[16] In 1962, the Government of Western Australia earmarked an area of land in Bull Creek to be the site of a future, second, state university.

[17] At the time, the young university was notable for its admissions policy of taking into consideration eligibility factors other than the school leaving exam results of students.

[17] In late 2018, the university faced scandal subsequent to an enrolment surge of international students, many said to be "lacking English language and computing skills".

In 2019, a Four Corners investigation by the ABC found further deterioration of standards with allegations of foreign students being recruited as "cash cows".

Rather, the architecture adopts a low-slung form redolent of a homestead, with covered walkways suggesting a hybrid veranda or cloister around the bush court.

A monument to the ongoing association between Murdoch University and Indonesian academic institutions in Java, it acts as storage for the Western Australian Gamelan Orchestra.

[25] A newly renovated Student Hub is located off Bush Court, including a variety of food chains and seating.

Membership entitles all patrons to access to Challenger Institute of Technology, university and public library resources at Rockingham.

The Degree programs are fully compatible with those offered in Perth and carry full Australian accreditation as well as being certified by the Knowledge and Human Development Authority, Government of Dubai.

[citation needed] The Murdoch University International Study Centre (MUISC) in Singapore was officially opened in June 2008 by Australian High Commissioner Mr Miles Kupa.

[33] The Theology programme at Murdoch was, until its controversial closure in 2021, the most integrated of any Australian public University and included a full complement of staff working on-site.

[34] The Australian National Phenome Centre (ANPC), led by Murdoch University, is a world-leading research institute in metabolic phenotyping, as well as the only facility of its kind in the southern hemisphere.

[38][39] During the COVID-19 pandemic, researchers at Murdoch University were at the forefront of studying the long-term biochemistry and symptomatology of the coronavirus, including the discovery of distinct blood signatures of patients who contracted the virus.

[40][41] The university's work with conservation management has including the protection of dugongs through drone-tracking devices,[42] and the use of space technology to track movement patterns of vulnerable whale sharks.

Its distinctive contribution to the research debate is based on the proposition that these factors have their roots in broader processes of conflict and change in society that are connected to the advance of market economies.

[68] The Australian Government's QILT[b] conducts national surveys documenting the student life cycle from enrolment through to employment.

[69] These surveys place more emphasis on criteria such as student experience, graduate outcomes and employer satisfaction[69] than perceived reputation, research output and citation counts.