The University of Queensland was established by an Act of State Parliament on December 10, 1909. It was the first University to be founded in Queensland and since that time has become one of Australia's premier learning and research institutions.  It is the largest university in Queensland and has produced generations of graduates who have gone on to become leaders in all areas of society and industry. The University is a founding member of the national Group of Eight, an alliance of research-strong "sandstone" universities committed to ensuring that Australia has higher education institutions which are genuinely world class. It belongs also to the global Universitas 21 alliance. This group aims to enhance the quality of university outcomes through international benchmarking and a joint venture e-learning project with The Thomson Corporation.

UQ continues to attract the vast majority of the state's highest academic achievers and is renowned nationally and internationally for the quality of its teaching and research. In 1998-99 it was named Australia's University of the Year and it continues to enjoy the highest overall rating for Queensland universities in the annual Good Universities Guide.

The University of Queensland is world-renowned for its excellence in research and education standards and is building a cluster of international-quality research centres and institutes that will keep it at the frontiers of emerging research fields, particularly the biosciences.

It is currently ranked in the top two Universities within Australia.  The University’s credentials help to attract leading researchers from around Australia and overseas, further stimulating significant pioneering work.  This is often accomplished through the creation of new world-class research centres and purpose-built precincts such as for the following key University sciences:

• The Institute for Molecular Bioscience
• The Australian Institute for Bioengineering and Nanotechnology
• The Queensland Brain Institute.