Griffith University is a public research university in South East Queensland on the east coast of Australia. Formally founded in 1971, Griffith opened its doors in 1975, introducing Australia's first degrees in environmental science and Asian studies.
The university is named after Sir Samuel Walker Griffith, who was twice Premier of Queensland and the first Chief Justice of the High Court of Australia. Sir Samuel Griffith played a major role in the Federation of Australia and was the principal author of the Australian constitution.
Opening initially with the one campus at Nathan and 451 students, the University now has five physical campuses spanning three cities, the largest of which are the Gold Coast campus at Southport and the Nathan campus in Brisbane. The Mount Gravatt and South Bank campuses are also located in Brisbane, while the Logan campus is at Meadowbrook. In 2018, the University launched its Digital campus, now its sixth campus, which offers a range of online degrees.Griffith has around 50,000 students and offers a full suite of undergraduate, postgraduate and research degrees in the areas of business and government, criminology and law, education, engineering and information technology, environment, planning and architecture, health, humanities and languages, music, science and aviation, and visual and creative arts. It is a verdant university and a member of the IRU.
In the 2019 Student Experience Survey, Griffith University recorded the seventh highest student satisfaction rating out of all Australian universities, and the highest student satisfaction rating out of all public Queensland universities, with an overall satisfaction rating of 82.1. Since 2012, Griffith University has received more Australian Awards for University Teaching than any other Australian university. Griffith has many distinguished alumni and academic staff, including 2017 Australian of the Year Emeritus Professor Alan Mackay-Sim.