About the United States Studies Centre

Australia’s relationship with the United States of America is long-standing and warm, the countries are close allies politically, militarily (as evidenced in the ANZUS alliance) and in trade and economic affairs. The recently signed Australia-US free trade agreement is testimony to the continuing strength of the relationship. Yet most Australians know little about the real America – its people, institutions, society and culture.

The new century brings with it many challenges – climate change, energy and resource security, terrorism, and urban development, all against the backdrop of the rapid rise of the new economic powerhouses China and India. How the world’s only superpower plays its hand in these issues will have an enormous impact on the way events unfold. There has never been a more important time for Australians to understand the United States.

The United States Studies Centre at the University of Sydney will tackle these issues head-on. The Centre brings together leading scholars, politicians, business leaders and thinkers from across Australia and the US to research, debate and create new knowledge on American political, economic, social and cultural issues. The Centre’s rigorous academic program focuses on US studies and the relationship between the United States and Australia, offering an innovative and dynamic curriculum of postgraduate courses.

The Centre has a commitment to leading-edge research, quality teaching, and community engagement. Its five core activities are:

• Postgraduate coursework leading to University of Sydney awards;
• Research and research training;
• Executive education and short courses;
• Policy debate and development think tanks; and
• Community outreach.

Primary objectives of the United States Studies Centre are to:

• deepen Australian knowledge and understanding of the United States, particularly its culture, political system and government, so strengthening the relationship between the countries;
• complement and provide leadership on current Australian-United States educational projects;
• educate Australians in aspects of the United States relevant to their future careers, enabling them to engage with Americans more effectively;
• promote collaborative research and other programs between institutions in Australia and the United States.

The University of Sydney, founded in 1850, is Australia’s first university, and has an international reputation for research excellence, outstanding teaching and active community leadership. With almost 46,000 students across 17 faculties, it is Australia’s leading comprehensive university.

The University is acknowledged to be one of the top 40 universities in the world, with its humanities faculty ranked fifth in the world in the UK’s Times Higher Education Supplement World University Rankings published in October 2006.

The University of Sydney attracts more top undergraduate students than any other university in New South Wales. Among those graduates who have gained international recognition for their work are former President of the World Bank, James Wolfensohn; academic and businesswoman, Jill Ker Conway; film makers Phil Noyce, Jane Campion and Bruce Beresford; soprano Yvonne Kenny; writers Germaine Greer and Clive James; and Nobel laureates Sir John Cornforth and Dr John Harsanyi.

As one of Australia’s prominent universities, the University of Sydney is a key member of:

• The Group of Eight – representing Australia’s leading research-intensive universities;
• Academic Consortium 21 – an international network of educational, research and industrial organisations in Asia, the United States and Europe;
• The Association of Pacific Rim Universities – Sydney is one of three Australian institutions in this group of prestigious universities drawn from Asia, the United States and South America; and
• The Worldwide Universities Network – an international alliance of 16 leading research universities.