St Mary's College (University of Melbourne)

St Mary's College is a medium-sized residential college affiliated with the University of Melbourne. It was founded on and still practices the Catholic tradition.LocationThe college is located on Swanston Street in Parkville, a suburb of Melbourne.HistorySt Mary's College was originally established in 1918 as St Mary's Hall, catering to women mainly from the country. Formerly on The Avenue in Parkville, it moved to its present position on the corner of Tin Alley and Swanston Street in 1966. It was in that year that it became a college, the female affiliate of the Catholic male Newman College.In 1977, St Mary's became co-residential. It now exists independent of Newman. Since its inception until 1996, St Mary's College was administered by the Sisters of Loreto.The leadership and governance of the college is now the responsibility of the Catholic Archdiocese of Melbourne and the Catholic Bishops of the Country dioceses.In 2004, the Alan & Maria Myers Academic Centre, a joint facility shared between St Mary’s and Newman College, was opened. It was designed by Maggie Edmond and Peter Corrigan to reflect the overall academic vision of both colleges to enhance the educational facilities and opportunities available to the students of the colleges. The centre contains a library, tutorial rooms, music practice rooms, student lounges and information technology facilities.Student bodyIt is home to around 170 students, the majority who are undergraduate students attending the University of Melbourne, although a very small percentage attend either the Australian Catholic University, Monash University, Parkville campus, or RMIT University.