 2024 |title=USyd students occupy quad lawns in solidarity with Gaza |url=https://honisoit.com/2024/04/usyd-students-occupy-quad-lawns-in-solidarity-with-gaza/ |access-date=22 October 2025 |work=Honi Soit}}</ref><ref name="FP">{{cite web |author1=Staff of [[Firstpost]] |title=Now, 'Free Palestine' syndrome travels Down Under, protests erupt in Sydney University |url=https://www.firstpost.com/world/sydney-university-pro-palestinian-protests13762917-13762917.html |website=[[Firstpost]] |publisher=[[Network18 Group]] |access-date=23 April 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240423145013/https://www.firstpost.com/world/sydney-university-pro-palestinian-protests13762917-13762917.html |archive-date=23 April 2024 |location=[[Mumbai]], [[India]] |format=[[News]] [[Article (publishing)|article]] |date=23 April 2024 |url-status=live}}</ref>

==Campuses and buildings==
===Main campus===
[[File:University of Sydney's Main Quadrangle.jpg|thumb|The Quad Building]]
The main campus is spread across the inner-city suburbs of Camperdown and Darlington, and has been noted for its beautiful architecture and quadrangle.<ref name="The Daily Telegraph">{{cite news |url=https://www.telegraph.co.uk/education/expateducation/9480575/Beautiful-universities-around-the-world.html?frame=2312132 |location=London |work=The Daily Telegraph |title=Beautiful universities around the world |date=31 August 2012 |access-date=3 April 2018 |language=en-GB |archive-date=13 February 2016 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160213180746/http://www.telegraph.co.uk/education/expateducation/9480575/Beautiful-universities-around-the-world.html?frame=2312132 |url-status=live}}</ref><ref name="huffingtonpost.co.uk">{{cite web |url=http://www.huffingtonpost.co.uk/2013/07/11/worlds-most-beautiful-universities_n_3578402.html#slide=2682402 |title=15 of the World's Most Beautiful Universities Revealed |website=The Huffington Post UK |date=11 July 2013 |access-date=30 July 2013 |archive-date=13 November 2015 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20151113092956/http://www.huffingtonpost.co.uk/2013/07/11/worlds-most-beautiful-universities_n_3578402.html#slide=2682402 |url-status=live}}</ref>
[[File:The Great Hall, Sydney Uni.jpg|thumb|[[The Great Hall, the University of Sydney|The Great Hall]], statue of founder [[William Wentworth|William Charles Wentworth]] in the foreground]]
[[File:USYD Quadrangle (cropped).jpg|thumb|[[University of Sydney Quadrangle|The Quadrangle]]]]
Originally housed in what is now [[Sydney Grammar School]], in 1855 the government granted land in Grose Farm to the university, three kilometres from the city, which is now the main [[Camperdown, New South Wales|Camperdown]] campus. In 1854, the architect [[Edmund Blacket]] accepted a senate invitation for the first buildings to be designed. In 1858 the [[Great Hall of the University of Sydney|Great Hall]] was finished, and in 1859 the Main Building was built. He composed the original Neo-Gothic sandstone Quadrangle and Great Tower buildings, which were completed in 1862.<ref name=":1" /> The rapid expansion of the university in the mid-20th century resulted in the acquisition of land in Darlington across [[City Road, Sydney|City Road]]. The Camperdown/Darlington campus houses the university's administrative headquarters, and the Faculties of Arts, Science, Education and Social Work, Pharmacy, Veterinary Science, Economics and Business, [[University of Sydney School of Architecture, Design and Planning|Architecture]], and Engineering. It is also the home base of the large [[Sydney Medical School]], which has numerous affiliated teaching hospitals across the state.

The main campus is also the focus of the university's student life, with the student-run [[University of Sydney Union]] (once referred to as "the Union", but now known as "the USU") in possession of three buildings – Wentworth, Manning and Holme Buildings. These buildings house a large proportion of the university's catering outlets, and provide space for recreational rooms, bars and function centres. One of the largest activities organised by the Union is Welcome Week (formerly Orientation Week or 'O-week'), a three-day festival at the start of the academic year. Welcome Week centres on stalls set up by clubs and societies on the Front Lawns.<ref>"[http://honisoit.com/2019/02/whats-in-a-name-o-week-becomes-welcome-week/ What's in a name? O-Week becomes Welcome Week"] {{Webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190627180357/http://honisoit.com/2019/02/whats-in-a-name-o-week-becomes-welcome-week/ |date=27 June 2019 }}. ''Honi Soit''. Retrieved 28/6/19.</ref>

The main campus is home to a variety of statues, artworks, and monuments. These include the [[Gilgamesh Statue (University of Sydney)|Gilgamesh Statue]] and the Confucius Statue.

Some other architects associated with the university were [[Walter Liberty Vernon]], [[Walter Burley Griffin]], [[Leslie Wilkinson]], and the [[New South Wales Government Architect]].<ref name=":1" /> The building was designed in accordance with the university's masterplan by the architect and founding dean of the [[University of Sydney School of Architecture, Design and Planning|university's architecture faculty]], [[Leslie Wilkinson]], who himself was inspired by a previously unused masterplan developed for the campus by Walter Burley Griffin in 1915.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://architectureau.com/articles/grimshaw-completes-gateway-administration-building-for-university-of-sydney/ |title=Grimshaw completes 'gateway' administration building for University of Sydney |website=ArchitectureAU |access-date=2019-06-14 |archive-date=5 May 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190505232835/https://architectureau.com/articles/grimshaw-completes-gateway-administration-building-for-university-of-sydney/ |url-status=live}}</ref>
[[File:USYD MacLaurin Hall A14D SEP2019.jpg|thumb|The MacLaurin Hall]]
The 2002 conservation plan of the university stated that the Main Building and Quadrangle, Anderson Stuart Building, Gate Lodges, St Paul's College, St John's College and St Andrew's College "comprise what is arguably the most important group of [[Gothic architecture|Gothic]] and [[Tudor Revival architecture|Tudor Revival style architecture]] in Australia, and the landscape and grounds features associated with these buildings, including [[Victoria Park, Sydney|Victoria Park]], contribute to and support the existence and appreciation of their architectural qualities and aesthetic significance."<ref name=":1" />

In 2015, [[Department of Planning and Environment (New South Wales)|The NSW Department of Planning and Environment]] endorsed The University of Sydney's $1.4&nbsp;billion Campus Improvement Plan which involved a number of new important structures and renovations.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://architectureau.com/articles/green-light-for-sydney-unis-14-billion-masterplan/ |title=Green light for Sydney Uni's $1.4 billion masterplan |website=ArchitectureAU |access-date=2019-06-14 |archive-date=30 March 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200330080320/https://architectureau.com/articles/green-light-for-sydney-unis-14-billion-masterplan/ |url-status=live}}</ref>
[[File:Physics Road, University of Sydney.jpg|thumb|Sports fields along Physics Road]]
As of 2016, the university is undertaking a large capital works program with the aim of revitalising the campus and providing more office, teaching and student space.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.facilities.usyd.edu.au/c2010/about/summary.shtml |title=Campus 2010 + Building for the Future |website=University of Sydney |access-date=11 October 2011 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20111006161840/http://www.facilities.usyd.edu.au/c2010/about/summary.shtml |archive-date=6 October 2011 |df=dmy-all}}</ref> The program will see the amalgamation of the smaller science and technical libraries into a larger library, and the construction of a central administration and student services building along City Road. A new building for the School of Information Technologies opened in late 2006 and has been located on a site adjacent to the [[Seymour Centre]]. The busy Eastern Avenue thoroughfare has been transformed into a pedestrian plaza and a new footbridge has been built over City Road. The new home for the [[Sydney Law School]], located alongside Fisher Library on the site of the old [[Edgeworth David]] and Stephen Roberts buildings, has been completed. The university opened a new building called "Abercrombie Building" for business school students in early 2016.

