University of the Sunshine Coast

The University of the Sunshine Coast is committed to environmental sustainability for the benefit of students, staff and the wider community. USC has an active program of sustainability initiatives that address both large-scale issues such as energy, waste, recycling and the campus environment, and targeted activities such as the development and use of green cleaning practices.

USC students receive a high quality educational experience, while enjoying the relaxed lifestyle that the Sunshine Coast offers and students benefit from a friendly and supportive campus environment, access to highly qualified teaching staff, personal attention, and modern technology and facilities. Study choices are wide and degrees are complemented by opportunities to gain practical experience and travel overseas.

The University is registered in the Australian University category in the National Register of Higher Education Providers, meaning USC complies with the Higher Education Standards for Australian universities, made under Australia’s Tertiary Education Quality and Standards Agency Act 2011. The University of the Sunshine Coast will be a university of international standing, a driver of capacity building in the Sunshine Coast and broader region, and an unsurpassed community asset.

USC is one of Australia’s fastest growing universities, serving the Sunshine Coast and extended region from north Brisbane to the Fraser Coast. The University opened in 1996 with 500 students. It was the first greenfield public university to be established nationally since the early 1970s. Today, with around 12,000 enrolled students, USC is on track to reach projected student enrolments of 20,000 by 2020.

USC has a proud record of achievement in learning and teaching. It is the only Queensland public university to consistently rate five stars for teaching quality , and wins more than its share of national teaching awards. The University has also earned multiple five-star ratings for its educational experience, including overall graduate satisfaction, graduate satisfaction with generic skills, gender balance, Indigenous participation and electronic support. Students and graduates regularly remark on the quality of their experiences and the personal nature of the teaching and support they receive.
The continued growth of our University reflects that of the region, with 10,000 students undertaking our study and research programs as pathways to local, national and international careers.

Our students consistently rank USC among Australia’s top universities for the standard of their experience – for the sixth consecutive year, USC is the sole public university in Queensland to earn 5 stars for teaching quality, according to the 2015 ratings of the independently published Good Universities Guide. USC also earned 5-star ratings for our educational experience, including overall graduate satisfaction and graduate satisfaction with generic skills.

Our research profile continues to grow, with recognition through National Competitive Grants and substantial industry funding. Research efforts at the University are broad and varied, with regionally significant themes of sustainability, aquaculture and forestry forming the core focus at present. Our academic staff are highly qualified experts in their fields. They are nationally awarded, having secured more than 20 Australian Government grants in the last 5 years alone, a success rate disproportionately large for an institution of our size.

We are committed to expanding our footprint from the immediate Sunshine Coast to service the coastal region from north of Brisbane to Gympie and the Fraser Coast, to share our blend of quality education and coastal lifestyle. The Sunshine Coast is a beautiful place to live and study. We aim to preserve that natural beauty on our campus, in both the natural and built form, while providing the highest possible standards of teaching and research services and support for our students. As a result, our campus has attracted national and international attention and awards for its profile in sustainability.