University of Sydney

The University of Sydney (commonly referred to as Sydney University, Sydney Uni, USYD, or Sydney) is an Australian public research university in Sydney. Founded in 1850, it is Australia's first university and is regarded as one of its most prestigious, ranked as the 45th in world in the the QS World University Rankings and 56th in the world by the Times Higher Education World University Rankings in 2015-2016. Additionally, Sydney graduates have been ranked by QS Graduate Employment Rankings as the most employable in Australia and 14th most employable in the world. Five Nobel and two Crafoord laureates have been affiliated with the university as graduates and faculty. Its campus is ranked in the top 10 of the world's most beautiful universities by the British Daily Telegraph and The Huffington Post, spreading across the inner-city suburbs of Camperdown and Darlington.

The university comprises 16 faculties and schools, through which it offers bachelor, master and doctoral degrees. In 2011 it had 32,393 undergraduate and 16,627 graduate students.

Sydney

Sydney /ˈsɪdni/ is the state capital of New South Wales and the most populous city in Australia and Oceania. Located on Australia's east coast, the metropolis surrounds the world's largest natural harbour, and sprawls towards the Blue Mountains to the west. Residents of Sydney are known as "Sydneysiders". Sydney is the second official seat and second official residence of the Governor-General of Australia, the Prime Minister of Australia and the Cabinet of Australia.

The Sydney area has been inhabited by indigenous Australians since the Upper Paleolithic period. The first British settlers arrived in 1788 to found Sydney as a penal colony, the first European settlement in Australia. Since convict transportation ended in the mid-19th century, the city has transformed from a colonial outpost into a major global cultural and economic centre.

The population of Sydney at the time of the 2011 census was 4.39 million, 1.5 million of which were born overseas, representing many different nationalities and making Sydney one of the most multicultural cities in the world. There are more than 250 different languages spoken in Sydney and about one-third of residents speak a language other than English at home.