The sandstone universities are an informally defined group comprising Australia's oldest tertiary education institutions.
All the universities in the group have buildings constructed primarily of sandstone.
Nevertheless, the connotations (prestige, a focus on research, and curricula that have a strong emphasis on theory rather than practice) are much the same for the two groups.
Australian Government survey data of university graduates has indicated in the past that students who enter the sandstone universities come from higher-income families, and that graduates largely have higher paid occupations or positions of influence, prompting claims of elitism and social division.
[12][13] These universities were established in their state capitals, often next to native bush land (now nature reserves), and have lush vegetative campuses.