About

A public university with campuses in Singapore and Dubai, Murdoch University is located in Perth, Western Australia. On July 25, 1973, it officially opened as the second university in the state. In 1975, it admitted its first undergraduates. Sir Walter Murdoch (1874–1970), the first professor of English and former chancellor of the University of Western Australia, inspired the creation of the organisation that bears his name.

Murdoch University is a thriving institution that belongs to the Innovative Research Universities. After three years of course completion, Murdoch University was recognised as having the most employable graduates of any Australian university in 2018. In terms of total student satisfaction across all public institutions in Western Australia in 2019, the university came in third.

A plot of land near Bull Creek was set aside by the Western Australian government in 1962 as the eventual location of a second state university. The School of Veterinary Science was to be the first professional faculty of the new university, and its planning was important to the creation of Western Australia's second university. It was chosen to honour Sir Walter Murdoch, a well-known local author, philosopher, and Emeritus Professor at the University of Western Australia, by naming the new institution of higher learning after him. He was cited as stating, "No, but it had better be a good one," when asked if he objected to a new university in Western Australia being named in his honour.

On July 25, 1973, Murdoch University was legally established. On September 17, 1974, there was an inauguration ceremony to officially open it. Because it was Sir Walter Murdoch's 100th birthday on this day, it was picked. Sir John Kerr, the Governor-General of Australia, attended the ceremony as the honoured guest. 510 students initially registered for undergraduate studies when lectures first started in 1975. The fledgling university at the time was renowned for its admissions procedure that considered eligible considerations besides students' performance on their school-leaving exams. Later, other universities began to follow this more comprehensive approach to determining a student's eligibility for admission to a university programme.

Due to an increase in the number of international students enrolling, many of whom were reportedly "lacking in English language and computer abilities," the university was embroiled in scandal in late 2018. A Four Corners investigation by the ABC in 2019 uncovered claims of international students being hired as "cash cows" and significant erosion of standards.

The old banksia emblem was replaced with a simpler "MU" design in May 2021 as part of the university's launch of a new identity that was meant to be "contemporary and future-focused" and reflect the institution's dedication to being a "progressive," "free thinking" university.