Western Sydney University Parramatta Campus
The Western Sydney University Parramatta Campus is one of ten Western Sydney University campuses. It is situated in the suburb of Parramatta in the City of Parramatta. The campus consists of two sites; Parramatta South Campus and Parramatta North Campus. The Parramatta City Campus is an extension of its existing Parramatta campus located in the Parramatta CBD.
History
The WSU Parramatta Campus has long served the populace of Western Sydney, first established in 1813 as the Female Orphan School.Before the Parramatta campus was developed, classes were held at Westmead, which is now part of the Parramatta campus. The oldest building on the campus was the home of the St Vincent's Boys' Home at Westmead.
The Parramatta campus was established as a campus of WSU in 1998.
The university announced the establishment of a new campus in the Parramatta CBD in 2014.
Description
The campus is geographically located in the centre of the Greater Sydney region, and out of the eight campuses of WSU, it is the nearest campus to the Sydney CBD. Parramatta campus courses include occupation fields like Science, Business and Law. It also hosts their Science courses in modern buildings near to the Rydalmere campus at a site formerly used by quarantine authorities, CSIRO, Amdel Sugar, and the Biological and Chemical Research Institute laboratories.A school focused on IELTS proficiency, called The College, is located at the Westmead Precinct. The Westmead area includes Westmead Hospital and The Children's Hospital at Westmead; both teaching hospitals, although not formally affiliated with WSU.
The Parramatta City Campus is located at 100 George Street. This sees some of its postgraduate courses relocated there, particularly in business, the social sciences and humanities.
The Whitlam Institute
The Whitlam Institute, named after former Prime Minister of Australia Gough Whitlam, is housed in the historic Female Orphan School, at the corner of James Ruse Drive and Victoria Road, Rydalmere. It is described as a "centre of contemporary ideas, historical inquiry and the arts", and parts are open to the public, including the Whitlam Prime Ministerial Collection and various exhibitions in the Margaret Whitlam Galleries.The Whitlam Oration has been given annually at the institute since 2011, with the inaugural oration delivered by Prime Minister Julia Gillard. The event was sold out, and was subsequently broadcast on ABC Television. The 2013 edition was presented by Indigenous Australian activist and leader Noel Pearson.