[15][16] Undergraduate and postgraduate (coursework and higher degree by research) programs are available, with study areas divided across five schools: business and creative industries; education and tertiary access; health; law and society; and science, technology and engineering.

[23] It was created by the Australian Government to serve the growing population of the Sunshine Coast region, north of Brisbane, in Queensland.

[24][21] The inaugural vice-chancellor was Paul Thomas, AM, who took office with effect from 1 January 1996, having spent an earlier period as planning president.

[27][28] Air Chief Marshal Sir Angus Houston AK, AFC (Ret'd) became the university's fourth chancellor when he was appointed to the role in 2017 after John Dobson OAM retired from the position.

[31] The university introduced paid parking at its Sippy Downs campus from February 2013, a move that garnered a negative response from some students and staff.

[34] It is about 100 kilometres (62 mi) north of Brisbane on a 100-hectare flora and fauna reserve, and borders the Mooloolah River National Park.

The site was previously a sugar cane farm, at the geographical heart of the Sunshine Coast and its shires, close to the Bruce Highway and other major transport routes.

[37] All buildings on campus focus on environmentally sustainable design to suit the subtropical climate of the Sunshine Coast.

A year later, Federal Treasurer Wayne Swan opened the A$13 million Health and Sport Centre, which has testing and research laboratories, a gymnasium and public psychology clinic.

[41] In August 2010, construction started on a $5 million semi-industrial shared space facility for engineering and paramedic science students.

Funding for the $2.1 million project was provided by the Queensland State Government, the university, community donations, and through in-kind support.

Its key focus area is neuroscience, through which it aims to deepen the understanding of mental health and its relationship with brain structure and function.

[58] In June 2011 the university was announced as one of 12 projects to receive Australian government funding under the Collaborative Research Networks (CRN) program.

[14] The move into the region just north of Brisbane preceded UniSC's greenfield development of Moreton Bay's first full-scale university campus at Petrie, which opened in 2020.

[70] The Innovation Centre provides serviced office space, high speed optical fibre Internet connection, business development coaching and support.

As of July 2010, the Innovation Centre has supported the start-up and growth of around 80 businesses, mainly in ICT, cleantech and creative industry sectors.

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

[91] These surveys place more emphasis on criteria such as student experience, graduate outcomes and employer satisfaction[91] than perceived reputation, research output and citation counts.

Since February 2017 the arena has been the home stadium for National Netball League team Sunshine Coast Lightning.

The general layout in an apartment is a shared kitchen and living room, with four single bedrooms, each with its own bathroom and toilet.