The University of Divinity is an Australian collegiate university of specialisation in divinity. It is constituted by eleven theological colleges from eight denominations. The University of Divinity is the direct successor of the second oldest degree-granting authority in the State of Victoria, the Melbourne College of Divinity. The university's chancery and administration are located in Box Hill, a suburb of Melbourne in the state of Victoria.
The Melbourne College of Divinity was constituted in 1910 by an act of the Parliament of Victoria. The act was amended in 1956, 1972, 1979, 1990, 2005 and 2016 and is now known as the University of Divinity Act 1910 (previously the Melbourne College of Divinity Act 1910). From its beginnings the college was a self-accrediting issuer of degrees, while not becoming a university until 2011. Representatives appointed by several churches formed the college to provide tertiary level theological education. The first president was the Right Reverend Henry Lowther Clarke, Anglican Archbishop of Melbourne, and the first registrar was the Reverend John Mathew, Moderator of the Presbyterian Church of Victoria.
In 2010, the Melbourne College of Divinity applied to the Victorian Regulation and Qualifications Authority for approval to operate as a self-accrediting "Australian University of Specialisation" (a category of higher education provider). The Victorian government announced on 30 August 2011 that the application had been approved and on 1 January 2012 the college began operating as a university. Peter Sherlock was appointed the inaugural vice-chancellor in April 2012. In May 2019 TEQSA extended the seven-year licence to operate as a university for an additional three years to the maximum possible of ten years before a review.
In the 2019 Student Experience Survey, the University of Divinity recorded the highest student satisfaction rating out of every Australian university, with an overall satisfaction rating of 92.8.
Accreditations and affiliations
The University of Divinity offers awards in theology, philosophy, counselling and ministry.
In 2001 the institution was listed as a Schedule 1 Higher Education Institution by the Australian Government Department of Education, Science and Training. It receives federal funding for research, Australian Postgraduate Research Awards and International Postgraduate Research Scholarships.
The Higher Education Support Act (2003) (HESA 2003) listed the institution as a Table B (Private, Self-regulating) Higher Education Provider, which allowed its students to access federally funded loans under the FEE-HELP scheme.
The University of Divinity is the only Australian University of Specialisation listed on the National Register of Higher Education Providers maintained by TEQSA.
Publications
Pacifica, an academic journal (1988-2017)
Colleges
The colleges of the University of Divinity are: Australian Lutheran College, Adelaide, South Australia Eva Burrows College, in Ringwood, Victoria; Training college of the Salvation Army in Australia Catholic Theological College, East Melbourne, Victoria. A federation of autonomous seminaries: Corpus Christi College St Mary's Seminary Salesian Theological College St Joseph of Cupertino Friary (Conventual Franciscan) St Dominic's Priory (Dominican) Pilgrim Theological College, Uniting Church St Athanasius College, Donvale and Melbourne, Victoria St Barnabas College, Adelaide (Anglican) St Francis College, Brisbane (Anglican) Trinity College Theological School (Anglican) Wollaston College, Mount Claremont, Western Australia. Currently affiliated through a partnership agreement with Trinity College and the University of Divinity Uniting College of Leadership and Theology, the Uniting Church South Australia from January 2023 Whitley College, Parkville, Victoria. The Baptist theological college of Victoria. Yarra Theological Union, Box Hill, Victoria. Comprises the following religious institutes: Blessed Sacrament Congregation Divine Word Missionaries Discalced Carmelites Franciscans (OFM) Missionaries of the Sacred Heart Pallottines Passionists Redemptorists Wollaston College, Mt Claremont, Perth.