Incorporated by the Victoria Colony, the University of Melbourne is one of Australia's six sandstone universities and a member of the Group of Eight, Universities 21, Washington University's McDonnell International Scholars Academy, and the Association of Pacific Rim Universities. Since 1872 various residential colleges have become affiliated with the university, offering accommodation for students and faculty, and academic, sporting and cultural programs. It is Australia's second oldest university and the oldest in Victoria. The university now sits at the heart of a thriving international city and is consistently ranked among the leading universities in the world and number one in Australia. Over 8,000 academic and professional staff support a vibrant student body of around 65,000, including 30,000 international students from over 130 countries around the world.

Ranking

Times Higher Education ranked the University of Melbourne 31st globally in 2021.

The Academic Ranking of World Universities places it 35th in the world (both first in Australia and the whole of Oceania).

 In the QS World University Rankings 2021, the university ranks 41st globally and 3rd in Australia

In the most recent CWTS Leiden Ranking, Melbourne was ranked 28th in the world (1st nationally).

According to QS World University Subject Rankings 2020, the University of Melbourne is ranked 10th in law, 12th in education, 16th in accounting and finance, 17th in social policy and administration, 19th in sociology, 22nd in environmental studies and 23rd in linguistics.

Campuses

The university has three other campuses in metropolitan Melbourne at Burnley, Southbank, and Werribee. The Burnley campus is where horticultural courses are taught. Performing arts courses are taught at the Southbank campus. Veterinary science is taught at the Werribee campus.

For an international student, the cost of attendance at University of Melbourne is between AUD 55,000 - AUD 70,000 per academic year. To financially assist incoming students, there are a generous number of University of Melbourne scholarships available. For the academic session 2021-2022, the university is offering 1500+ scholarships to international students from varying economic and academic backgrounds. These primarily include merit-based and need-based scholarships.

University of Melbourne Scholarships for Bachelor Programs

For sessions beginning in 2021, there are around 95 scholarships to Melbourne bachelor program students, of which international students are eligible for 72 University of Melbourne scholarships. Furthermore, the Melbourne undergraduate scholarships do not need additional application form, as decisions are based on the candidate’s admission application.

Scholarship selections for the bachelor’s programs are done in multiple rounds:

• For students starting in Semester 1: Between October to February.
• For students starting in Semester 2: Between May to June.

These UG program scholarships which will benefit 5000+ students include both university and faculty-based scholarships. Some of the undergraduate scholarships awarded at the University of Melbourne are given below:

• Bachelor of Arts International Scholarship 25%-50% fee reduction; Minimum ATAR of 90.00 or equivalent AUD 5000 bursary Applicant’s country and academic score
• Melbourne Chancellor’s Scholarship  50% tuition fee reduction; award for overseas study as exchange student;
• Place in professional masters program(if fulfills entry requirements) Achieved ATAR of at least 99.90
• Melbourne International Undergraduate Scholarship Fee reduction of up to AUD 56,000 International fee-paying student; Academic merit
• Commerce Undergraduate International Merit Scholarship 50% tuition fee reduction Academic performance
• AG Whitlam Undergraduate Merit Scholarship 50% tuition fee reduction   = Students from India/Bangladesh/Sri Lanka/Vietnam
• Melbourne Humanitarian Access Scholarship 100% tuition fee reduction; AUD 5,000 per year living allowance holder of an Australian temporary protection (or asylum) visa

University of Melbourne Scholarships for Masters Programs

Masters program scholarships at University of Melbourne are faculty-specific and range between AUD 1,000 - AUD 30,000. Incoming international students are eligible for 100+ masters coursework University of Melbourne Scholarships.

• Melbourne School of Engineering Scholarship AUD-5,000- AUD 20,000 masters program at the Melbourne School of Engineering; Academic merit
• Melbourne Graduate Scholarships 25%-100% fee reduction Academic grades
• Science Graduate Scholarship (International) Up to AUD 10,000 graduate coursework in an eligible master of science program
• N D Goldsworthy Scholarship for Physics Up to AUD 5,000 Enrolled in Masters of Science
• Queen’s College Science Scholarship Up to 6,000 resident at Queen's College; enrolling in Faculty of Science or the Faculty of Medicine, Dentistry and Health Sciences
• Melbourne Asian Development Bank Scholarship 100% tuition fee waiver; living allowance AUD 30,600 Below 35 years of age; 2+ years of work experience

University of Melbourne Scholarships for Research Programs

International students commencing graduate research or doctoral program at Melbourne are eligible for various scholarships such as Marie Sk?odowska-Curie Actions, Jesuit Scholarships and Bursaries at Newman College, and Newman College Rector's Exhibitions - Research, etc. However, there are two University of Melbourne Scholarships designed specifically for research students. Melbourne Graduate Research Scholarships ,Melbourne Research Scholarships

The eligibility criteria and application requirements are similar for both scholarships. Furthermore, recipients of both scholarships will receive a 100% tuition fee remission (up to AUD 110,000).

Apart from these, the university also offers a limited number of research scholarships in specific-subject areas. For instance, Melbourne Human Rights Scholarship (2 scholarships) are awarded to the students pursuing graduate research in the field of Human rights. This scholarship worth up to AUD 94,200 is offered to only full-time students.

Since external scholarships are offered and administered by individual organizations, the university has no role or control over its application and selection process. They are totally excluded from the University of Melbourne Scholarships offered to international students.

Research

Melbourne University claims that its research expenditure is second only to that of the Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organization (CSIRO). The university is a leading Australian research university, with the largest cohort of research students in Australia. The Performance Ranking of Scientific Papers for World Universities is released by National Taiwan University (NTU Ranking), and placed the University of Melbourne as the 29th highest internationally and 1st domestically in 2018.It evaluates the performance of scientific papers, and the indicators used are designed to compare both the quantity and quality of published scientific works by each university.

Similarly, the Center for World University Rankings (CWUR) ranks universities on variables, including both research output and citations. For 2018/19 it ranked the University of Melbourne at number 57 in the world, and number 1 within Australia. The university is connected to more than 100 research centers and institutes. In 2010 the university spent $813 million on research. In the same year the university had the highest numbers of federal government Australian Postgraduate Awards (APA) and International Postgraduate Research Scholarships (IPRS), as well as the largest totals of Research Higher Degree (RHD) student load (3,222 students) and RHD completions (715).

An extensive profile of the research activity of the University and its researchers is maintained on the University of Melbourne Find an Expert system. It currently lists more than 8500 active researchers.