Edith Cowan University

Edith Cowan University
This image is the coat of arms of Edith Cowan University.
Former names
List
Motto
Freedom Through Knowledge
TypePublic research university
Established
AccreditationTEQSA
Academic affiliations
BudgetA$439.55 million (2022)[1]
ChancellorDenise Goldsworthy[2]
Vice-ChancellorClare Pollock[3]
Academic staff
822 (FTE, 2023)[4]
Administrative staff
1,187 (FTE, 2023)[4]
Total staff
2,009 (FTE, 2023)[4]
Students30,135 (2023)[4]
Undergraduates18,048 (2023)[4]
Postgraduates9,573 (2023)[4]
654 (2023)[4]
Other students
1,860 (2023)[4]
Location
Perth and Bunbury
,
Western Australia
,
Australia[5]

31°45′00″S 115°46′15″E / 31.75009°S 115.77073°E / -31.75009; 115.77073 (Joondalup Campus)
CampusUrban and regional, 120.7 hectares (298.3 acres)
Named afterEdith Dircksey Cowan
ColoursLavender, orange, navy and white[6]
            
NicknameVarious
Sporting affiliations
MascotErnie the Emu[7]
Websitewww.ecu.edu.au Edit this at Wikidata
This image is the logo of Edith Cowan University.

Edith Cowan University (ECU) is a public research university in Western Australia.[8] It is named in honour of the first woman to be elected to an Australian parliament, Edith Cowan, and is the only Australian university named after a woman.[9] It is the second-largest university in the state with over 30,000 students in 2023.[4] Gaining university status in 1991, it was formed from an amalgamation of tertiary colleges with a history dating back to 1902 when the Claremont Teachers College was established,[10] making it the modern descendant of the first tertiary institution in Western Australia.[11]

It offers study programs in healthcare, biomedicine, computer science, education, engineering, psychology, sports science, law, business, humanities, social sciences, aeronautics and the performing arts.[12] It also offers a Doctor of Philosophy (PhD) research program and various majors of study in commerce, the arts and sciences.[13] The university has a partnership with the University of Portsmouth in the United Kingdom, with which it offers dual-enrolled programs with integrated overseas study, and the University of Tasmania for naval engineering.[14][15] ECU also has a notable cybersecurity research program being one of two universities operating federal Academic Centres of Cyber Security Excellence (ACCSE)[16] and the only Australian member university in the InterNational Cyber Security Center of Excellence (INCS-CoE).[17]

It has two metropolitan campuses in Perth (Joondalup and Mount Lawley) and a regional campus in Bunbury.[18] The main Joondalup campus forms the flagship institution of the Joondalup Learning Precinct and features a pine park and pond in the university quadrangle.[19] The Mount Lawley campus, which is home to its Western Australian Academy of Performing Arts among other schools, is re-locating to the Perth central business district in late 2025 as part of a new city campus being built west of Yagan Square.[20][21] The Bunbury campus is located in bushland adjacent to the St John of God Bunbury Hospital which is home to a diverse range of native wildlife including cockatoos, possums, quolls, kangaroos and wallabies.[22][23]

The university has produced some of Australia's most prominent figures in the performing arts, operates a large nursing school,[24] has a long history of teacher education[10] and has a significant presence in cybersecurity research.[16][17] It is also notable for achieving the highest student satisfaction rate nationally among the 37 public universities that participate in the federal government's QILT Student Experience Survey.[25] It has retained the position annually from 2020 to the latest survey in 2022.[26][27] As of the Good Universities Guide 2024, it is also one of two national universities to have maintained a 5-star student satisfaction rating for teaching quality for 17 consecutive years.[28]

