James Cook University Singapore

James Cook University

Coat of Arms of James Cook University
Motto	Crescente Luce
Motto in English	"Light ever increasing"
Established	April 2003
Parent institution	James Cook University
Chancellor	Lieutenant General John Grey AC (ret'd)
Vice-Chancellor	Professor Sandra Harding
Dean	Professor Stephen Naylor
Head of Campus	Dr. Dale Anderson
Students	approximately 3,700 (as of 2015)[1]
Location	149 Sims Drive, Singapore Coordinates: 1°18′56″N 103°52′34″E / 1.31556°N 103.87611°E / 1.31556; 103.87611
Campus	Suburban; 2 campuses
Website	http://www.jcu.edu.sg

JCU Singapore is a private university in Singapore, and is a branch of James Cook University, based in Townsville, Australia. In addition to Singapore and Townsville, JCU operates another campus in Cairns, Australia. JCU Singapore was opened in 2003 as part of the university's strategic intent of "Creating a brighter future for life in the tropics world-wide through graduates and discoveries that make a difference". The university is ranked in the top 4%* of universities in the world and is the leading tropical research university in Australia. JCU Singapore fully adapts the Australian curriculum and all degree certification is awarded from James Cook University Australia.^[2]

JCU Singapore's campus is located at 149 Sims Drive, in between the Kallang and Aljunied MRT stations.^[3]

Programs offered

Currently, JCU Singapore offers pathway, business, education, counselling, psychology, environmental science, information technology, tourism & hospitality courses at JCU Singapore. JCU Singapore is fully owned by James Cook University and all courses are provided by the University. This has seen enrolments increase as fewer students from the region choose to travel to Australia to study, instead electing to acquire an Australian qualification in Singapore.^[4]

JCU Singapore runs on a trimester system, allowing students to 'fast track' their study and complete their degrees in a shorter period of time than other universities in the region. The major student intakes occur during February, June and October.

Rankings

JCU has consistently ranked in the top 400 academic universities worldwide since 2010, as measured by the Academic Ranking of World Universities (ARWU).^[5] For 2012, JCU ranked in the top four percent of universities in the world by ARWU.

* unavailable data

In the Commonwealth Government's Excellence in Research for Australia 2012 National Report, JCU research received the highest ranking of 'well above world standard' (rating 5) in the areas of environmental science and management, ecological applications and medical microbiology.^[8] The University also received an 'above world standard' ranking for research in the areas of materials engineering, immunology, tourism, biological sciences, agricultural and veterinary sciences, fisheries sciences, veterinary sciences, inorganic chemistry, earth sciences, geochemistry, and geology.

Psychology Clinic

JCU runs a psychology clinic from its Sims Drive which is open to members of the public. This facility allows Masters students to gain practical experience under the supervision of qualified clinical psychologists, and offers counselling services to the public at a reduced price.^[9] It also charges people for these services.

Controversy

On 21 October 2008, lecturer John Tan, the assistant secretary-general of the Singapore Democratic Party, was suspended by JCU Singapore. The university cited the pending contempt of court case against Tan for wearing a T-shirt of a kangaroo in judge's clothing at the defamation trial of SDP secretary-general Chee Soon Juan.^[10] In response, JCU has been accused of compromising academic freedom and freedom of speech.^[11]

References

External links

• Official website