James Cook University | Rankings, fees, campus, and more.

An Overview

James Cook University has its name in honor of the explorer James Cook. Under the name University of Queensland, the institution opened its doors to students in 1961. The second-oldest institution in Australia is James Cook University, which became independent in 1970. JCU offers short-term, online, undergraduate, graduate, and route. JCU offers study centers in Thursday Island, Mount Isa, Mackay, and Rockhampton. International and domestic students can take undergraduate and graduate courses at a Russo Higher Education facility in Brisbane. Environmental sciences, biological sciences, mathematical sciences, earth sciences, agricultural & veterinary sciences, technology, medical and health sciences make up most of the university’s research areas.

History

Vice Chancellor of the University of Queensland, Professor John Douglas Story, proposed in 1957 that a regional university college be founded to serve North Queensland residents. At that time, Brisbane, the state capital, was home to all the institutions of higher learning. 

The government of Australia inaugurated The University College of Townsville on February 27, 1961. 

The University College of Townsville became the James Cook University of North Queensland after being declared law by the Queensland Parliament. On April 20, 1970, Queen Elizabeth II conducted the university’s formal opening. In February 2015, JCU Singapore changed campus locations. On June 28, 2015, the Hon. Tony Abbott MP, Prime Minister of Australia, formally inaugurated the brand-new JCU Singapore campus at 149 Sims Drive. The JCU Townsville City campus debuted in 2015. The JCU Cairns, Bada-jali campus opened in the city center of Cairns in 2017. On April 20, 2020, JCU celebrated its 50th anniversary.

Cresente Luce, which translates to ‘ever-growing light’, is the university’s motto. For the then-University College of Townsville, this motto was first presented in 1962 by Professor Frederick Walter Robinson (Doc Robbie), an English professor at the University of Queensland.

Ranking

James Cook University is one of the top public universities in Townsville, Australia. It is ranked #461 in QS World University Rankings 2023.

The Times Higher Education (THE) World University Rankings placed JCU in the top 300 academic institutions worldwide in 2022. Since 2010, according to the Academic Ranking of World Universities, JCU has maintained a position among the top 400 universities (ARWU). 

Campuses

JCU Cairns, Nguma-bada Campus, Smithfield

The Cairns, Nguma-bada campus of CU is situated in the Smithfield area, 15 kilometers north of the city’s CBD. JCU relocated to this property in 1995, leaving its old inner-city location. 335 foreign students are among the 3,000 attendings JCU Cairns’ Nguma-bada campus in Smithfield. The Australian Tropical Herbarium, JCU Dental, and The Cairns Institute are on the campus’s grounds.

 Students, faculty, and local businesses collaborate in the $30 million environmentally friendly building to advance data science and Internet of Things engineering.

The CBD of Cairns is home to JCU Cairns’ second campus, the Bada-jali campus. The campus offers the institution a wide variety of cutting-edge facilities and services.

JCU Townsville, Bebegu Yumba Campus, Douglas

The largest campus of JCU is in Townsville, Bebegu Yumba, which spans 386 hectares and is situated close to an army installation and Mount Stuart’s lee. The institution relocated to its current location in 1967 from its original location in the district of Pimlico. Over 10,000 students, including more than 1,300 international students, attend classes at the JCU Townsville, Bebegu Yumba campus. The Townsville Hospital is close to the university.

In September 2007, the university made the Discovery Rise project public. The Royal Australian Institute of Architects – Queensland Chapter gave the 25-Year Architecture Award to the Eddie Koiki Mabo Library (constructed in 1968 and expanded in 1990)  Along with the Sydney Opera House and the Shrine of Remembrance in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia, it is one of Australia’s 10 most iconic buildings.

The JCU Townsville City campus opened its doors in 2015 on Flinders Street in the center of Townsville. The campus provides a wide variety of cutting-edge facilities and services for the university, businesses, and community organizations.

Construction of new amenities finished in March 2021 at The Technology Innovation Complex (TIC). The 9,400 square meter, 94 million dollar complex will serve as the focal point of an innovation hub where undergraduate and graduate engineering and IT students, business partners, and researchers will congregate and work together.

Singapore International Campus

Inaugurated in 2003 The Singapore campus of James Cook University (JCUS) closed its previous location on Upper Thomson Road, where it had been functioning since July 2008. It moved to a new campus at 149 Sims Drive in January 2015.

 The university offers business, education, information technology, psychology, environmental science, tourism, and hospitality courses. JCU Australia accredits all degrees granted by this university. James Cook University Singapore is recognized as a private institution under the Private Education Act of the Ministry of Education and has earned accreditation from both EduTrust and the Council for Private Education. EduTrust awarded JCUS two consecutive “Edutrust Star” ratings in 2015 and 2019, the first private school to attain this benchmark.

