The University of Western Australia (UWA) was established in 1911 as the State's first university. It was also the first free university in the British Empire, actively promoting equal access to tertiary education for all social classes.It is a research-intensive university and one of the internationally recognised Australian Group of Eight that also comprises the University of Queensland, The University of Sydney, The University of New South Wales, Australian National University, The University of Melbourne, Monash University and The University of Adelaide. These universities are regarded as the nation’s leading research and comprehensive institutions.

In a recent Federal Government ranking of the quality of Australian university research, ERA 2015, overall, UWA ranked higher than any other WA university in the quality of its academic research and was the only WA university ranked at or above the world average in all broad research areas assessed.

According to Thompson-Reuters ISI Web of Knowledge, UWA has more highly cited scholars than most other Australian universities. Highly cited scholars are considered to be within the top 200 academics worldwide in their field – UWA has 6.

UWA attracts the highest level of research income of any Western Australian university with the majority all national competitive funding to the state coming to UWA.

UWA’s distinctive mix of heritage architecture and contemporary buildings contain state-of-the-art teaching and research facilities, lecture and performance theatres, tutorial spaces, studios and subject-specific laboratories, creating the perfect learning environment.

Situated on the Swan River in Crawley, UWA is one of Australia’s most picturesque campuses. At UWA you are surrounded by leafy green spaces with open courtyards and plenty of room to study, catch up with friends or relax outdoors in Perth’s moderate climate.

Rankings

Since 2012, UWA has appeared in the top 100 universities in Shanghai Jiao Tong University’s internationally recognised Academic Ranking of World Universities and consistently appears in the top 1% of universities as judged in the Times Higher Education World University Rankings and the QS rankings.

In the Good Universities Guide 2018 – the foremost non-government ranking of Australian universities – UWA scored five-star rankings in student demand, graduate starting salaries and student staff ratio.

Earth and Marine Sciences, Agriculture and Forestry, Anatomy and Physiology, Performing Arts, Mineral and Mining Engineering, Civil and Structural Engineering and Sports-Related subjects have been ranked in the world's top 50 in 2018 according to the QS World University Rankings by Subject.