Charles Darwin University

CDU is a dual-sector institution serving the Northern Territory. The Casuarina campus, 12 kilometres north of the Darwin CBD, is the largest site, with the new Education and Community Precinct at Darwin Waterfront opening in 2026 as a second metropolitan hub. Further teaching sites run at Palmerston, Katherine, Tennant Creek, Alice Springs Mparntwe, Yulara, Nhulunbuy and Sydney. CDU has a large remote and online cohort drawn from across the NT, the Torres Strait and remote Australia, plus a large international cohort in nursing and IT. As a dual-sector institution, CDU teaches higher-education degrees, TAFE qualifications and VET in Schools on the same sites, with a strong pathway from certificate to bachelor. Accommodation runs through International House Darwin and the Casuarina student village. The CDU Student Council runs around 30 clubs. The university owns and operates the Mparntwe campus through a partnership with the Centre for Remote Health and Batchelor Institute of Indigenous Tertiary Education. The brand is access for the Northern Territory, with strong Indigenous student participation, remote health teaching and environmental research in tropical and arid ecosystems.

Semester 1 runs late February to early June with a mid-semester break in mid-April and exams in early to mid-June. Semester 2 runs late July to early November with a mid-semester break in late September and exams in early to mid-November. CDU also runs shorter teaching periods through the year for online and TAFE qualifications. Results release follows in early July and mid- December. Orientation week sits in the week before each main semester. The wet season (November to April) shapes the practical rhythm of the Top End.