page_title: University of Melbourne
section_title: 1980s – present
hierarchical_section_title: University of Melbourne / History / 1980s – present
caption_attribution_description: English: Autumn foliage at The University of Melbourne, Victoria, Australia.
context_page_description: The University of Melbourne is a public research university located in Melbourne, Australia. Founded in 1853, it is Australia's second oldest university and the oldest in Victoria. Its main campus is located in Parkville, an inner suburb north of Melbourne's central business district, with several other campuses located across Victoria.
  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, Universitas 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. There are ten colleges located on the main campus and in nearby suburbs.
  The university comprises ten separate academic units and is associated with numerous institutes and research centres, including the Walter and Eliza Hall Institute of Medical Research, Florey Institute of Neuroscience and Mental Health, the Melbourne Institute of Applied Economic and Social Research and the Grattan Institute.
context_section_description: Expansion of the university increased significantly during the 1980s and 1990s, as the university amalgamated with a number of tertiary colleges. In 1988 the Melbourne Teachers' College was brought into the Faculty of Education, and the amalgamation lead to the formation of a distinctly new Faculty of Education. The College of Advanced Education was incorporated into the university in 1989. During this period, more students than ever had before attended the university. The university had expanded its student population to beyond 35,000 students. Such amalgamations continued into the 1990s, with the Victorian College of the Arts affiliation with the University of Melbourne in 1992. This grew the number of campuses for the University of Melbourne, which would now include a new St Kilda Road location.
  In 2001, the Melbourne School of Population Health was established, the first of its kind in Australia, and continued the growth of the university. Work at the centre involved contributions from a many disciplines, ranging from the social sciences to epidemiology. Health fields such as Indigenous, women's, mental, sexual, and rural health have all been researched at the centre. A significant change in curriculum was established in 2008. The newly created model for education was developed, known at the university as The Melbourne Model. In this curriculum model, students firstly undertake a general bachelor's degree before specialising in either a professional or research graduate course.
  The university's 150th anniversary was celebrated in 2003.
  The Melbourne School of Land and Environment was disestablished on 1 January 2015. Its agriculture and food systems department moved alongside veterinary science to form the Faculty of Veterinary and Agricultural Sciences, while other areas of study, including horticulture, forestry, geography and resource management, moved to the Faculty of Science in two new departments.
  Today over 8900 academic and professional staff support the more than 52,000 strong student population. The student population consists of more than 13,000 international students, from more than 130 countries.
caption: Autumn at the university grounds
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