 The first course, a Diploma of Circus Arts, began in 1999 with eight participants from an unrenovated warehouse at Docklands.In 2001, the first Bachelor of Circus Arts course was offered with 23 students entering the course and the first degrees being conferred in 2003.In 2005, the institute moved into a new $10 million NICA National Circus Centre constructed at the Prahran campus of Swinburne University.