Charles Sturt University is an Australian multi-campus public university located in New South Wales, Australian Capital Territory and Victoria. Established in 1989, it was named in honour of Captain Charles Sturt, a British explorer who made expeditions into regional New South Wales and South Australia.
It is the largest regional university in Australia, offering a multidisciplinary spectrum of courses in collaboration with various partners across the country.
Contents
History
The university was established on 1 July 1989 from the merger of several existing separately-administered Colleges of Advanced Education by the Charles Sturt University Act 1989 (Act No. 76, 1989).
The constituent colleges included the Mitchell College of Advanced Education in Bathurst, the Riverina-Murray Institute of Higher Education in Albury-Wodonga, and in Wagga Wagga.
The Riverina Murray Institute of Education operated between 1984 and 1989 in Albury-Wodonga and Wagga Wagga. Its predecessor was the Riverina College of Advanced Education established in 1972 as a result of the reformation of Wagga Teachers' College and later merger with Wagga Agricultural College in 1976. Wagga Teachers' College had been established in 1947 on the site of the former WW2 R.A.A.F. Hospital in the city of Wagga Wagga. In September 1949 the Wagga Agricultural College was opened on the site of the Experiment Farm established in October 1892 by the NSW Department of Agriculture with the first students commencing their studies in 1896.
The Bathurst Teachers' College was officially opened in November 1951 with the first students commencing in March of that year. It was established on the site of the Bathurst Experiment Farm established in 1895 with the first students commencing their studies in March 1897. Bathurst Teachers' College closed on 31 December 1967 and the Mitchell College of Advanced Education was established on 1 January 1970.
Goulburn Teachers’ College opened on 1 July 1970 and became a CAE in 1974. It operated until 1982 when it was dissolved and became the Goulburn campus of Riverina College of Advanced Education. In December 1983 it was announced by the NSW State Government that a new Police Academy would be established on the Goulburn campus. In 1984 the Goulburn campus was vacated and the staff and students were transferred to the Albury and Wagga campuses of the Riverina College of Advanced Education together with its Commonwealth funded student places.
Charles Sturt established a Study Centre in Sydney in 1998 and in Melbourne in 2007. These Study Centres were operated by a private education group called Study Group Australia. On 31 December 2022, Charles Sturt let its relationship with Study Group Australia expire. According to Charles Sturt's website, the Brisbane Study Centre is closed, and courses at the Sydney and Melbourne locations are in teach-out mode.
Campuses and buildings
Charles Sturt University has six main campuses in Albury-Wodonga, Bathurst, Dubbo, Orange, Port Macquarie and Wagga Wagga.
Albury–Wodonga
The Albury-Wodonga campus is situated on the border of New South Wales and Victoria. There is a strong focus on environmental science, education, business, and allied health at this campus.
Campus features:
Anatomy and physiology labs
Community Engagement and Wellness Centre
Herbarium
Wetlands
Bathurst
The Bathurst campus was originally home to the Mitchell College of Advanced Education, and now offers engineering, communication, education, laws, and a broad range of health degrees, including paramedicine and exercise science.
Campus features:
Biochemistry, exercise science, nursing, and paramedicine labs
Dental and oral health clinic
Engineering lab and facilities
Media centre and 2MCE broadcasting radio station
Television studies and editing suites
Dubbo
The Dubbo campus offers social work, nursing, and preparation courses with a focus on delivering education to First Nations students.
Campus features:
Nursing and clinical lab
Dental and oral health clinic
Interactive learning centre
Orange
The Orange campus offers courses with a strong focus on allied health, medical sciences, dentistry, medicine, and pharmacy.
Campus features:
Medical learning facilities: anatomy teaching lab, simulation hospital wards and ultrasound room
Chemistry, pharmacy, physiotherapy and rehabilitation science labs
Dental and oral health clinic
Port Macquarie
The Port Macquarie campus is the university's newest and first coastal regional campus.
Campus features:
Paramedicine simulation clinic
Medical imaging and nursing labs
Anatomy and physiology labs
Practical learning rooms: occupational therapy, physiotherapy, and exercise science facilities
Sport and Exercise Science
Wagga Wagga
Situated north of the Murrumbidgee River, the Wagga Wagga campus is the university's agricultural and sciences hub occupying 640 hectares. Students can also study a range of animal and veterinary sciences, education, business, allied health, information technology, and humanities degrees.
Campus features:
National Life Sciences Hub
Veterinary science clinical centre and labs
Farm and equine centre
Commercial winery
Dental and oral health clinic
Other study locations
A centre in Goulburn for policing students
A Regional University Study Centre in Wangaratta for combined TAFE and university study
Study locations in Canberra and Parramatta for theology students
Governance and structure
University Council
Charles Sturt University is governed by a 16-member Council, whose members include the chancellor and vice-chancellor. Dr. Michele Allan, a company director, food industry, and agribusiness specialist with an academic background in biomedical science, management, and law, is the current and third chancellor of the university since 3 December 2014; and Professor Renée Leon became the fifth vice-chancellor on 1 September 2021. Dr Saranne Cooke became the seventh Deputy Chancellor on 1 July 2019.