The NSW state government has reduced transport links to the old campus and the closest [[Redfern railway station]] leaving main access to buses on the neighbouring [[Parramatta Road]] and [[City Road, Sydney|City Road]], prioritising the growth at other Sydney universities.<ref>{{cite news |author=Matt O'Sullivan |title=Sydney Uni lashes out at government over 'serious impact' of train timetable changes |url=http://www.smh.com.au/nsw/sydney-uni-lashes-out-at-government-over-serious-impact-of-train-timetable-changes-20171130-gzvpoq.html |date=30 November 2017 |newspaper=The Sydney Morning Herald |access-date=1 December 2017 |language=en-AU |archive-date=30 November 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171130211517/http://www.smh.com.au/nsw/sydney-uni-lashes-out-at-government-over-serious-impact-of-train-timetable-changes-20171130-gzvpoq.html |url-status=live}}</ref>

From 2007, the university has used space in the former [[Eveleigh, New South Wales|Eveleigh]] railway yards, just to the south of [[Darlington, New South Wales|Darlington]], for examination purposes.

In 2018, [[Minister for Heritage (New South Wales)|New South Wales Minister for Heritage]], [[Gabrielle Upton]] agreed to put the University of Sydney and some adjacent sites on the state heritage register, creating a conservation area that would include the [[Camperdown, New South Wales|Camperdown]] campus, and the nearby [[Victoria Park, Sydney|Victoria Park]].<ref name=":1">{{cite web |url=https://architectureau.com/articles/university-of-sydney-receives-state-heritage-listing/ |title=University of Sydney receives state heritage listing |website=ArchitectureAU |access-date=2019-05-08 |archive-date=8 May 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190508220047/https://architectureau.com/articles/university-of-sydney-receives-state-heritage-listing/ |url-status=live}}</ref>

The beginning of 2021 saw the closure of the Cumberland campus, with a number of health disciplines moving to the Camperdown campus in the state-of-the-art, purpose built Susan Wakil Health Building.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.sydney.edu.au/medicine-health/about/locations-and-facilities/susan-wakil-health-building.html |title=Susan Wakil Health Building |website=University of Sydney |access-date=2021-02-03 |archive-date=19 January 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210119084518/https://www.sydney.edu.au/medicine-health/about/locations-and-facilities/susan-wakil-health-building.html |url-status=live}}</ref>

===Satellite campuses===
* '''[[Sydney Dental Hospital]]''' located in Surry Hills and the Westmead Centre for Oral Health is attached to Westmead Hospital.
* The '''[[Sydney Conservatorium of Music]]''': Formerly the NSW State Conservatorium of Music, the Sydney Conservatorium of Music (SCM) is located in the Sydney CBD on the edge of Sydney's [[Royal Botanic Gardens, Sydney|Royal Botanic Garden]], a short distance from the [[Sydney Opera House]]. It became a faculty of the university in the 1990s and incorporates the main campus Department of Music, which was the subject of the documentary ''[[Facing the Music (2001 film)|Facing the Music]]''.
* '''Camden campus''': Located in one of the most rapidly growing peri-urban areas in the country, Sydney's southwest. The [[Camden, New South Wales|Camden]] campus houses lecture theatres, research institutes, veterinary clinics and research farms for bioscience, environmental science, agriculture and veterinary science.
* '''Sydney CBD campus:''' The [[University of Sydney Business School]] CBD campus is located on Castlereagh Street in the heart of Sydney's CBD close to [[Town Hall railway station, Sydney|Town Hall station]].<ref>{{Cite web |url=https://www.sydney.edu.au/business/about/location-and-facilities.html |title=Location and facilities |website=University of Sydney |access-date=2020-03-16 |archive-date=25 March 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200325231349/https://www.sydney.edu.au/business/about/location-and-facilities.html |url-status=live}}</ref>

The university also uses a number of other facilities for its teaching activities.
* '''[[Sydney Medical School]]''' has eight clinical schools at its affiliated hospitals, responsible for clinical education at the hospitals.
*'''[[Sydney Pharmacy School]]''' is one of the smaller at the university, and is positioned with its own building, the sandstone Pharmacy and Bank Building, with associated laboratories and academic staff wings below and around
* '''[[One Tree Island (Queensland)|One Tree Island]]''' is an island situated within the World Heritage Site [[Great Barrier Reef]] Marine Park about 20&nbsp;km east-southeast of [[Heron Island (Queensland)|Heron Island]] and about 90&nbsp;km east-northeast of [[Gladstone, Queensland|Gladstone]] on the [[Queensland]] coast, and hosts a tropical marine research station of the School of Geosciences.
* The '''IA Watson Grains Research Centre''' located at [[Narrabri]] in north-central [[New South Wales]] is a research station of the Faculty of Agriculture and Environment.
* The '''[[Molonglo Observatory Synthesis Telescope|Molonglo Observatory]]''' is located in [[Hoskinstown]], near [[Canberra]].
* '''[[Maningrida, Northern Territory|Maningrida]]''' is a base camp for scientific expeditions in the [[Northern Territory]].
* '''Arthursleigh''' is an agricultural estate located near [[Goulburn, New South Wales|Goulburn]].
* The [[Power Institute of Fine Arts]] offers an annual residency to Australian artists and writers at [[Cité internationale des arts]] in [[Paris, France]].
* The [[Australian Archaeological Institute at Athens]] is located in [[Athens]], [[Greece]].
* '''[[Taylors College]] at''' [[Waterloo, New South Wales|Waterloo]] in Sydney is operated by [[Navitas Limited|Navitas]] for its Foundation Program, catering to international students wishing to enter the university.

<gallery widths=180>
File:Rozelle.hospital.jpg|[[Sydney College of the Arts]]
File:Bank Building, University of Sydney.jpg|[[Sydney Pharmacy School]]
File:Sydney Conservatorium of Music, Conservatorium Road, Sydney, New South Wales (2011-03-09).jpg|[[Sydney Conservatorium of Music]]
File:Anderson Stuart Building Sydney Uni.JPG|[[Sydney Medical School]]
File:Molonglotele.jpg|[[Molonglo Observatory Synthesis Telescope|Molonglo Observatory]]
</gallery>

== Governance and structure ==
=== Faculties and departments ===
The university comprises eight faculties and schools:<ref>{{cite web |url=http://sydney.edu.au/about-us/faculties-and-schools.html |title=Faculties and schools - The University of Sydney |publisher=University of Sydney |date=20 April 2017 |access-date=17 May 2017 |archive-date=20 May 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170520003939/http://sydney.edu.au/about-us/faculties-and-schools.html |url-status=live}}</ref>
* [[University of Sydney Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences|Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences]]
* [[University of Sydney Business School]]
* [[University of Sydney Faculty of Engineering|Faculty of Engineering]]
* [[University of Sydney Faculty of Medicine and Health|Faculty of Medicine and Health]]
* [[University of Sydney Faculty of Science|Faculty of Science]]
* [[Sydney School of Architecture, Design and Planning]]
* [[Sydney Conservatorium of Music]]
* [[Sydney Law School]]

The five largest faculties and schools by 2020 student enrolments were (in descending order): [[University of Sydney Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences|Arts and Social Sciences]]; [[University of Sydney Faculty of Medicine and Health|Medicine and Health]]; [[University of Sydney Business School|Business]]; [[University of Sydney Faculty of Science|Science]]; [[University of Sydney Faculty of Engineering|Engineering]]. Together they constituted nearly 88% of the university's students and each had a student enrolment over 8,000 (at least 13% of total students).<ref>{{cite web |title=University of Sydney 2020 Annual Report |url=https://www.sydney.edu.au/content/dam/corporate/documents/about-us/values-and-visions/annual-report/annual-report-final.pdf |publisher=University of Sydney |access-date=4 June 2021 |archive-date=16 February 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220216050115/https://www.sydney.edu.au/content/dam/corporate/documents/about-us/values-and-visions/annual-report/annual-report-final.pdf |url-status=live}}</ref>

