Southern Cross University

The early 1990s was an exciting time for Southern Cross University as it evolved from what was a Teachers College, in the 1970s, into a fully-fledged University with its own identity in 1994. Southern Cross University is a multi-campus university on Australia's east coast. It is proud of its reputation as a progressive institution, engaging with the communities they serve to create change that has impact around the world.

Southern Cross delivers degrees on campus and online, with a rich academic portfolio covering a wide range of disciplines. Professional placements are a feature of most degrees. The University is home to nine research centres, all with deep connections to the communities they serve and a commitment to research output that has global relevance, be it marine ecology, organic agriculture, plant and geoscience, adolescent development or flood mitigation.

The UniLife team offers professional services and innovative, dynamic programs to enrich student’s university experience under the banner ‘Live, Work, Play’. Their aim is to encourage both students’ academic success and support their wellbeing, by focusing on the achievement of their educational, professional and personal goals. There are clubs for interest and sporting groups, clubs for women, clubs for men, clubs for Indigenous awareness, clubs for LGBTIQ and clubs for mature-aged students.

The University community joins together to celebrate its diversity and to learn more about each other throughout the year. This includes events relating to Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples, the Fusion Festival’s celebration of cultural diversity and social inclusion, and gender and sexuality diversity.

Students can visit the snow on the annual snow tour or try out individual and team sports or they can run in the Gold Coast Marathon or Southern Cross University 10km Run. While sports available at each campus differ, activities include mountain bike riding, swim clubs, water polo, rugby clubs, AFL, soccer, badminton, cricket and netball. The Southern Cross University Fitness Centre and Pool, at the Lismore campus, is a fantastic facility with modern gym equipment and an indoor heated pool, offering a choice of group exercise classes or private training.

SCU campuses are located in southeast Queensland adjacent to the Gold Coast Airport, in New South Wales at Lismore and in Coffs Harbour, where the University’s National Marine Science Centre is also located. Branch campuses in Sydney, Melbourne and Perth operate in collaboration with EduCo and the University operates The Hotel School Sydney and Melbourne in partnership with Mulpha Australia. It also delivers degrees with collaborators in China and Papua New Guinea.

The regions SCU calls home all have unique characteristics as study locations from cosmopolitan cities, thriving industries and coastal lifestyles to living laboratories of great natural beauty and ecological diversity, right next to the campus.