Faculties and departments
Charles Sturt University has three main faculties, each offering a range of courses and discipline opportunities. Each faculty comprises a number of schools and centres for specific areas of study and research:
Faculty of Arts and Education
Faculty of Business, Justice and Behavioural Sciences
Faculty of Science and Health
As of January 2025 schools and centres within the Faculty of Arts and Education include:
Centre for Islamic Studies and Civilisation
School of Education
School of Indigenous Australian Studies
School of Information and Communication Studies
School of Social Work and Arts
School of Theology
The School of Social Work and Arts formerly offered bachelor's degrees in creative industries (with various specialisations), stage and screen, and creative arts and design, but these were being phased out from 2021.
This faculty brings together a range of courses in areas of business, justice, and behavioural sciences disciplines. The justice side of the faculty covers policing, security, law, customs, excise and border management. The behavioural science discipline offers psychology courses. Schools and centres include:
Australian Graduate School of Policing and Security
Centre for Customs and Excise Studies
Academic profile
Libraries and databases
Charles Sturt University libraries operate at its main campuses. The libraries offer eBooks, eJournals, encyclopedias, multimedia resources and course readings through Primo Search. The libraries also provide online library workshops, library resource guides, and video tutorials.
Academic reputation
National publications
In the Australian Financial Review Best Universities Ranking 2025, the university was tied #31 amongst Australian universities.
Global publications
In the 2026 Quacquarelli Symonds World University Rankings (published 2025), the university attained a position of #951–1000 (34th nationally).
In the Times Higher Education World University Rankings 2026 (published 2025), the university attained a position of #601–800 (36th nationally).
In the 2024 Academic Ranking of World Universities, the university attained a position of #901–1000 (31st nationally).
In the 2025–2026 U.S. News & World Report Best Global Universities, the university attained a position of #864 (32nd nationally).
In the CWTS Leiden Ranking 2024, the university attained a position of #1306 (35th nationally).
Student outcomes
The Australian Government's QILT conducts national surveys documenting the student life cycle from enrolment through to employment. These surveys place more emphasis on criteria such as student experience, graduate outcomes and employer satisfaction than perceived reputation, research output and citation counts.
In the 2023 Employer Satisfaction Survey, graduates of the university had an overall employer satisfaction rate of 85.8%.
In the 2023 Graduate Outcomes Survey, graduates of the university had a full-time employment rate of 91.2% for undergraduates and 93.4% for postgraduates. The initial full-time salary was A$75,700 for undergraduates and A$106,000 for postgraduates.
In the 2023 Student Experience Survey, undergraduates at the university rated the quality of their entire educational experience at 77.1% meanwhile postgraduates rated their overall education experience at 78.6%.
Student life
Student Senate
Students at Charles Sturt University are represented by Charles Sturt University Student Senate – formerly the CSU Students' Association (CSUSA). Charles Sturt's Student Senate is the overarching university student body and comprises the following affiliates:
Orange Student Representative Committee (OSRC) – formerly Orange Students Association (OSA)
Albury-Wodonga SRC (AWSRC) representing Albury Campus – formerly Murray Campus Students' Association
Bathurst Student Representative Committee (Bathurst SRC) – formerly Mitchell Student Guild, Charles Sturt University Students' Association Bathurst (CSUSAB) and Mitchell Association of Student Councils
Dubbo Student Representative Committee (DSRC)
Rivcoll Student Representative Committee (Rivcoll SRC) representing Wagga Wagga campus – formerly Rivcoll Union Inc
Port Student Representative Committee (Port SRC) representing the Port Macquarie campus
Online Study Student Representative Committee (OS SRC) representing Charles Sturt's online students
Canberra Student Representative Committee, known as St Mark's Canberra, was previously formed but disbanded in 2016.
Sports and athletics
The Charles Sturt University Football Club at Bathurst was formed under the name of Bathurst Teachers College in 1963, making it one of the oldest football clubs in Bathurst. The club changed its name multiple times to match the educational institute, gaining its current name when Mitchell College was rebranded to Charles Sturt University.
Student newspaper
Hungappa is a student newspaper published at Wagga Wagga campus. The magazine was established in 1989 and is managed by the Rivcoll Student Representative Committee. The name means "to spread the word" in the local Wiradjuri language.
Interpellator (Interp) is a student newspaper based at the Bathurst campus.
Notable people
Members of Charles Sturt University alumni include notable TV presenters Andrew Denton, Amanda Keller, Latika Bourke and Hamish Macdonald. Leslie Weston was awarded a Fellow of the Australian Academy of Science in 2023. Craig Steven Wright, who has falsely claimed himself to be the inventor of Bitcoin, has several degrees from Charles Sturt University.