====Centre for Continuing education====
The [[Centre for Continuing Education]] is an [[adult education]] provider within the university. Extension lectures at the university were inaugurated in 1886,<ref>University of Sydney, Senate Minutes, 5 July 1886, p.291.</ref> 36 years after the university's founding, making it Australia's longest running university [[continuing education]] program.<ref>{{cite journal |last=Dymock |first=Darryl |title=A reservoir of learning: the beginnings of continuing education at the University of Sydney |journal=Australian Journal of Adult Learning |date=July 2009 |volume=49 |issue=2 |page=247 |url=http://files.eric.ed.gov/fulltext/EJ864439.pdf |access-date=9 August 2015 |archive-date=12 April 2015 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150412013554/http://files.eric.ed.gov/fulltext/EJ864439.pdf |url-status=live}}</ref>

==== '''Centre for International Security Studies''' ====
The Centre for International Security Studies (CISS) at The University of Sydney is an academic research centre focused on international security, global politics, and the intersection of security with various global challenges.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Centre for International Security Studies |url=https://www.sydney.edu.au/arts/our-research/centres-institutes-and-groups/centre-for-international-security-studies.html |archive-url=http://web.archive.org/web/20250809214729/https://www.sydney.edu.au/arts/our-research/centres-institutes-and-groups/centre-for-international-security-studies.html |archive-date=2025-08-09 |access-date=2025-11-16 |website=The University of Sydney |language=en-US}}</ref> The current director is [[James Der Derian]].

===Finances and endowment===
[[File:University of Sydney Madsen Building.png|thumb|The Madsen Building (former headquarters of [[Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation|CSIRO]])]]

The university has received a number of significant bequests and legacies over its history. The following are current professorships (chairs), funds, fellowships and scholarships which are funded by bequests and legacies and named after benefactors:
* [[Douglas Burrows]] Chair of Paediatrics and Child Health<ref>[http://sydney.edu.au/medicine/foundation/research/paeds.php Douglas Burrows Chair of Paediatrics and Child Health] {{Webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140810132818/http://sydney.edu.au/medicine/foundation/research/paeds.php |date=10 August 2014 }} Retrieved 9 August 2014.</ref>
* [[John Henry Challis|John Challis]] Bequest for chairs in Law, International Law, Jurisprudence, Anatomy, Biology, Civil Engineering, English Literature, History and philosophy (see [[Challis Professorship]])<ref>[http://sydney.edu.au/senate/documents/Other/Challis_Chairs.pdf The Challis Bequest] {{Webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070912171236/http://www.sydney.edu.au/senate/documents/Other/Challis_Chairs.pdf |date=12 September 2007 }} Retrieved 9 August 2014.</ref>
* [[Carlyle Greenwell]] Research Fund in Anthropology and Archaeology<ref>[http://sydney.edu.au/arts/archaeology/docs/scholarships/GreenwellApplicationFormApril_2013.doc Carlyle Greenwell Research Fund (Archaeology)]{{dead link|date=March 2018 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=yes }} Retrieved 9 August 2014.</ref>
* [[Edwin Cuthbert Hall]] Chair of Middle Eastern Archaeology<ref>{{cite news |url=http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article51073684 |title=Gift to Varsity. |newspaper=[[The Courier-Mail]] |location=Brisbane |date=6 August 1953 |access-date=9 August 2014 |page=1 |via=National Library of Australia |archive-date=9 December 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20191209234244/http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article51073684 |url-status=live}}</ref>
* [[Mitchell Notaras]] Fellowship in Colorectal Surgery<ref>[http://sydney.edu.au/medicine/scholawards/postgrad/Notaras_terms_and_conditions.pdf Mitchell J Notaras Fellowship in Colorectal Surgery] {{Webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160304064848/http://sydney.edu.au/medicine/scholawards/postgrad/Notaras_terms_and_conditions.pdf |date=4 March 2016 }} Retrieved 9 August 2014.</ref>
* [[Robert Storr (banker)|Robert W Storr]] Chair for Hepatic Medicine<ref>[http://sydney.edu.au/medicine/foundation/research/storrprof.php The Robert W Storr Chair of Hepatic Medicine] {{Webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140810133031/http://sydney.edu.au/medicine/foundation/research/storrprof.php |date=10 August 2014 }} Retrieved 9 August 2014.</ref>
* The [[Peter Nicol Russell]] Undergraduate Scholarship<ref>{{Cite web |title=The Peter Nicol Russell Undergraduate Scholarship |url=https://www.sydney.edu.au/scholarships/b/peter-nicol-russell-undergraduate-scholarship.html |access-date=2022-03-20 |website=University of Sydney |archive-date=20 March 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220320024749/https://www.sydney.edu.au/scholarships/b/peter-nicol-russell-undergraduate-scholarship.html |url-status=live}}</ref>

===Heraldry and insignia===

==== Coat of arms ====
[[File:University of Sydney.svg|thumb|right|Arms used in the University of Sydney logo, pre-2010]]

The Grant of Arms was made by the [[College of Arms]] in 1857. The grant reads:
:''Argent on a Cross Azure an open book proper, clasps Gold, between four Stars of eight points Or, on a chief Gules a Lion passant Guardant also Or, together with this motto "Sidere mens eadem mutato" to be borne and used forever hereafter by the said University of Sydney on their Common Seal, Shields or otherwise according to the Law of Arms.''

The use of eight-pointed stars was unusual for arms at the time, although they had been used unofficially as emblems for New South Wales since the 1820s and on the arms of the Church of England Diocese of Australia in 1836.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.heritage.nsw.gov.au/10_subnav_08_01_06.htm |title=The Badge of New South Wales as adopted in 1876 |publisher=Heritage Council of New South Wales |access-date=2 March 2011 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110312033950/http://www.heritage.nsw.gov.au/10_subnav_08_01_06.htm |archive-date=12 March 2011 |url-status=dead}}</ref>

According to the university, the Latin motto {{Lang|la|Sidere mens eadem mutato}} can be translated to "the stars change, the mind remains the same."<ref name="logo">{{cite web |url=http://sydney.edu.au/about/publications/logo.shtml |title=Our logo – About the University – The University of Sydney |website=University of Sydney |date=19 March 2010 |access-date=20 June 2010 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110122082540/http://sydney.edu.au/about/publications/logo.shtml |archive-date=22 January 2011 |df=dmy-all}}</ref> [[Francis Merewether (Australian politician)|Francis Merewether]], Vice-Chancellor and later Chancellor, in 1857 proposed "Coelum non animum mutant" from Horace (Ep.1.11.27) but after objections changed it to a metrical version including "Sidus" (Star), a neat reference to the [[Southern Cross]] and perhaps the Sydney family link with Sir [[Philip Sidney]]'s "Astrophel (Star-Lover) & Stella (Star)".<ref>{{Cite web |url=http://sydney.edu.au/heraldry/origins_of_the_arms/quest_for_a_coat.shtml |title=Quest for a coat of arms – Heraldry – The University of Sydney |last=Services |first=Archives and Records Management |website=University of Sydney |access-date=6 May 2016 |archive-date=21 May 2016 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160521094905/http://sydney.edu.au/heraldry/origins_of_the_arms/quest_for_a_coat.shtml |url-status=live}}</ref> Author and university alumnus [[Clive James]] quipped in his 1981 autobiography that the motto loosely implies "Sydney University is really Oxford or Cambridge laterally displaced approximately 12,000 miles."<ref>{{cite book |last=James |first=Clive |title=Unreliable memoirs |year=1981 |publisher=Pan Books |isbn=978-0-330-26463-1 |page=[https://archive.org/details/unreliablememoir00cliv/page/127 127] |url-access=registration |url=https://archive.org/details/unreliablememoir00cliv/page/127}}</ref>

