Murdoch University is a public university in Perth, Western Australia, and additional campuses in Singapore and Dubai. It began operations as the state's second university on 25 July 1973, and accepted its first undergraduate students in 1975. Its name is taken from Walter Murdoch, the Founding Professor of English and former Chancellor of the University of Western Australia. The main campus is located in Murdoch, a suburb of Perth.

The university is a verdant university and a member of the Innovative Research Universities. In 2018, Murdoch University was recognised as producing the most employable graduates of all Australian universities after three years of graduating from their courses. In 2019, the university ranked third in overall student satisfaction amongst all public universities in Western Australia.

In 1962, the Government of Western Australia earmarked an area of land in Bull Creek to be the site of a future, second, state university. Integral to the planning of the creation of Western Australia's second university was the planning for the School of Veterinary Science, which was to be the first professional faculty of the new university. It was decided that the new university would be named after Murdoch, a prominent local author, philosopher, and an Emeritus Professor at the University of Western Australia. When asked if he minded a new university in Western Australia being named in his honour, he was quoted as saying, "No, but it had better be a good one."

Murdoch University was formally constituted on 25 July 1973. It was opened with an inauguration ceremony on 17 September 1974. This date was chosen as it was Murdoch's 100th birthday. The Governor-General of Australia, John Kerr, attended the ceremony as the guest of honour. Lectures began in 1975, with 510 students initially enrolled for undergraduate programs. At the time, the young university was notable for its admissions policy of taking into consideration eligibility factors other than the school leaving exam results of students. Other universities later came to adopt this more holistic perspective of student eligibility for entrance into university education.

In late 2018, the university faced scandal subsequent to an enrolment surge of international students, many said to be "lacking English language and computing skills". In 2019, a Four Corners investigation by the ABC found further deterioration of standards with allegations of foreign students being recruited as "cash cows".

In May 2021, the university unveiled a new brand, replacing the traditional banksia logo with a simplified "MU" logo intended to be "modern and future-focused", as well as signifying the university's commitment to being a "progressive", "free thinking" university.

Murdoch University has three Australian campuses: South Street Campus and Rockingham Campus in Perth, and Mandurah Campus.

The main campus is on South Street, Perth, in the suburb of Murdoch, near the Kwinana Freeway (32°03′58″S 115°50′06″E / 32.066°S 115.835°E / -32.066; 115.835 (Murdoch University, South Street campus)). South Street Campus is Australia's geographically largest campus at 2.27 square kilometres (0.88 sq mi), large enough to accommodate the veterinary school and its animal stocks—the only such school in Western Australia. Most of the southern part of the university consists of paddocks of livestock, farms and renewable energy facilities.^{[citation needed]}