Academics

17,001 students attended JCU in 2021, including 4,289 from other countries.

The university’s newly established School of Medicine welcomed its first medical students in 2001. In 2006, the university established its first undergraduate veterinary degree, and the Bachelor of Dental Surgery program started in 2009. The university now offers undergraduate and graduate degrees in science, including marine biology and environmental science, as well as in the humanities, social work, business, law, and governance; creative media, education, engineering, and the fields of medicine, dentistry, and veterinary science. Online learning is prevalent. James Cook University joined Innovative Research Universities Australia in 2007. (now called Innovative Research Universities). A network of seven comprehensive universities known as Innovative Research Universities (IRU) is dedicated to performing nationally and internationally renowned research.

Well-known Alumni

• Paul Amato, professor at Pennsylvania State University and researcher, among the 1% most cited scientists of 2004 according to Thomson Reuters’ Highly Cited Researchers
• Rachel Carling-Jenkins, Australian politician
• Katarina Carroll, Commissioner of the Queensland Police Service
• David Crisafulli, Queensland politician
• Peter Coaldrake, vice chancellor of the Queensland University of Technology and chair of the board of Universities Australia
• Rose Evaster-Aderolili, chief of the Human and Social Development Program for the United Nations Economic Commission for Africa (UNECA), based in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia
• Harris Eyre, neuroscientist, entrepreneur and author
• Brentley Frazer, author
• Philip Freier, Anglican clergyman and current Archbishop of Melbourne
• Colin Grant, former head of Biosecurity Australia
• Julie-Ann Guivara, Australian diplomat
• Phillip Gwynne, author
• Julie Hall, World Health Organization Representative in the Philippines, and principal coordinator of international medical relief efforts for Typhoon Haiyan
• Richard Harris, Australian anesthetist and cave diver who played a crucial role in the Tham Luang cave rescue
• Silma Ihram, activist
• Alex Jia, CEO of Longrich Group, China’s biggest daily chemical manufacturer
• Joanna Mather, Australian Financial Review, Canberra bureau, 2013 Higher Education Journalist of the Year by Universities Australia and the National Press Club (Australia)
• Helen McGregor, geologist and climate change researcher, a Fellow with the Research School of Earth Sciences, Australian National University
• Jan McLucas, Australian politician (Townsville CAE)
• Sue Meek, chief executive of the Australian Academy of Science
• Tony Mooney, former mayor of Townsville
• Shaun Nelson, Queensland politician
• Christina Ochoa, Spanish actress and marine biologist
• Curtis Pitt, Queensland Treasurer, Minister for Industrial Relations and Minister for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Partnerships
• Henry Reynolds, Australian historian
• Margaret Reynolds, Australian politician
• Glen Richards, entrepreneur and founder and CEO of Greencross
• Mark Robinson, Queensland politician
• Lindsay Simpson, journalist
• Natasha Smith, Australian diplomat
• Andrew Stoner, Deputy Premier of New South Wales, National Party Member for Oxley, New South Wales, in the New South Wales Legislative Assembly
• Jan Strugnell, associate professor in the Centre for Sustainable Tropical Fisheries and Aquaculture at James Cook University and the first JCU alumnus to receive a Rhodes Scholarship to study at Oxford University
• Nicole Webster, a principal research scientist at the Australian Institute of Marine Science
• Ian Young, vice chancellor, Australian National University

Key takeaways

• JCU offers on-campus accommodation which is currently available at Townsville, Cairns, Mackay and Singapore. It provides a well-furnished and healthy living environment, which allows learning and excelling on an individual basis.
• The Townsville campus also has three affiliated colleges: Saints Catholic College, Saints Mark’s College, and The John Flynn College. 
• The Townsville campus is the main campus and also the largest. It boasts of 11,500 students, out of which 1,500 are international. 

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FAQs

Q1. Does James Cook University Australia offer scholarships?

Ans: JCU has over 50 scholarships available, some of them up to the value of $45,000. Students of all abilities and backgrounds may be eligible to apply – even those waiting for ATAR results and offers. In addition to JCU-run scholarships, there are also external scholarships available, which are scholarships offered to students by private companies and the government.

Q2. Does James Cook University Singapore provide accommodation? 

Ans: Yes, James Cook University Singapore offers accommodation on its campus. 

Q3. Is there a James Cook University Hospital on campus?

Ans: Townsville University Hospital, formerly The Townsville Hospital, is a public tertiary care hospital on Angus Smirth Drive, Douglas, Townsville, Queensland, Australia.