==Academic profile==
===Libraries and archives===
{{Main|University of Sydney Library}}

[[File:USYD Law Library AUG2019.jpg|thumb|Library of the [[Sydney Law School]]]]

The [[University of Sydney Library]] consists of 11 individual libraries located across the university's various campuses. The Fisher and Health sciences libraries offer disability support services.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://library.sydney.edu.au/libraries/library-facilities.html |title=University of Sydney, Library facilities |website=University of Sydney |access-date=17 October 2018 |archive-date=1 December 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201201212528/https://library.sydney.edu.au/libraries/library-facilities.html |url-status=live}}</ref> According to the library's publications, it is the largest academic library in the [[Southern Hemisphere]];<ref name="Discover newsletter">{{cite web |url=http://www.library.usyd.edu.au/news/news050.pdf |title=A Library for the 21st century: new generations, new models |access-date=29 February 2008 |last=Hanfling |first=Su |date=October 2005 |work=Discover Newsletter |publisher=University of Sydney Library |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080722173734/http://www.library.usyd.edu.au/news/news050.pdf |archive-date=22 July 2008 |df=dmy-all}}</ref> university statistics show that in 2007 the collection consisted of just under 5&nbsp;million physical volumes and a further 300,000 [[e-book]]s, for a total of approximately 5.3&nbsp;million items.<ref name='Usyd Stats 2008'>{{cite web |url=http://www.planning.usyd.edu.au/statistics/pubs/Statistics2008.pdf |title=The University of Sydney Statistics 2008 |access-date=14 January 2009 |publisher=University of Sydney}}{{dead link|date=June 2016|bot=medic}}{{cbignore|bot=medic}}</ref> It is also the only university in Australia to be a state legal deposit library<ref>{{Cite web |url=https://www.nla.gov.au/legal-deposit/australia-wide |title=Legal Deposits in Australia |access-date=18 July 2019 |archive-date=9 April 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190409195800/https://www.nla.gov.au/legal-deposit/australia-wide |url-status=live}}</ref> according to the [[Copyright Act 1968]] which stipulates that a copy of every printed material published in NSW be sent to the University Library. The Rare Books Library possesses several extremely rare items, including one of the two extant copies of the ''[[Gospel of Barnabas]]'' and a first edition of Sir [[Isaac Newton]]'s ''[[Philosophiae Naturalis Principia Mathematica]]''.

The Rare Books Library is a part of the [[Fisher Library]] and holds 185,000 books and manuscripts which are rare, valuable or fragile, including 80 medieval manuscripts, works by [[Galileo Galilei|Galileo]], [[Edmond Halley|Halley]] and [[Nicolaus Copernicus|Copernicus]] as well as an extensive collection of [[Australiana]]. The copy of the [[Gospel of Barnabas]] and a first edition of [[Philosophiae Naturalis Principia Mathematica]] by Sir [[Isaac Newton]] are held here. Regular exhibitions of rare books are held in the exhibition room.

===Museums and galleries===
[[File:Interior of the Chau Chak Wing Museum April 2021.jpg|thumb|left|The interior of the Chau Chak Wing Museum]]
The [[Chau Chak Wing Museum]] showcases the university's art, natural history and antiquities collections. Located opposite the quadrangle buildings, the museum opened to the public in November 2020. It houses the Nicholson Collection of antiquities, the Macleay Collections of natural history, ethnography, science and photography, and the University Art Collection. The museum is named after [[Chau Chak Wing]], a Chinese-Australian businessman and philanthropist.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.sydney.edu.au/museum/ |title=Chau Chak Wing Museum |website=University of Sydney |access-date=2021-02-03 |archive-date=21 January 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210121063720/https://www.sydney.edu.au/museum/ |url-status=live}}</ref> In 2021, the Chau Chak Wing Museum won the [[Australian Museums and Galleries Association#MAGNA and MAPDA awards|Museums and Galleries National Award]] (MAGNA) and two Museums Australasia Multimedia and Publication Design Awards (MAPDA).<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.sydney.edu.au/museum/news/2021/06/10/chau-chak-wing-museum-wins-three-national-museum-awards.html |title=Chau Chak Wing Museum wins three national museum awards |website=University of Sydney |access-date=12 October 2021 |archive-date=29 October 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211029174650/https://www.sydney.edu.au/museum/news/2021/06/10/chau-chak-wing-museum-wins-three-national-museum-awards.html |url-status=live}}</ref>

====Collections====
* The Nicholson Collection of archaeology is the largest collection of antiquities in Australia. The [[Nicholson Museum]] was founded in 1860 by the donation of Sir [[Charles Nicholson]] (Sydney University's second chancellor 1854–1862). It is also the country's oldest university museum and features ancient artefacts from Egypt, the Middle East, Greece, [[Rome]], [[Cyprus]] and [[Mesopotamia]], collected by the university over many years and added to by recent archaeological expeditions. The museum was located in the historic Main Quadrangle at the university. The Nicholson Museum closed to the public in 2020, ahead of the opening of the Chau Chak Wing Museum.
* The Macleay Collection is named after [[Alexander Macleay]], whose collection of insects begun in the late 18th century was the basis upon which the [[Macleay Museum]] was founded in 1887. It is the oldest collection of natural history in Australia and has developed into a major collection of natural history specimens, ethnographic artefacts, scientific instruments and historic photographs. The Macleay Museum closed to the public in 2016 ahead of the opening of the Chau Chak Wing Museum.
* The University Art Collection was founded in the 1860s and contains more than 7,000 pieces, constantly growing through donation, bequests and acquisition. The University Art Gallery opened in 1959. The gallery hosted numerous exhibitions until 1972, when it was taken over for office space. The gallery closed to the public in 2016 ahead of the opening of the Chau Chak Wing Museum.

====Other galleries====
* Verge Gallery is run by the [[University of Sydney Union]] and showcases contemporary art by emerging artists.

=== Academic reputation ===
{{Chart|definition=Ranking graphical summary of the University of Sydney.chart|data=Ranking graphical summary of the University of Sydney.tab|width=500px|thumb|align=left}}
{{Infobox Australian university ranking|QS_W==25|USNWR_W=29|ARWU_W=72|type=University|ARWU_W_year=2025|CWTS_W=42{{efn|name=a}}|CWTS_W_year=2024|QS_W_year=2026|QS_W_Employability=4|QS_W_Employability_year=2022|THE_W==53|THE_W_year=2026|THE_W_Reputation=60|THE_W_Reputation_year=2025|USNWR_W_year=25/26|ARWU_N=3|ARWU_N_year=2025|CWTS_N=3{{efn|name=a}}|CWTS_N_year=2024|ERA_N=3|ERA_N_year=2018|QS_N=3|QS_N_year=2026|THE_N=2|THE_N_year=2026|USNWR_N=1|USNWR_N_year=25/26|AFR_N=8|AFR_N_year=2024}}

