Adelaide’s Carnegie Mellon University is packing up and heading back to Pittsburgh US

It was part of a vision for an international education precinct in Adelaide’s heart but Australia’s first foreign university has just announced it is going home.

Adelaide’s Carnegie Mellon University on Victoria Square is leaving town after 16 years, citing a strained international operating environment for higher education that was exacerbated by the Covid pandemic.

CMU was the first American university to establish a campus in Australia and was lured to South Australia by Premier Mike Rann. The state government’s vision was to create Australia’s first international university precinct in the city centre.

On Wednesday afternoon CMU issued a media release from Pittsburgh in the US stating that CMU Australia would no longer accept new students for courses at its Adelaide campus.

“All students currently enrolled in courses will be supported and able to graduate with the CMU degree they have embarked upon,” the statement read.

“All existing courses will be completed, and staff will be given ample support and assistance during the transition.”

A spokeswoman said 53 students were currently enrolled at CMU Australia, “many of whom will graduate as scheduled in August and December this year”.

“The university has designed personalised study plans so that every student will have the opportunity to earn their CMU degree,” she said.

The Carnegie Mellon Campus in the old Torrens Building on King William, when it was new.

The Carnegie Mellon Campus in the old Torrens Building on King William, when it was new.

Since 2006, Carnegie Mellon University Australia has been offering public policy and management and information and technology management master’s degrees from the Torrens Building on Victoria Square.

The head of the University James Garrett said he was proud to have given more than 1200 students a first-class educational experience in Australia over the last 16 years.

“The world is a vastly different place than when we established operations in Australia at the start of the century and the global pandemic has accelerated and amplified these changes more than anyone could have predicted,” he said.

“We’re committed to seeing our students graduate with their degrees and ensuring that we look after our staff during this transition.

“We have had tremendous support from federal and South Australian Governments, the business community and the community of Adelaide and thank everyone for it.”