Ask the Chatbot Games & Quizzes History & Society Science & Tech Biographies Animals & Nature Geography & Travel Arts & Culture ProCon Money Videos
University of Sydney
Introduction References & Edit History Quick Facts & Related Topics
Images
Sydney, University of: Wesley College
Quick Facts
Date:
1850 - present
Britannica AI Icon
Adding us as a Preferred Source tells Google you trust our content, so our articles show up more often in your Google Search, Discover feed, and AI Overviews.
verifiedCite
While every effort has been made to follow citation style rules, there may be some discrepancies. Please refer to the appropriate style manual or other sources if you have any questions.
Select Citation Style
Feedback
Corrections? Updates? Omissions? Let us know if you have suggestions to improve this article (requires login).
Thank you for your feedback

Our editors will review what you’ve submitted and determine whether to revise the article.

External Websites
Sydney, University of: Wesley College
Sydney, University of: Wesley College Wesley College, University of Sydney.

University of Sydney

university, Sydney, New South Wales, Australia
Written and fact-checked by
Britannica Editors
Encyclopaedia Britannica's editors oversee subject areas in which they have extensive knowledge, whether from years of experience gained by working on that content or via study for an advanced degree....
Britannica Editors
Last updated
•History

News •

New tool shows how humans can learn with AI • Nov. 5, 2026, 10:20 AM ET (Tech Xplore)
‘We’re making it worse’: Jacinda Ardern’s warning for Australian politicians • Nov. 1, 2026, 5:59 PM ET (The Guardian)
Researchers identify new depression subtype linked to the body clock • Oct. 20, 2026, 3:00 AM ET (News-Medical)

University of Sydney, coeducational institution of higher learning in Sydney, nominally private but supported financially by both the Commonwealth of Australia and New South Wales. Founded in 1850, it is Australia’s oldest university as well as its largest.

The university is composed of six resident colleges: St. Paul’s (Church of England), which was founded in 1854; St. John’s (Roman Catholic), 1857; St. Andrew’s (Presbyterian), 1867; Women’s College (nondenominational), 1889; Wesley College (Uniting), 1910; and Sancta Sophia College (Roman Catholic, principally women), 1929. Women were first admitted to the university in 1881.

The university includes faculties of agriculture, architecture, arts, economics, education, medicine, dentistry, veterinary science, law, engineering, and science. There are also about 50 research centres and institutes attached to the university; these deal mainly with specialized disciplines within the sciences and medicine. Sydney has the largest university library in Australia.

This article was most recently revised and updated by Amy Tikkanen.