In the 2024 ''Aggregate Ranking of Top Universities'', which measures aggregate performance across the QS, THE and ARWU rankings, the university attained a position of #47 (2nd nationally).<ref>{{Cite web |title=University Results |url=https://research.unsw.edu.au/artu/artu-results |website=Aggregate Ranking of Top Universities |publisher=[[University of New South Wales]] |language=en-AU |publication-place=[[Sydney]], [[New South Wales]]}}</ref>
; National publications
In the [[Australian Financial Review|''Australian Financial Review'' Best Universities Ranking]] 2024, the university was ranked #8 amongst Australian universities.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Best Universities Ranking |url=https://www.afr.com/lists-and-awards/best-universities-ranking |website=[[Australian Financial Review]] |publisher=[[Nine Entertainment]] |language=en-AU |publication-place=[[Sydney]], [[New South Wales]]}}</ref>

; Global publications

In the 2026 ''[[Quacquarelli Symonds]]'' [[QS World University Rankings|World University Rankings]] (published 2025), the university attained a tied position of #25 (3rd nationally).<ref>{{cite web |title=QS World University Rankings: Top Global Universities |url=https://www.topuniversities.com/world-university-rankings |website=[[QS World University Rankings]] |publisher=[[Quacquarelli Symonds]] |language=en-GB |publication-place=[[London]], [[United Kingdom]]}}</ref>

In the [[Times Higher Education World University Rankings|''Times Higher Education'' World University Rankings]] 2026 (published 2025), the university attained a tied position of #53 (2nd nationally).<ref>{{cite web |title=World University Rankings |url=https://www.timeshighereducation.com/world-university-rankings |work=[[Times Higher Education]] |publisher=Inflexion |language=en-GB |publication-place=[[London]], [[United Kingdom]]}}</ref>

In the 2025 ''[[Academic Ranking of World Universities]]'', the university attained a position of #72 (3rd nationally).<ref name="ARWU Rankings">{{cite web |title=ShanghaiRanking's Academic Ranking of World Universities |url=https://www.shanghairanking.com/rankings |website=[[Academic Ranking of World Universities]] |publisher=Shanghai Ranking Consultancy |language=en |publication-place=[[Shanghai]], [[China]]}}</ref>

In the 2025–2026 [[U.S. News & World Report Best Global Universities Ranking|''U.S. News & World Report'' Best Global Universities]], the university attained a position of #29 (1st nationally).<ref>{{Cite web |title=Best Global Universities Rankings |url=https://www.usnews.com/education/best-global-universities/rankings |website=[[U.S. News & World Report]] |language=en-US |publication-place=[[Washington, D.C.]], [[United States]]}}</ref>

In the ''[[CWTS Leiden Ranking]]'' 2024,{{efn|The [[CWTS Leiden Ranking]] is based on P (top 10%).|name=a}} the university attained a position of #42 (3rd nationally).<ref>{{Cite web |title=CWTS Leiden Ranking |url=https://www.leidenranking.com/ranking/2024/list |website=[[CWTS Leiden Ranking]] (Centre for Science and Technology Studies) |publisher=[[Leiden University]] |language=en |publication-place=[[Leiden]], [[Netherlands]]}}</ref>[[File:Usydcampuspicture.jpg|thumb|right|250px|The University of Sydney is consistently one of the highest-ranking universities in Australia]]

=== Student outcomes ===
The Australian Government's QILT{{Efn|Abbreviation for Quality Indicators for Learning and Teaching.<ref name="About QILT" />}} conducts national surveys documenting the student life cycle from enrolment through to employment.<ref name="About QILT" /> These surveys place more emphasis on criteria such as student experience, graduate outcomes and employer satisfaction<ref name="About QILT">{{Cite web |title=About |url=https://www.qilt.edu.au/About |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20250102224528/https://www.qilt.edu.au/About |archive-date=2 January 2025 |archive-format=PDF |access-date=14 January 2025 |website=Quality Indicators for Learning and Teaching |publisher=[[Australian Government]] |language=en-AU |publication-place=[[Canberra]], [[Australian Capital Territory]]}}</ref> than perceived reputation, research output and citation counts.<ref name="Bridgestock 2024">{{Cite web |last=Bridgestock |first=Laura |date=19 April 2021 |title=World University Ranking Methodologies Compared |url=https://www.topuniversities.com/university-rankings-articles/world-university-rankings/world-university-ranking-methodologies-compared |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20250102224525/https://www.topuniversities.com/university-rankings-articles/world-university-rankings/world-university-ranking-methodologies-compared |archive-date=2 January 2025 |access-date=14 January 2025 |website=[[Quacquarelli Symonds]] |language=en-GB |publication-place=[[London]], [[United Kingdom]]}}</ref>

In the 2023 Employer Satisfaction Survey, graduates of the university had an overall employer satisfaction rate of 89.6%.<ref>{{Cite web |date=May 2024 |title=2023 Employer Satisfaction Survey |url=https://www.qilt.edu.au/docs/default-source/default-document-library/2023-ess-national-report.pdf |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20250102224527/https://www.qilt.edu.au/docs/default-source/default-document-library/2023-ess-national-report.pdf |archive-date=2 January 2025 |archive-format=PDF |access-date=14 January 2025 |website=Quality Indicators for Learning and Teaching |publisher=[[Australian Government]] |language=en-AU |publication-place=[[Canberra]], [[Australian Capital Territory]]}}</ref>

In the 2023 Graduate Outcomes Survey, graduates of the university had a full-time employment rate of 80.9% for undergraduates and 89% for postgraduates.<ref name="GOS Survey 2023">{{Cite web |date=May 2024 |title=2023 Graduate Outcomes Survey: National Report |url=https://www.qilt.edu.au/docs/default-source/default-document-library/2023-gos-national-report.pdf |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20241220062418/https://www.qilt.edu.au/docs/default-source/default-document-library/2023-gos-national-report.pdf |archive-date=20 December 2024 |archive-format=PDF |access-date=14 January 2025 |website=Quality Indicators for Learning and Teaching |publisher=[[Australian Government]] |language=en-AU |publication-place=[[Canberra]], [[Australian Capital Territory]]}}</ref> The initial full-time salary was {{AUD|70,000}} for undergraduates and {{AUD|96,000}} for postgraduates.<ref name="GOS Survey 2023" />

In the 2023 Student Experience Survey, undergraduates at the university rated the quality of their entire educational experience at 71.7% meanwhile postgraduates rated their overall education experience at 70.8%.<ref>{{Cite web |date=May 2024 |title=2023 Student Experience Survey |url=https://www.qilt.edu.au/docs/default-source/default-document-library/ses-national-report.pdf |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20250102224530/https://www.qilt.edu.au/docs/default-source/default-document-library/ses-national-report.pdf |archive-date=2 January 2025 |archive-format=PDF |access-date=14 January 2025 |website=Quality Indicators for Learning and Teaching |publisher=[[Australian Government]] |language=en-AU |publication-place=[[Canberra]], [[Australian Capital Territory]]}}</ref>

== Student life ==
=== Student union ===<!-- NOTABLE student organisations ONLY -->
[[File:Usydoweek.jpg|thumb|Welcome Week]]
* Student Representatives: Politically and academically, undergraduate students are represented by the [[University of Sydney Students' Representative Council]] (SRC) and postgraduate students by the [[Sydney University Postgraduate Representative Association]] (SUPRA).
* University of Sydney Union: The [[University of Sydney Union]] (USU) is the oldest and largest university union in Australia. USU provides a range of activities, programs, services and facilities geared at giving students the university experience. This involves delivering clubs and societies program, a varied entertainment program, student opportunities, a range of catering and retail services plus buildings and recreational spaces for students, staff and visitors.