This is an image of the entrance at Edith Cowan University in Joondalup.
Entrance to the Joondalup campus
This is an image of ECU’s central student services hub on the Joondalup campus.
The central student services hub
  1. ^ "Edith Cowan University Annual Information Statement 2022". acnc.gov.au. Australian Charities Not-for-profits Commission. Retrieved 9 February 2024.
  2. ^ "Meet our new Chancellor - Denise Goldsworthy AO". 30 March 2022.
  3. ^ "ECU Welcomes new Vice-Chancellor Professor Clare Pollock". ecu.edu.au. 30 September 2024. Retrieved 1 October 2024.
  4. ^ a b c d e f g h i "Pocket Stats 2023" (PDF). Edith Cowan University. Archived (PDF) from the original on 2 April 2024. Retrieved 26 April 2024.
  5. ^ "ECU Campuses". 22 February 2023.
  6. ^ "ECU Corporate Style Guide" (PDF). Edith Cowan University. May 2023. Archived (PDF) from the original on 10 November 2023. Retrieved 3 March 2024.
  7. ^ "Student Sport". 22 January 2016.
  8. ^ "Edith Cowan University Act 1984 - All Versions". Western Australian Legislation. Parliamentary Counsel’s Office of the Department of Justice (Government of Western Australia). 8 June 2018. Archived from the original on 8 December 2021. Retrieved 6 May 2024.
  9. ^ "Off the shelf: Edith Cowan Special Edition" (PDF). Parliamentary Library of Western Australia. Parliament of Western Australia. November 2017. Archived (PDF) from the original on 6 March 2022. Retrieved 19 July 2022.
  10. ^ a b McKenzie, John Alexander (1981). Twenty-Five Years: A History of Claremont Teachers College 1952 - 1977. Claremont Teachers College. pp. 1–27. ISBN 0908503024.
  11. ^ "State Records Office of Western Australia: list of all recognised education and training institutions in WA". State Records Office of Western Australia. Government of Western Australia. 23 August 2004. Archived from the original on 26 May 2013. Retrieved 19 July 2022.
  12. ^ "Courses". Edith Cowan University. 12 February 2024. Retrieved 2 March 2024.
  13. ^ "Higher Degree by Research". Edith Cowan University. 7 February 2023. Archived from the original on 18 November 2023. Retrieved 2 March 2024.
  14. ^ "Students can study in Portsmouth and Australia on new dual degree programme". University of Portsmouth. 31 August 2022. Archived from the original on 4 July 2022. Retrieved 2 March 2024.
  15. ^ "24V3 Bachelor of Maritime Engineering (Specialisation) (Honours)". University of Tasmania. 25 March 2024. Archived from the original on 24 March 2024. Retrieved 6 May 2024.
  16. ^ a b "Academic Centres of Cyber Security Excellence (ACCSE)". Department of Education. Australian Government. Archived from the original on 26 April 2022. Retrieved 19 July 2022.
  17. ^ a b "INCS-CoE – InterNational Cyber Security Center of Excellence". INCS-CoE – InterNational Cyber Security Center of Excellence. Archived from the original on 16 May 2022. Retrieved 19 July 2022.
  18. ^ "Our campuses". Edith Cowan University. 22 February 2023. Archived from the original on 23 January 2024. Retrieved 2 March 2024.
  19. ^ "Joondalup Learning Precinct". City of Joondalup. Archived from the original on 19 April 2024. Retrieved 6 May 2024.
  20. ^ Spagnolo, Joe (14 August 2021). "New ECU City state-of-the-art Perth CBD university campus images revealed". The West Australian. Archived from the original on 13 March 2023. Retrieved 2 March 2024.
  21. ^ Naglazas, Mark (30 August 2023). "Centre stage: How WAAPA's move into the heart of the city will reshape Perth". WAtoday. Archived from the original on 20 September 2023. Retrieved 2 March 2024.
  22. ^ "Environmental Management Plan Implementation Schedule, South West iv Campus, Bunbury" (PDF). Edith Cowan University. ATA Environmental. 22 August 2006. Archived (PDF) from the original on 5 March 2024. Retrieved 5 March 2024.
  23. ^ Harewood, Greg (19 February 2008). "Edith Cowan University, South West Campus, Bunbury, Fauna Assessment" (PDF). Edith Cowan University. ENV Australia. Archived (PDF) from the original on 11 March 2011. Retrieved 5 March 2024.
  24. ^ "Study areas". Edith Cowan University. 14 June 2012. Archived from the original on 1 September 2022. Retrieved 6 May 2024.
  25. ^ "2022 Student Experience Survey" (PDF). Quality Indicators for Learning and Teaching. Australian Government. June 2023. Archived (PDF) from the original on 21 March 2024. Retrieved 6 May 2024.
  26. ^ "2021 Student Experience Survey" (PDF). Quality Indicators for Learning and Teaching. Australian Government. August 2022. Archived (PDF) from the original on 11 April 2024. Retrieved 6 May 2024.
  27. ^ "2020 Student Experience Survey" (PDF). Quality Indicators for Learning and Teaching. Australian Government. March 2021. Archived (PDF) from the original on 26 October 2021. Retrieved 6 May 2024.
  28. ^ "5 Star Experience". Edith Cowan University. 2 August 2021. Archived from the original on 27 March 2022. Retrieved 19 July 2022.