The Victorian College of the Arts is Australia’s leading visual and performing arts training institution. On January 1 2007 the VCA became a faculty of The University of Melbourne. The amalgamation has been implemented in a way that preserves the distinctive character and mission of the VCA.

The VCA comprises six academic disciplines —

• Art
• Dance
• Drama
• Music
• Film & Television
• Production
  

— and two centres —

• The Centre for Ideas
  
• The Wilin Centre for Indigenous Arts and Cultural Development.

In this multiple-disciplinary environment the VCA offers undergraduate and postgraduate, coursework and research degrees and diplomas in each artistic field and additional areas including Community Cultural Development, Indigenous Arts Management and Puppetry.

Located on a 4-hectare site in the heart of Melbourne's Arts Precinct, the VCA's neighbours include:

• The Australian Centre for the Moving Image (ACMI)
• National Gallery of Victoria (NGV)
• The Victorian Arts Centre
• The Melbourne Symphony Orchestra (MSO)
• The Australian Ballet
• The Melbourne Theatre Company (MTC)
• The Australian Centre for Contemporary Art (ACCA)
• Chunky Move Dance Company
• Playbox Theatre
• Australian Broadcasting Corporation (ABC) Television Studios
• Channel Seven Television Studios

The central position of the VCA provides our students with wonderful opportunities tp participate in the artistic life of Melbourne through attending exhibitions, performances, rehearsals, participating in master classes and attending other significant events in Melbourne's cultural calender.

Alumni of the VCA include some of the world’s leading filmmakers, musicians, writers, choreographers, theatre and costume designers, composers, conductors, dancers, actors, directors, visual artists, arts administrators, managers and teachers. A snapshot include:

• Patricia Piccinini (School of Art 1991) was awarded the 2005 Progressive Business Award by Victorian Premier Steve Bracks and Ricky Swallow (School of Art 1997) represented Australia at the 2005 Venice Biennale;
• Padraic Savage (School of Music 1992) is co-Principal of the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra in London and Shannon Birchall (School of Music 2004) is the bass player, and Michael Butler (School of Music 1998) the drummer, in the in Australian ARIA award-winning band The John Butler Trio;

• Phillip Adams (School of Dance 1988) is the Artistic Director of dance company, BalletLab, which will perform in New York at the prestigious PS122 in January 2006; Kate Denborough (School of Dance 1994) directed the Australian Resident Company at the 2005 World Expo in Japan;
• Adreinne Chisholm (School of Production 1996) designed the set for the recent MTC production of The World's Wife, and Michael Jankie's (School of Production 2002) company 'trafficlight' has been engaged to work on the Melbourne 2006 Commonwealth games;
• Justin Kurzel and Tim Jolley’s (School of Film and Television 2004) film Blue Tongue was selected to screen in Critic's Week at the 2005 Cannes Film Festival in May and won Best Australian Film and Best Student Film at the 2005 Melbourne International Film Festival;
• Andrew Bovell (School of Drama) writer of Lantana, conducted a series of workshops at the 2005 Singapore Writers Festival; Steven Phillips, Suzannah McDonald, Rita Kalnejais, Margaret Mills and Belinda McLory performed in recent production of The Odyssey at The Malthouse.

For more informationn go to the Alumni page in this website.