The SRC and Union are both governed by student representatives, who are elected by students each year. Elections for the USU board of directors occur in first semester; elections for the SRC president, and for members of the Students' Representative Council itself, occur in second semester, along with a separate election for the editorial board of the student newspaper ''[[Honi Soit]]'', which is published by the SRC.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.sydney.edu.au/students/student-representation.html |title=Student representation |website=University of Sydney |access-date=16 November 2021 |archive-date=16 November 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211116050551/https://www.sydney.edu.au/students/student-representation.html |url-status=live}}</ref>

===Charles Perkins Oration and Prize===
<!---redirects target this section--->
Since 2000, the Dr Charles Perkins Oration has been held by the university, in honour of its first Aboriginal graduate, [[Charles Perkins (Aboriginal activist)|Charlie Perkins]].<ref name=oration2021>{{cite web |title=Dr Charles Perkins Oration |website=University of Sydney |date=15 November 2021 |url=https://www.sydney.edu.au/about-us/vision-and-values/our-aboriginal-and-torres-strait-islander-community/dr-charles-perkins-oration.html |access-date=15 November 2021 |archive-date=15 November 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211115035605/https://www.sydney.edu.au/about-us/vision-and-values/our-aboriginal-and-torres-strait-islander-community/dr-charles-perkins-oration.html |url-status=live}}</ref> The orations have been delivered by prominent First Nations people, including [[Linda Burney]], [[Pat Anderson (human rights advocate)|Pat Anderson]], [[Daniel Browning]], [[Mick Gooda]] and [[Ken Wyatt]].<ref>{{cite web |title=Dr Charles Perkins AO Annual Memorial Oration and Prize: Recent submissions |website=University of Sydney Library |date=15 October 2019 |url=https://ses.library.usyd.edu.au/handle/2123/1310/recent-submissions |access-date=15 November 2021 |archive-date=15 November 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211115034929/https://ses.library.usyd.edu.au/handle/2123/1310/recent-submissions |url-status=live}}</ref>

The Oration includes the Charles Perkins Memorial Prize, which recognises the achievements of the top three Indigenous students at the university, based on the highest academic results in their field.<ref name=oration2021/>

In 2021, the awards event could not be held in the great hall, owing to the [[COVID-19 pandemic in Australia]], but Perkins' daughter, filmmaker [[Rachel Perkins]], announced the recipients, and introduced [[Tony McAvoy]], Australia's first Indigenous [[Queen's Counsel]], to deliver the oration.<ref>{{cite news |last=Bourchier |first=Dan |title=Dr Charles Perkins Prize winner says don't let others define who you are |work=ABC News |date=14 November 2021 |url=https://www.abc.net.au/news/2021-11-14/dr-charles-perkins-memorial-oration-prize-winner-benjamin-wilson/100617810 |access-date=15 November 2021 |language=en-AU |archive-date=15 November 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211115014817/https://www.abc.net.au/news/2021-11-14/dr-charles-perkins-memorial-oration-prize-winner-benjamin-wilson/100617810 |url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |title=Dr Charles Perkins Oration 2021 |website=ABC iview |date=13 November 2021 |url=https://iview.abc.net.au/show/dr-charles-perkins-oration-2021 |access-date=15 November 2021 |archive-date=15 November 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211115040553/https://iview.abc.net.au/show/dr-charles-perkins-oration-2021 |url-status=live}}</ref>

== Notable people ==
{{Main list|List of University of Sydney people
}}

=== Notable alumni ===
University of Sydney alumni have made significant contributions to both Australia and the world for the past {{age|1850|range=no}} years.

Notable alumni of Sydney include eight [[Prime Minister of Australia|prime ministers]], the most of any university, five [[Chief Justice of Australia|chief justices]] of the [[High Court of Australia|High Court]], four [[List of Australian Leaders of the Opposition|federal opposition leaders]], two [[Governor-General of Australia|governors-general]], nine [[Attorney-General of Australia|federal attorneys-general]], 13 [[Premier of New South Wales|premiers of New South Wales]] and 26 [[List of justices of the High Court of Australia|justices]] of the [[High Court of Australia|High Court]]—more than any other law school in Australia. The faculty has also produced 24 [[Rhodes Scholar]]s and several [[Gates Cambridge Scholarship|Gates Scholars]]. Internationally, alumni of Sydney Law School include the third president of the [[United Nations General Assembly]] and a president of the [[International Court of Justice]] (in each case, the only Australians to date to hold such positions).

The University of Sydney is associated with five [[Nobel Prize|Nobel laureates]]: in chemistry [[John Cornforth]] (alumnus; the only Nobel Laureate born in [[New South Wales]]) and [[Robert Robinson (organic chemist)|Robert Robinson]] (staff); in economics, [[John Harsanyi]] (alumnus); and in physiology or medicine, [[John Eccles (neurophysiologist)|John Eccles]] and [[Bernard Katz]] (both staff).
[[File:University of Sydney School of Physics (landscape).jpg|thumb|The [[University of Sydney School of Physics|School of Physics]]]]
The School of Physics has played an important role in the development of [[radio astronomy]] in particular:<ref>{{cite web |title=University of Sydney Hall of Fame |url=http://sydney.edu.au/science/about_us/fame.shtml |website=University of Sydney |access-date=25 September 2017 |archive-date=8 October 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171008022426/http://sydney.edu.au/science/about_us/fame.shtml |url-status=live}}</ref> [[Ruby Payne-Scott]] conducted the first [[interferometric]] observations in radio astronomy with the [[Sea interferometry|sea-cliff interferometer]] at [[Dover Heights, New South Wales|Dover Heights]]; alumnus [[Ronald N. Bracewell|Ron Bracewell]] proposed the [[nulling interferometer]] to image [[extrasolar planets]], made contributions to the theory of the [[Fourier Transform]] and [[X-ray tomography]], and proposed the idea of the [[Bracewell probe]] in [[SETI]]; and alumnus [[Bernard Mills]] led the construction of the [[Mills Cross Telescope]] and [[Molonglo Observatory Synthesis Telescope]] in the [[Australian Capital Territory|ACT]]. School of Physics alumnus and [[Crafoord Prize|Crafoord Laureate]] [[Edwin Ernest Salpeter|Edwin Salpeter]] discovered the form of the [[initial mass function]] of stars, the importance of [[Isotopes of beryllium|beryllium-8]] in [[triple-alpha process|stellar nuclear fusion]], and independently with [[Yakov Borisovich Zel'dovich|Yakov Zel'dovich]] proposed the [[black hole]] [[accretion disk]] model of [[active galactic nuclei]]. The [[Apollo 14]] Mission Scientist [[Philip K. Chapman]] and the first Australian-born astronaut to fly in space [[Paul Scully-Power]] are both alumni of the university. [[Chaos theory]] pioneer and [[Crafoord Prize|Crafoord Laureate]] [[Robert May, Baron May of Oxford|Robert May]] is an alumnus of and former professor at the School of Physics, best known for his exploration of the [[logistic map]] [[Bifurcation theory|bifurcations]]. The first Australian citizen in space and recipient of the Advance Global Australian of the Year Award 2014, [[Chris Boshuizen]] attended the school receiving his PhD in 2005.

In the performing arts, notable alumni include soprano [[Joan Sutherland]]; Shakespearean actor [[John Bell (Australian actor)|John Bell]], producer and director [[Dolph Lundgren]]; and Bahraini–Sri Lankan actress [[Jacqueline Fernandez]].
In international politics, notable alumni include former chief minister of [[Uttar Pradesh]], [[Akhilesh Yadav]] and premier of [[British Columbia]], [[John Horgan]]. In community activism, notable alumni include [[Aboriginal Australian|Aboriginal]] activist [[Charles Perkins (Aboriginal activist)|Charlie Perkins]]; feminists [[Eva Cox]] and [[Germaine Greer]].

