According to the Reputation Raking System invented by the Times Higher Education on the bases of over 16,000 responses from senior academics in 150 countries, it was hailed that the top universities of Australia are University of Melbourne, Australian National University, University of Sydney, University of Queensland, and University of New South Wales as the leading among its kind in the continent. Apart from their academic achievements, these universities are equally as appealing to tourists as they are to academes. Here are the following tours around the campuses that will enlighten the school bookworm in you.

University of Melbourne

University of Melbourne – HDRi from jkim.ca

The University of Melbourne is an Australian public school that is situated in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia. It was first founded in the year 1853 through Act of the Victorian Parliament and is also known as the second oldest one in Australia. The school has been acknowledged as a research university that’s been the subject of interest of academes internationally.

There are seven campuses of the school across Melbourne and rural Victoria including that of the Parkville campus. It is easily accessible by a short walk from Melbourne’s city center and welcomes visitors to explore the premises and its distinct architectural, cultural and landscape facilities and features.

Tourists can download a self-guide walking tour map that gives you the pleasure of exploring the many historical backgrounds of the campus architecture and other landscape features. Stops are indicated in numbers and the tour would probably take you about an hour to complete.  You can download the said self-guide here: http://www.unimelb.edu.au/campustour/pdf/guided-tour-map.pdf

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Australian National University

Commuting to work… at the ANU – 8 from Pascal Vuylsteker

The Australian National University, also known as ANU, is a school renowned for its intensive research, education and policy engagement programs. It has been a center for those students who are equipped and talented enough to become scholars. The University is situated at the center of Canberra, Australian Capital Territory in Australia. Their campus combines the advantages of Australia’s capital city with generous facilities to enhance research, learning, meeting and living purposes.

Only minutes away from the nation’s parliament and national institutions, The Acton Campus of the University is a well-deserved attractive landmark for visitors. Their campus, being a green one, has been working to reduce the environmental impact of their programs.

You can indulge your senses in one of the university’s areas for arts, music and learning like the Library, Drill Hall Gallery, Sculpture Walk, Heritage Trails, School of Art Gallery and the School of Music events that you can participate in, and the Classic Museum.

Being a suburb itself, the university also has their own set of venues, shops and places to dine where you can just grab a meal while enjoying your tour around the interesting campus.

About the virtual tour, since the ANU campus expands to about 145 hectares of beautifully maintained and flourishing park lands, gives you more area and tons of venues to explore. Their facilities include on-campus accommodation designed like that of residential areas, modern laboratories and lecture theaters along with five main library branches that’s just waiting for you to visit. It’s like going to an actual town instead of coming inside a university. They have a number of conveniences such as bookshops, green spaces, sporting fields, art galleries, restaurants, cafes, shops and medical services.

You can download ANU mobile app so you will have a detailed guide to its premises via iPhone or iPad.

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University of Sydney

University of Sydney quad from Andrea Schaffer

The University of Sydney has a network of teaching establishments that’s located around Sydney. Their main campus which is the Camperdown/Darlington campus is famous for its historical sandstone buildings, gargoyles and cloisters, courtyards and lawns. Really, it’s like going on a tour to France with such beautifully structured buildings.

The university also has lecture theatres, studios and other teaching spaces that are packed with state-of-the-art facilities, laboratories that are equipped with technologically advanced tools, clinical schools to support professional experimental and development farms and research stations that allow their students and other academes to further their expertise.

The attractions of the university include that of its quadrangle, its central campus that is set on landscaped grounds giving you magnificent views of Sydney’s business center and an 1850 heritage building that looks like an exact replica of a painting masterpiece, the Great Hall, The Carillon where plays are held during Tuesdays between one and two in the afternoon during the semester and on special occasions such as graduation ceremonies.

There are even bells after recitals on Sunday afternoons, The Nicholson Museum that houses the largest collection of antiques found in the southern hemisphere, the Macleay Museum where the oldest natural history collection in Australia can be found such as those anthropological finds, the University Art Gallery that’s packed with over three thousand works, The Law School that is an example of contemporary architecture, the Sydney College of Arts where you will have overlooking views of Sydney Harbour, and the Sydney Conservatorium of Music that is located just right next to that of the Royal Botanic Gardens. Truly, these establishments are perfect for tourists, not just academes because of the fine architecture and magnificent views.

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University of Queensland

Duhig Library from munnerley

The University of Queensland has opened its doors by virtue of Act of State Parliament in the year 1909. Teaching though, started around 1911 in the Old Governmental House located at George Street, Brisbane. During its first year of operations, they only had three faculties namely the Arts, Science and Engineering having about eighty-three students only.

After the First World War, the University expanded adding to its field a site in Victoria Park which is now the location of the Medical School. Four years after the expansion, the Maynes donated funds to buy the St. Lucia site which is now the location of the University’s main campus. After which, the Forgan Smith Building was established and completed in 1939. During the Second World War, the school became the advanced headquarters for the Allied Land Forces in the South West Pacific. The university then went through years of historical recognition and expansion.

Good thing is, you don’t have to be a student to explore the interesting and historical first-class buildings of the university. They offer a guided on-campus tour for visitors to have a closer look of life in the school, ask questions, interact with the current students of the university and marvel at the structures firsthand. It would generally take about an hour for you to complete a tour around the campus. Scheduled campus tours are entertained during the Queensland school holiday periods. You can tour the Ipswich and Gatton campuses upon request.

You can avail of visiting the residential colleges while on campus too but you have to inform the residential college directly before you will be allowed to do so.

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University of New South Wales

Commerce Courtyard from Michael Tanujaya

University of New South Wales is another university in Australia that is leading in the field of research and teaching. The have a broad range and high quality teaching programs for their students that enhance the capabilities of each. They gain their reputation by, as mentioned, their research activities, strong industry links and their international recognition due to their strong regional and global engagement.

In developing new discoveries and lasting knowledge, they create an academic environment that is competitive and yet supportive to their outstanding students and scholars so they are driven to excel in their respective fields especially through programs in research and study. They are also active in local and global engagements that allow the university to interact with various events of debate and research activities.

The university’s public events include that of concert performances, open and public forums raising awareness and concerns on issues of the environments, health care and global politics.

The University composes of three campuses names such as Kensington, College of Fine Arts and Australian Defense Force Academy that caters to about forty-seven thousand students and six thousand staff that have access to modern equipment and technology and are run by outstanding university support network. The UNSW Campus Tour would be the perfect way to explore the premises and even think of going to the university yourself. You will be guided with highly trained and experienced Student Ambassadors who will explain to you the different educational programs and services that the school offers and also, to give informative insight on the campus grounds and its history. Sounds more like a tourist activity to me.

The tours happen every Friday throughout the year and would generally take about an hour for you to cover the substantial parts of the Kensington Campus. Be well equipped with questions and your walking shoes to better enjoy the tour. You can avail of this through here: http://booking.online.unsw.edu.au/booking/campus_tour.main

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