Driving through Clayton, a Melbourne suburb in the southeast that doesn’t really stand out, has a subtle yet striking quality. The type of neighborhood that most people pass through rather than actively seek out has flat streets and modest housing. Then, almost out of nowhere, a vast, verdant, and unexpectedly magnificent campus appears. Monash University is that. It doesn’t yell. However, for almost 70 years, it has been constructing something important.
Monash opened its doors to just 357 students in 1961. It was founded in 1958 on about 100 hectares of former farmland, some of which was once part of an epileptic colony, an odd detail that history tends to overlook. Now, that number almost seems charming. With over 86,000 students enrolled across its campuses, it is currently one of Australia’s largest universities in terms of headcount. The expansion wasn’t coincidental. It was aggressive, deliberate, and sometimes chaotic at different times.
The university bears the name of Sir John Monash, a World War I general who is regarded as one of the best military strategists of the war. It was the first university in Australia to be named after a person instead of a location; looking back, this decision seems to indicate something about the institution’s self-perception. Monash has always had aspirations that don’t quite fit neatly within state boundaries.
The university gained notoriety in the late 1970s and early 1980s for reasons unrelated to rankings. It developed into a center for student activism, including demonstrations against the Vietnam War, conscription, and Whitlam’s dismissal. Malcolm Fraser, the prime minister at the time, allegedly had to seek refuge in a basement during a student protest on campus. It’s difficult to determine whether that episode speaks to Monash’s culture or just the time period. Most likely both.
What Monash researchers were doing in the lab at that time is less well-known but possibly more significant. Under the direction of Carl Wood and Alan Trounson, the university’s IVF program resulted in the first clinical IVF pregnancy in history in 1973. In 1980, the first IVF baby was born in Australia. It’s the kind of contribution that transforms our understanding of human life itself, and it originated from a university that was only twenty years old at the time.
Another wave of change arrived in the 1990s. The university was greatly expanded through a number of mergers. The first foreign university campus in Malaysia opened its doors in 1998. Monash established itself in China, India, Italy, and South Africa by the early 2000s. At a time when most institutions were still thinking locally, the university seemed to be attempting to become something truly multinational. It’s likely still up for debate within the company whether or not that approach was successful everywhere.
Rankings, which colleges now handle with a seriousness that verges on competitive sport, are the subject of the most recent chapter. In the QS World University Rankings 2027, Monash recently rose to 31st place, up 36 spots from 2016 and five spots from the previous year. The numbers become more intriguing when subject-specific rankings are used. In the world, pharmacy and pharmacology rank second. Globally, business administration is ranked third. Fourth grade education. These aren’t modest accomplishments disguised in marketing jargon. They are a reflection of institutional focus and consistent research output.
Perhaps more than anything else, Monash has succeeded in expanding without losing its identity as a research institution. It’s more difficult than it seems. Numerous universities grow and spread, becoming strong in all areas but outstanding in none. With its 100 research facilities and affiliation with Australia’s Group of Eight research universities, Monash appears to have escaped that specific pitfall. It’s still unclear if that balance will be maintained over the next ten years, particularly as funding pressures in Australian higher education increase and the dynamics of international students change.
Reading the university’s publications or strolling through Clayton gives the impression that Monash is still in the process of developing into something. Not quite done. Avoid coasting. Fittingly, the university’s own motto is “still learning.”