===Residential halls and colleges===

The university has a number of [[halls of residence]] (based on research-lead living-learning principles) and [[residential college]]. The Halls of Residence are owned and operated by the University Accommodation Service.<ref>{{Cite web |url=http://sydney.edu.au/campus-life/accommodation.html |title=Student accommodation |website=University of Sydney |access-date=6 July 2017 |archive-date=11 July 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170711102212/http://sydney.edu.au/campus-life/accommodation.html |url-status=live}}</ref> Starting in 2013, the university committed to creating the Halls of Residence (an additional 4,000-6,000 residential places) at an affordable price to enhance the educational experience of living on campus and to offer more students a rich academic environment in which to live.<ref name="ABC News">{{cite news |last=Hart |first=Chloe |title=Subsidised accommodation a boost for Sydney Indigenous students |work=ABC News |date=9 March 2017 |url=http://www.abc.net.au/news/2017-03-09/subsidised-accommodation-boosts-indigenous-sydney-students/8329904 |access-date=6 July 2017 |language=en-AU |archive-date=17 July 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170717084336/http://www.abc.net.au/news/2017-03-09/subsidised-accommodation-boosts-indigenous-sydney-students/8329904 |url-status=live}}</ref>
* The Queen Mary Building<ref name="University-run accommodation">{{Cite web |url=http://sydney.edu.au/campus-life/accommodation/live-on-campus/camperdown-darlington/university-run-accommodation.html |title=University-run accommodation |website=University of Sydney |access-date=6 July 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170622230706/http://sydney.edu.au/campus-life/accommodation/live-on-campus/camperdown-darlington/university-run-accommodation.html |archive-date=22 June 2017 |url-status=dead}}</ref>
* Abercrombie Student Accommodation
* Regiment Student Accommodation

The University Student Accommodation Service were awarded the Asia-Pacific Student Housing Operation of the Year & Excellence in Facility Development and Management in 2016.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.acuho-i.org/network/awards/previouswinners2002 |title=Past Award Winners - Australasian Association of College and University Housing Officers |website=acuho-i |access-date=2018-12-05 |archive-date=22 August 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220822060427/https://www.acuho-i.org/network/awards/previouswinners2002?portalid=0 |url-status=live}}</ref>

The Student Accommodation Service and the Mana Yura Student Support Service were the first in Australia to implement an [[Aboriginal Australians|Aboriginal]] and [[Torres Strait Islander]] On-Campus Residence Halls Scholarship Guarantee.<ref name="ABC News"/>

Additionally, the university owns and operates [[International House, The University of Sydney|International House]].

Affiliated with the university are six religiously denominated colleges. Unlike some residential colleges in British or American universities, the colleges are not affiliated with any specific discipline of study.
* [[International House, The University of Sydney|International House]]
* [[St John's College, University of Sydney|St John's College]]
* [[St Andrew's College, University of Sydney|St Andrew's College]]
* [[St Paul's College, University of Sydney|St Paul's College]]
* [[Sancta Sophia College, University of Sydney|Sancta Sophia College]]
* [[Wesley College, University of Sydney|Wesley College]]
* [[The Women's College, University of Sydney|The Women's College]]
* [[Mandelbaum House, University of Sydney|Mandelbaum House]]

There is a university-affiliated [[housing cooperative]], [[Stucco Co-operative|Stucco]].

==== Gallery ====
{{Gallery
|File:St Johns College U Sydney.jpg|[[St John's College, University of Sydney|St John's College]]
|File:2020-11-18 SanctaSophia Vale 277.jpg
|[[Sancta Sophia College]]
|File:SydneyUniversity WesleyCollege.jpg|[[Wesley College, University of Sydney|Wesley College]]
|File:Camperdown St Andrews College.JPG|[[St Andrew's College, University of Sydney|St Andrew's College]]
|File:Camperdown Womens College.JPG
|[[The Women's College, University of Sydney|The Women's College]]
|St pauls usyd1.jpg|[[St Paul's College, University of Sydney
|St Pauls College]]}}

== Controversies ==
University of Sydney has faced many controversies over the years.

=== Sexual Harassment ===
A quarter of the university's female students residing in [[:Category:Residential colleges of the University of Sydney|university's residential colleges]] have been found to face sexual harassment.<ref>{{cite news |last1=Davies |first1=Anne |date=29 November 2017 |title=One in four women at University of Sydney colleges is sexually harassed, study finds |url=https://www.theguardian.com/australia-news/2017/nov/29/one-in-four-women-at-university-of-sydney-colleges-are-sexually-harassed-study-finds |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181204151428/https://www.theguardian.com/australia-news/2017/nov/29/one-in-four-women-at-university-of-sydney-colleges-are-sexually-harassed-study-finds |archive-date=4 December 2018 |access-date=4 December 2018 |work=[[The Guardian]] |language=en-GB}}</ref> Between 2011 and 2016, there were 52 officially reported cases of sexual abuse and harassment on campus released by the university, resulting in one expulsion, one suspension and four reprimands.<ref name="foi_sexual_assault">{{cite news |last=Funnell |first=Nina |date=10 October 2016 |title=Full list of universities exposed by sexual assault investigation |url=http://www.news.com.au/lifestyle/real-life/true-stories/full-list-of-universities-exposed-by-sexual-assault-investigation/news-story/f7c39dcacce8a9c839bc8b881172173b |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170802075917/http://www.news.com.au/lifestyle/real-life/true-stories/full-list-of-universities-exposed-by-sexual-assault-investigation/news-story/f7c39dcacce8a9c839bc8b881172173b |archive-date=2 August 2017 |access-date=29 July 2017 |work=News Limited}}</ref> This is less than the 2017 [[Australian Human Rights Commission]] report on sexual assault and harassment which found reported figures substantially higher than this.<ref>{{cite news |date=1 August 2017 |title=Unis urged to act as 'shocking' survey reveals half of all students face sexual harassment |url=http://www.abc.net.au/news/2017-08-01/uni-sexual-assault-hrc-report-released/8762638#searchable1x3x5 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170808120011/http://www.abc.net.au/news/2017-08-01/uni-sexual-assault-hrc-report-released/8762638#searchable1x3x5 |archive-date=8 August 2017 |access-date=7 August 2017 |work=ABC News |language=en-AU}}</ref> 71% of students surveyed in 2017 reported not knowing how to make a report relating to sexual assault or harassment. Imogen Grant from the [[University of Sydney Students' Representative Council|SRC]] said students who had experienced sexual assault had come forward believing that "navigating the university bureaucracy exacerbates trauma and often seems futile".<ref name=":0">{{Cite news |last=Landis-Hanley |first=Justine |date=1 August 2017 |title=USyd releases results on survey into sexual assault and harassment |url=http://honisoit.com/2017/08/usyd-releases-national-survey-results/ |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170810054335/http://honisoit.com/2017/08/usyd-releases-national-survey-results/ |archive-date=10 August 2017 |access-date=9 August 2017 |work=Honi Soit |language=en-AU}}</ref> Previously a 2015 survey of 2,000 students found that 57 per cent of respondents did not know where to seek help or how to report sexual misconduct at USYD, and only 1.4% of all serious sexual incidents are reported.<ref>{{Cite news |last=Munro |first=Kelsey |date=18 May 2016 |title=Under-reporting of sexual assault a serious problem at Sydney University |url=http://www.smh.com.au/national/education/underreporting-of-sexual-assault-a-serious-problem-at-sydney-university-20160517-gox0jj.html |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170811173107/http://www.smh.com.au/national/education/underreporting-of-sexual-assault-a-serious-problem-at-sydney-university-20160517-gox0jj.html |archive-date=11 August 2017 |access-date=10 August 2017 |work=The Sydney Morning Herald |language=en}}</ref> After the release of the 2017 report the vice-chancellor said the university was committed to implementing "all of the recommendations contained in the report".<ref name=":0" /> Graphic videos emerged in 2018 of male students bragging of their sexual feats over the female students, particularly first-years.<ref>{{cite news |last=Funnell |first=Nina |title=Women targeted in vile sex games by male students |url=https://www.news.com.au/lifestyle/real-life/news-life/women-targeted-in-vile-sex-games-by-male-students/news-story/5c4bfdbdb62ea73992465f8f38b90bf5 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181204102144/https://www.news.com.au/lifestyle/real-life/news-life/women-targeted-in-vile-sex-games-by-male-students/news-story/5c4bfdbdb62ea73992465f8f38b90bf5 |archive-date=4 December 2018 |access-date=4 December 2018 |website=News.com.au}}</ref>

