UC offers undergraduate and postgraduate courses through five faculties: Arts and Design; Business, Government and Law; Education; Health; and Science and Technology.

Gorton, M.P., Prime Minister of Australia, on 28 October 1968, to mark the establishment of the Canberra College of Advanced Education.

Stone Day traditionally took place after classes finished at the end of Semester 2, but before exams.

The university's main campus is located in the suburb of Bruce and covers 296 acres (1.2 km2) of buildings, ovals, gardens, lawns, car parks, roads, walkways, and sculptures.

[15] It provides a food court, general shop, pool tables, and lounges, and is also a concert venue.

A sport and fitness centre is located in Building 29 with gym facilities and is home to Brumbies Rugby administration.

[17] The current chancellor is Lisa Paul, AO PSM, a former senior Australian public servant and policymaker who was a long-serving Secretary of the Department of Education and Training.

[25] The five faculties are: Arts and design specialises in architecture, landscape architecture, graphic design, communication studies, culture and heritage, journalism, creative writing and poetry, international studies, and media arts.

The Faculty of Health prepares a wide range of allied health professionals, including in counselling, exercise science, nursing and midwifery, nutrition and dietetics, occupational therapy, optometry, pharmacy, physiotherapy and exercise physiology and rehabilitation, psychology, medical imaging, speech pathology, and sports management.

[27] In 2024, the University of Canberra is expecting a $36 million deficit which triggered emergency spending constraints.

[28] The financial situation lead to the announcement in October 2024 of urgent and significant cost-saving measures, including an estimated 200 job cuts by the middle of 2025.

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

[52] These surveys place more emphasis on criteria such as student experience, graduate outcomes and employer satisfaction[52] than perceived reputation, research output and citation counts.

[61] An independent radio station, 87.8 UCFM is run by students from the main UC campus.

On Saturday 17 June 2023, UC announced a one million dollar sponsorship of, and partnership with, Stromlo Forest Park that will expand its research and teaching activities across a range of sports, tourism, and business opportunities.

In addition, off-campus accommodations in the neighbouring suburb of Belconnen include Weeden Lodge run by UniLodge and UniGardens run by UniGardens Pty Ltd.[65] These accommodation options are available to all students, including international students.