Victoria has opened its first new university for over 20 years after the Melbourne College of Divinity (MCD) the was granted approval to operate as a university by the Victorian Registration and Qualifications Authority (VRQA)

 

VRQA announced it had granted the college approval to operate as a specialised university under the title of MCD University of Divinity.

 

Subject to approval in the Victorian Parliament, MCD will become the first university of specialisation in Australia and the first university established in the state since Victoria University in 1990.

 

The college was established under an Act of the Victorian Parliament and has operated as a self accrediting institution in Victoria in 1910. The decision to approve MCD as a university follows an assessment by VRQA and an expert panel.

 

"MCD has satisfied a detailed review of its courses, academic structures, capacity for scholarship and research, governance and organisational and administrative capacity," Victorian Minister for Higher Education and Skills Peter Hall  said.

 

To operate as a specialised university, MCD delivers Australian Qualification Framework higher education qualifications (including Research Masters and PhDs or equivalent Research Doctorates) in one or two broad fields at Australian and international standards.