The University of Adelaide was founded with a noble goal: to prepare for South Australia young leaders shaped by education rather than birth or wealth in a settlement free of old world social and religious inequalities.
The University was established in 1874 and teaching began in 1876. The first official lecture was in Latin and the Bachelor of Arts the first degree offered.
However, the University’s first Vice-Chancellor, Dr Augustus Short, had a vision for a university open to investigate new fields such as the sciences, modern literature, art and moral philosophy; subjects other than the narrow classics curriculum offered at Oxford University at the time. This vision would be realised in 1882 when the University became the first in Australia to grant degrees in science.
The spirit of enquiry was further embraced and the freedom to explore non classical subjects continued. Before reaching the 1900s the University offered degrees in arts, science, law, medicine and music. Additionally mathematics, philosophy, languages and mining engineering were taught. These flagship degrees and disciplines continue at the University today.