Griffith University is a public research university in South East Queensland on the east coast of Australia. Formally founded in 1971, Griffith opened its doors in 1975, introducing Australia’s first degrees in environmental science and Asian studies.
The University is named after Sir Samuel Walker Griffith, who was twice Premier of Queensland and the first Chief Justice of the High Court of Australia. Sir Samuel Griffith played a major role in the Federation of Australia and was the principal author of the Australian constitution.
Opening initially with the one campus at Nathan and 451 students, the University now has five campuses spanning three cities, with the Nathan, Mount Gravatt and South Bank campuses in Brisbane and campuses at Logan and on the Gold Coast.It has over 44,000 students and offers a full suite of undergraduate, postgraduate and research degrees in the areas of business and government, criminology and law, education, engineering and information technology, environment, planning and architecture, health, humanities and languages, music, science and aviation, and visual and creative arts.
In 1965 174 hectares (430 acres) of natural bushland at Nathan were set aside for a new campus.Initially the site was to be part of the University of Queensland, which was experiencing strong demand in humanities and social sciences.By 1970 a new institution was being mooted, and Theodor Bray (later Sir Theodor Bray) was asked by the Queensland Government to establish a second for Brisbane and the third for the state. After several months of discussion, the Queensland Government announced on 24 December 1970 that Bray would head a committee charged with establishing Griffith University. The Mount Gravatt site was renamed Nathan and set to become Griffith’s first campus.On 30 September 1971, the Queensland Government officially created and recognised Griffith University with the passing of the Assent to Griffith University Act 1971.On 5 March 1975, Griffith University began teaching 451 students in four schools: Australian Environmental Studies, Humanities, Modern Asian Studies and Science.The university was distinguished by its "problem-based" rather than disciplinary approach to course design and research.
In the 1990s, the Dawkins Revolution saw a number tertiary education reforms in Australia, resulting in a series of amalgamations of colleges and universities. In 1990, the Mount Gravatt Teacher's College established in 1969 and Gold Coast College of Advanced Education established in 1987 became official campuses of Griffith University. The Queensland Conservatorium of Music continued the higher education mergers and became an official part of Griffith University in 1991. Originally established in 1957, the new entity became known as Queensland Conservatorium Griffith University. In 1992, the amalgamations were completed for Griffith, with the Queensland College of Art (QCA), established in 1881 and recognised as the oldest continuous operating art training institution in Australia officially becoming part of the University.
Griffith’s fifth campus, Logan, opened in 1998. Located in the suburb of Meadowbrook, on an area of green fields south of Brisbane, the Logan campus was established to specifically address the interests and needs of the Logan City area.
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