Melbourne graduates
A long tradition
The University of Melbourne has a long history of innovation in curriculum and commitment to the development of graduates. From the very first degrees offered in the 1850s, professors at Melbourne engaged in a "curriculum battle" to determine whether a liberal or professional education would best benefit its first graduates 1. Controversy and criticism were inevitably to be part and parcel of the intellectual, social and communal life of the new University 2.
Highlights throughout the institution's history focus on setting precedents for Australian universities. Leading change in education, Melbourne produced the first female graduate in Australia in 1883, Bella Guerin. Further recognising international trends in research education, Melbourne again led the field by awarding the first PhD in Australia to Joyce Stone in 1948.
Employability
From the beginning, Melbourne graduates have reflected the University's primary objective of academic excellence. Whenever they have undertaken their degree and wherever they choose to live and work, Melbourne graduates are highly sought. In 2009, the Times Higher Education World Univerisity Rankings listed Melbourne as 6th in the world for the employability of its graduates
All Melbourne graduates are distinguished by attributes that will enable them to participate fully in the complex communities in which they choose to live and work.
Graduate Attributes
The University of Melbourne Graduate Attributes are more than simply an aspirational vision of what the University hopes students might become during their candidature.
They can be used practically to guide the planning and development of teaching, knowledge transfer and research to ensure the University’s students acquire the experience, skills and knowledge necessary for graduates in today’s complex global environment 3.
The Melbourne Experience enables graduates to become:
- Academically excellent
Graduates will be expected to:- have a strong sense of intellectual integrity and the ethics of scholarship
- have in-depth knowledge of their specialist discipline(s)
- reach a high level of achievement in writing, generic research activities, problem-solving and communication
- be critical and creative thinkers, with an aptitude for continued self-directed learning
- be adept at learning in a range of ways, including through information and communication technologies
- Knowledgeable across disciplines
Graduates will be expected to:- examine critically, synthesise and evaluate knowledge across a broad range of disciplines
- expand their analytical and cognitive skills through learning experiences in diverse subjects
- have the capacity to participate fully in collaborative learning and to confront unfamiliar problems
- have a set of fl exible and transferable skills for different types of employment
- Leaders in communities
Graduates will be expected to:- initiate and implement constructive change in their communities, including professions and workplaces
- have excellent interpersonal and decision-making skills, including an awareness of personal strengths and limitations
- mentor future generations of learners
- engage in meaningful public discourse, with a profound awareness of community needs
- Attuned to cultural diversity
Graduates will be expected to:- value different cultures
- be well-informed citizens able to contribute to their communities wherever they choose to live and work
- have an understanding of the social and cultural diversity in our community
- respect indigenous knowledge, cultures and values
- Active global citizens
Graduates will be expected to:- accept social and civic responsibilities
- be advocates for improving the sustainability of the environment
- have a broad global understanding, with a high regard for human rights, equity and ethics
1 RJ Selleck, The Shop: The University of Melbourne, 1850 - 1939, Melbourne University Press, 2003, pp. 48 and 52
2 Stuart MacIntyre and RJ Selleck, A Short History of the University of Melbourne, Melbourne University Press, 2003, pp. 7-9
3 9 Principles Guiding Teaching & Learning (2MB)