=== Staff Underpayment ===
In 2015, staff passed a motion of no confidence in Spence because of concerns he was pushing staff to improve the budget while he received a performance bonus of $155,000 that took his total pay to $1&nbsp;million, in the top 0.1 per cent of income earners in Australia.<ref>{{cite web |author=Adam Adelpour |date=16 May 2012 |title=Michael Spence is the 1 per cent': the role of university management |url=http://www.solidarity.net.au/mag/back/2012/45/%E2%80%98michael-spence-is-the-1-per-cent%E2%80%99-the-role-of-university-management/ |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150905174204/http://www.solidarity.net.au/mag/back/2012/45/%E2%80%98michael-spence-is-the-1-per-cent%E2%80%99-the-role-of-university-management/ |archive-date=5 September 2015 |access-date=2 June 2015 |website=Solidarity Online}}.</ref> ''[[Fairfax Media|Fairfax]]'' reported Spence and other Uni bosses have salary packages worth ten times more than staff salaries and double that of the Prime Minister.<ref>{{cite news |author=Amy McNeilage |date=23 August 2013 |title=Uni bosses earn 10 times more than staff |url=http://www.smh.com.au/national/tertiary-education/uni-bosses-earn-10-times-more-than-staff-20130824-2sihh.html |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150924192606/http://www.smh.com.au/national/tertiary-education/uni-bosses-earn-10-times-more-than-staff-20130824-2sihh.html |archive-date=24 September 2015 |access-date=2 June 2015 |newspaper=The Sydney Morning Herald |language=en-AU}}.</ref>

In 2020, the University of Sydney revealed it had been underpaying staff and was reviewing six years worth of payroll shortfalls.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Baker |first=Jordan |date=2020-08-13 |title=Sydney Uni reveals tens of millions in staff underpayments |url=https://www.smh.com.au/national/sydney-uni-reveals-tens-of-millions-in-staff-underpayments-20200813-p55lj8.html |access-date=2024-04-04 |website=The Sydney Morning Herald |language=en}}</ref> In 2021, it announced that it had underpaid staff a total of $12.75&nbsp;million to 12,894 staff members.<ref>{{Cite news |last=Ollivain |first=Claire |date=13 September 2021 |title=USyd admits wage theft of $12.75 million |url=https://honisoit.com/2021/09/usyd-admits-wage-theft-of-12-75-million/ |access-date=22 October 2025}}</ref> In October 2021, 80 casual staff members made a $2&nbsp;million wage theft claim for paying for each assignment marked instead of by the hour, underpayment for teaching preparation, lecture attendance, student consultation and other teaching duties, as well as misclassifying marking work at a level that attracts a lower pay.<ref>{{Cite web |date=2021-10-15 |title=Sydney University slugged with another $2m wage theft claim |url=https://www.afr.com/work-and-careers/education/sydney-university-slugged-with-another-2m-wage-theft-claim-20211015-p590b3 |access-date=2024-04-04 |website=Australian Financial Review |language=en}}</ref>

=== Environmental Litter ===
In April 2022, the [[Land and Environment Court of New South Wales]] fined the University of Sydney $61,000 for disposing a broken [[positron emission tomography]] scanner with a radioactive source inside at a scrap metal yard.<ref>{{Cite web |last=EPA |first=NSW |date=2022-04-29 |title=Court fines University of Sydney $61,000 for radiation breaches |url=https://www.epa.nsw.gov.au/news/media-releases/2022/epamedia220429-court-fines-university-of-sydney-$61000-for-radiation-breaches |access-date=2024-04-04 |website=NSW Environment Protection Authority |language=en |archive-date=4 April 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240404134109/https://www.epa.nsw.gov.au/news/media-releases/2022/epamedia220429-court-fines-university-of-sydney-$61000-for-radiation-breaches |url-status=dead }}</ref>

=== Insufficient Seating ===
Students in 2025 have been forced to sit on the floor because of excessive enrolments. Students have been forced to fight for seating including one case where a tutorial had over 40 people. This made it impossible to fully participate in tutorials which count for 10% of marks.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Harris |first=Christopher |date=2025-11-04 |title=‘I had to sit on the floor’: Sydney University adds thousands of extra students |url=https://www.smh.com.au/national/nsw/i-had-to-sit-on-the-floor-sydney-university-adds-thousands-of-extra-students-20251103-p5n7da.html |access-date=2025-11-04 |website=The Sydney Morning Herald |language=en}}</ref>

=== Satisfication Rating ===
In 2025 the Unversity of Sydney had the 2nd worst student satisfaction rating across every university in Australia.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Harris |first=Christopher |date=2025-09-20 |title=Students were asked to rate their lecturers. This is what they said |url=https://www.smh.com.au/national/nsw/students-were-asked-to-rate-their-lecturers-this-is-what-they-said-20250918-p5mw4t.html |access-date=2025-11-04 |website=The Sydney Morning Herald |language=en}}</ref>

== See also ==
{{Portal bar|New South Wales|Education}}
* ''[[Frontiers of Science]]'' (1962–87)
* [[Jacaranda (University of Sydney)]]
* [[List of universities in Australia]]
* [[NICTA]] – National Information and Communication Technology Research Centre, co-supported by University of Sydney
* [[Power Institute of Fine Arts]]

== Footnotes ==
{{reflist|group=Note}}
{{notelist}}

== References ==
{{Reflist}}<ref>{{Cite web |last=Schooltrendy |date=2024-02-05 |title=University of Sydney Scholarships 2024–25 in Australia (Fully Funded) |url=https://schooltrendy.com/university-of-sydney-scholarships-2024-25-in-australia-fully-funded/ |access-date=2024-03-03 |website=Schooltrendy |language=en-US}}</ref>

== Further reading ==
{{refbegin}}
* Williams, Bruce. ''Liberal education and useful knowledge: a brief history of the University of Sydney, 1850–2000'', Chancellor's Committee, University of Sydney, 2002. {{ISBN|1-86487-439-2}}
{{refend}}

== External links ==
{{Commons category|University of Sydney}}
* [http://www.sydney.edu.au University of Sydney website]
* [http://www.usuonline.com University of Sydney Union] {{Webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20060612234049/http://www.usuonline.com/ |date=12 June 2006 }}
* [https://www.suac.org/ University of Sydney athletics]

{{Clear}}
{{University of Sydney |state=expanded }}
{{navboxes
|list =
{{Australian university groups}}
{{Australian universities}}
{{Education in Australia |state=collapsed }}
{{Worldwide Universities Network}}
{{APRU}}
{{ASAIHL}}
{{CDIO}}
}}
{{Architecture of Sydney |state=autocollapse }}
{{Authority control}}

[[Category:University of Sydney| ]]
[[Category:1850 establishments in Australia]]
[[Category:Universities and colleges established in 1850]]
[[Category:Gothic Revival architecture in Sydney|University of Sydney]]
[[Category:Universities in Sydney]]
[[Category:Group of Eight (Australian universities)]]
[[Category:Edmund Blacket buildings in Sydney]]
[[Category:Sandstone buildings in Australia]]
[[Category:Camperdown, New South Wales]]
[[Category:Green bans]]