[13] The idea of founding the university originated from the crisis demands of World War II, during which the nation's attention was drawn to the critical role that science and technology played in transforming an agricultural society into a modern and industrial one.

[14] This led to the proposal to establish the Institute of Technology, submitted by the then-New South Wales Minister for Education Bob Heffron, accepted on 9 July 1946.

[32] On 15 July 2020, the university announced 493 job cuts and a 25 percent reduction in management due to the effects of COVID-19 and a $370 million budget shortfall.

Mentem[35] helps organisation achieve strategic goals and measures completion and success rates through their bespoke insights platform.

In September 2022 Mentem won Best in Class at the Australian Good Design awards[36] for the work with Department of regional NSW government, creating a learning program to uplift staff in digital literacy.

In May 2022, UNSW announced the university had received a $4.7 million in funding in order to pursue health prevention research.

Beneath the shield are the Latin words within a scroll: "Corde Manu et Mente" ("heart, hand and mind"), which when combined with scientia forms the Latin motto of the university: Scientia Corde Manu et Mente or 'Knowledge by heart, hand and mind'.

[52] In 2021, the motto was changed with approval from the College of Arms to its current form to reflect the university's brand concept of 'collective difference'.

[55] The ceremonial mace of the university is made of stainless steel with silver facings and a shaft of eumung timber.

[70][71][72][73] UNSW engages with primary and secondary education, administering several national and international academic competitions for school age children.

These include: Educational Assessment Australia (EAA) is a not-for-profit organisation previously owned by the University of New South Wales.

Entry to a particular undergraduate degree program for domestic students generally requires a certain Australian Tertiary Admission Rank, which varies by course.

Arc operates the Roundhouse entertainment venue, the Graduation & Gift Store on UNSW's main campus in Kensington, and until recently, The Whitehouse bar and café which shut down permanently on 23 April 2021.

Arc also provides support and funding to university clubs and societies and runs student volunteer programs such as Orientation Week.

Blitz is a student publication, published online by Arc @ UNSW, based at the University of New South Wales.

[93] Blitz under this name first appeared in session 2, 1988, but a similar "what's on" style publication had been issued by the then University Union since the early 1970s.

Blitz typically covers the goings-on around campus and conducts interviews and publishes stories relating to current student activities.

[95] Arc @ UNSW announced that the organisation would continue to publish the magazine after the introduction of voluntary student unionism in 2007.

[97] Tharunka is managed by a small editorial team and actively solicits contributions from the UNSW student body.

[115] On 19 April 2000, postgraduate student Lin Chun was crushed on campus by an unmanned truck that rolled down a slope.

However, one semester later, students and staff were sent home, and the campus was closed due to lack of enrolments, resulting in a loss of $15 million to the university.

[119] In July 2009, a field trip organised by the School of Biological Earth and Environmental Sciences near Darling Harbour resulted in a research assistant losing control of an inflatable vessel while performing a turn causing three passengers who were not wearing lifejackets, to fall off, including one that suffered from a broken wrist and severe injuries to her leg.

[121] In October 2015, UNSW issued a security warning after an anonymous threat was made on 4chan, stating "I finally managed to get a handgun.

Australians, if you study at UNSW don’t go in tomorrow", resulting in state and federal police swarming the campus the next morning.

[122][123] In January 2018, the New South Wales Civil and Administrative Tribunal held that UNSW had violated the Privacy and Personal Information Protection Act 1998 after a student had their PhD candidature terminated by the university.

[124] In August 2020, after the Chinese government cracked down on liberties in Hong Kong, the UNSW posted a tweet promoting a call by Elaine Pearson (a human rights expert and adjunct law lecturer at the university) for the United Nations to take steps on human rights violations in Hong Kong.

The university came under fire for a Chinese-language message sent by UNSW Global's CEO, Laurie Pearcey, two days earlier.

[125] In October 2021, UNSW launched an investigative review after claims of research misconduct on studies pertaining to ageing were made.

[128] More than a dozen papers, co-authored by researchers at UNSW, along with other universities were published on PubPeer and found to have duplicated photos that had been modified to represent different experimental results.

However, two years later, preliminary assessments of the allegations had not been completed, resulting in an investigation by the Australian Research Integrity Committee in 2023.