About Us

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 Napier Sturt, a British explorer who made expeditions into regional New South Wales and South Australia.

Charles Sturt offers undergraduate, postgraduate, and higher degrees by research and single-subject study. It also has course delivery partnerships with several TAFE institutions across Australia, including with the New South Wales Police Force.

The history of Charles Sturt University dates to 1895, with the establishment of the Bathurst Experiment Farm. 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 the Riverina College of Advanced Education in Wagga Wagga.

On 1 January 1970, the Mitchell College of Advanced Education was formed. The Riverina Murray Institute of Education campus in Wagga Wagga and Albury-Wodonga had operated since 1984. The latter institution had earlier succeeded the Riverina College of Advanced Education, which was itself the result of an even earlier merger between Wagga Agricultural College and the Wagga Wagga Teachers College.

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 December 31, 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.

The Goulburn campus was established to deliver policing education to New South Wales Police.

In 1999, the Dubbo campus foundation stone was laid. The university also launched its China Joint Cooperation Program with four universities in China.

On 1 January 2005, Charles Sturt formalised moves to assume control of the University of Sydney’s Orange campus, which came into force on 1 January 2005. Between 2005 and 2015, the university had expanded to include an offshore campus in Burlington, Ontario, in Canada. On July 2015, Charles Sturt ceased to operate its Ontario campus due to the legislative and regulatory environment in Ontario.

In 2005, Charles Sturt responded to the shortage of veterinarians in rural and regional Australia with the first vet science students starting their degrees at the Wagga Wagga campus. And in 2008, the university also offered dentistry courses for the first time. This led to the development of five community-based clinics across its regional campuses.

On 14 February 2011, Charles Sturt University changed its logo. The Sturt's desert pea flower (Swainsona formosa) was stylised and made prominent, with the full name of the university as part of its logo.

On 1 May 2012, a milestone was reached as the university opened a new campus in Port Macquarie, its first coastal regional campus, making higher education accessible to the Port Macquarie and the Hastings region.

In 2013, the university implemented a gas engine cogeneration power plant to help minimise fuel costs and carbon emissions.

On 18 April 2016, staff and students at the Port Macquarie campus moved into stage one of their purpose-built campus. The second stage was completed in 2020 and included an NSW emergency services training room, innovation hub and student support facilities. The third stage is scheduled for completion over the coming years, with an expected student intake of 5000 by 2030.

On 28 July 2016, Charles Sturt has declared Australia's First Official Carbon Neutral University. The Government of Australia's Carbon Neutral Program certified the university as "carbon neutral" against the National Carbon Offset Standard.

On 9 May 2018, Charles Sturt and Western Sydney University announced a partnership with the Australian Government's network to establish the Murray-Darling Medical School, providing Joint Medical Programs across the Murray-Darling Basin Region. Charles Sturt's teaching base was established at the university's Orange campus to extend on the existing Western Sydney University program.

In May 2019, for its 30th anniversary, the university announced its new brand and visual identity. This included a new crest that drew on the original coat of arms and the logos of its predecessor institutions. The crest's design includes patterns that draw on the culture and symbolism of First Nations Australians and echoes the landscapes of regional NSW.

On 29 May 2019, Charles Sturt University announced it joined the Regional Universities Network (RUN), becoming the seventh member of the group.

In March 2021, Charles Sturt University's first medical students commenced study at the university's Orange campus as part of the Joint Program in Medicine with Western Sydney University. The Joint Program in Medicine is designed to train doctors in the regions to help address the shortfall in rural and regional medical professionals.