Murdoch University

I’m neither staff nor student, but primarily visit Murdoch Uni to do banking at the UniBank branch, though in the past I have gone there to meet friends who do work there for lunch, or to attend an event of an evening /​weekend.
Parking for the general public during the day in teaching weeks is often impossible to find (though this appears to be common to all the unis). On one occasion after a fruitless 20 minutes of cruising around the paid parking visitor areas I gave up and decided to come back another day. It’s typically easier to find visitor bays later in the day.
The variety of food outlets and availability of seating has always appeared reasonable.
My biggest problem with Murdoch, aside from parking, is signage. If I didn’t have someone in the know show me where to go, I’d have real difficulty finding something outside of the main quadrangle (Bush Court).

I attended Murdoch as a study abroad student from the US back in 2005. It was my first time being away from home for longer than a few days, and I was, quite frankly, petrified. While Murdoch had its quirks, overall I’m very glad that I chose to come to Perth.
First, the cons: living in the Student Village, we had to pay per kilobyte of internet used. Without downloading hardly anything, and just using the internet to check email, do research and browse facebook, internet service here cost me about $ 50 per month. I don’t know if that’s the case anymore, but it was ridiculous at the time. Also, the professors here were stingy and arbitrary with their grades. They would write a grade that seemed low (well, to me… I was always one of those annoying students that HAD to get high marks), but without any explanation of how to improve. In the end, I was happy with my marks (equivalent of all As in the US), but it was frustrating to get such little feedback.
Thankfully, the pros of Murdoch far outweighed the cons. The library was lovely — easy to do research, and it was especially exciting to be able to rent recent movies from there. The campus was beautifully maintained and easy to navigate. Two out of my three professors had enjoyable classes (my one professor who taught Hollywood and History was a fantastic lecturer — I really enjoyed his class). I have many fond memories of the Tav (I wrote a separate review for that), and I loved living in the Student Village, even if I didn’t love all of my flatmates. In my particular flat, there were eight people: two from Germany, three from Australia (2 from south of Perth, 1 from Tasmania), one from Malaysia, one from Singapore, and myself representing the good ol’ USA. While we got along most of the time, it was an exercise in accepting cultural differences, for sure. And finally, I have Murdoch to thank for one of the best experiences in my life: the NorthWest trip offered to all of the international students. It was a ten-​day trip through the Outback, going up the coast to Shark Bay and the Ningaloo Reef, then inland to Karijini National Park. We snorkeled at the reef, watched dolphins being fed, hiked down gorges, swam in freshwater pools at the bottom, slept in tents (and even sheep-​shearing sheds) and swatted at countless flies… and I wouldn’t trade the experience for the world. It was the best ten days of my life.
All in all, I wouldn’t change a thing about my experience at Murdoch. Moving halfway across the world on my own made me much more self-​sufficient. I learned bus and train routes (I had never taken public transportation before), I went grocery shopping, I slept in hostels… and it made me the person I am today. And for that, I say thank you, Murdoch.

I’ve spent time at pretty much every uni in Perth as an undergrad, with the exception of Murdoch. It’s a pretty sweet uni though; they do a lot of great postgrad research and the people I know who have studied there have really enjoyed the experience. It’s one of the only campuses in WA where there’s still a vibe of there being some life happening on campus. There’s a lot of student politics going on here and a fantastic tav, though it’s not quite as good as the old tav, which was up the back of the uni and had great views of the campus’ beautiful bushland. Student organisation Bedlam Theatre company put on some relatively rad student productions in the excellent Nexus Theatre space and are reportedly a pretty sweet group of people to hang out with. As a non-​student, I find the library is a pretty great resource; though I can’t take things out, I’ve used it for reference purposes quite a lot in the past. A nice campus of a pretty decent uni.

There is a story that claims that when Sir Walter Murdoch was on his deathbed they informed him that next public university is going to carry his name. Apparently, all he said was: «It better be a good one.»
Well, I dare say Sir Walter would be proud. I’ve been attending Murdoch University last 2 years and they have been one of most interesting 2 years of my life. University is situated on the largest university campus in WA. Great care has been taken to preserve the native trees and plants so the experience of the campus in intimately Western Australian.
On the academic front university boasts all the standard programs any decent university would. Of particulate note are their veterinary school (only one in WA) and their Security, Terrorism and Counter-​terrorism programs which are I believe among very few of such programs offered in Australia.
I’ve personally had extensive contact with School of Social Science and with exception of 2 unpleasant characters, I have liked every single lecturer and tutor which I had been assigned.
The library is also pretty cool, with a relaxed atmosphere and plenty of wall sockets to plug in your laptop or public computers, if you are so inclined. Book selection is also decent although there is obvious focus on non-​fiction and academic writings.
What can I say, I love it.

Murdoch University is a modern university with the main campus located in — surprise — Murdoch. There is a wide range of courses to choose from at Murdoch, such as education, law, sciences, engineering, and veterinary studies [so far, Murdoch is the only university in WA with the course]. Murdoch has a slick, modern feel to it, with its clean and accessible buildings and nicely-​kept grounds.
Murdoch has some fantastic student services and supports for those who require them, and it feels as though the university cares about its students. There is also alternative pathways into entering university, in recognition that not everyone fits into the mould of formal education. This gives the university a genuine feel of diversity.
There are some innovative courses available at Murdoch, such as the Geneva law programme where law students can study human rights for two months in Geneva, the hub of UN activity.
Murdoch is a very good university that combines an understanding of the diverse needs of students with academic rigour.