Southern Cross University

About

Southern Cross University is powered by passion. Our people are driven by excellence and a desire to constantly build on the quality of their teaching and research. We are a university of great collegiality and high achievement. We are surrounded by ambitious students, amazing and dedicated colleagues and environments of stunning natural beauty. Our campuses, at Lismore in the Northern Rivers of New South Wales, on the Gold Coast across from Kirra Beach and in picturesque Coffs Harbour, are the envy of Australia.

Whale-watching from a Gold Coast classroom or spotting a koala from a Lismore lab are part of the unique Southern Cross experience. Southern Cross is deeply rooted in its regional communities and demonstrates that world-class research, teaching and learning thrives outside metropolitan centres. We create and apply knowledge in partnership with our communities in fields that are regionally relevant and globally significant.

We are a world-ranked university, but the greatest measures of our success are the careers we have fostered among 66,000 alumni, who stride a global stage with confidence. The academic structure of Southern Cross is built upon four faculties – the Faculty of Business, Law and Arts, the Faculty of Science and Engineering, the Faculty of Health and the Faculty of Education. Additionally, we offer a range of inclusive pathway programs through SCU College and nurture a strong connection with our Indigenous communities and scholarship through the Gnibi College of Indigenous Australian Peoples.

Thanks to the powerful delivery of online study in a wide range of disciplines, Southern Cross embraces students from all over Australia – geography is no longer a barrier to accessing a distinctive university education of the highest calibre. Our network of campuses and partners displays the cosmopolitan nature of 21^st century Australia. Our branch campuses in Sydney, Melbourne and Perth welcome international students, while our partnership with Mulpha Australia flourishes through The Hotel School, Australia’s premier hotel and tourism management institution, with campuses in Sydney, Melbourne, Brisbane and Hayman Island.

Like many of the world’s best universities, being a smaller institution is to our advantage, reflected not only in the personalised student experience we offer but also in our research impact. In the latest Excellence in Research for Australia report, Southern Cross achieved outstanding ratings of 'at world standard' or above in 23 research fields. In 14 research fields, the University was evaluated at the highest possible classification of 'well above world standard'.