Faculty
The Faculty was established in 1924 with teaching for the Bachelor of Commerce degree commencing on 2 March, 1925. Economics, however, has been taught at the University of Melbourne since its foundation. W.E. Hearn was appointed as a professor of history and political economy in 1855. The foundation Dean of the Faculty was Professor Sir Douglas Copland who remained a leading figure in Australian economics and politics until his death in 1971. The Faculty's 500 seat main lecture auditorium is named after him.
The Faculty has always been a pioneer in business education in Australia. Marketing has been taught since the 1930's; in 1954 it appointed A.A Fitzgerald as the first full-time professor of accounting in Australia; the MBA degree was introduced in 1963 (now taught in the Melbourne Business School). More recently, the Faculty has introduced a number of Masters degrees in various disciplines including applied finance, e-Commerce, business and IT and in international business.
The student population has changed from an initial intake in 1925 of predominantly part-time students working in commerce in the city of Melbourne to full-time students drawn from Australia and overseas who are amongst the most able of their generation. Since 1925, over 27,000 students have graduated from the Faculty. Many of these graduates now occupy senior positions in business, government and academia, both within Australia and internationally.