The La Trobe campus on McKoy Street was targeted between February 24 and March 3, with each burglary occurring between 3am and 5am.

Entry was forced and specialist items including fish monitoring equipment, boat motors, UHF radios, microscopes, and an underwater sonar machine taken.

Wodonga Detective Sergeant Justin Foots said the equipment was worth in excess of $150,000 and would be difficult to replace.

He said it was specialist equipment that was of great value to staff and students, but was of little value to most members of the public and would be difficult for a thief to sell.

"It comes as a disappointment to the educators and students at the university that they don't have this much-needed equipment that they would use on a possibly daily basis," Detective Sergeant Foots said.

"We believe it's a lone offender.

"We're asking for any members of the public with any information to contact Crime Stoppers."

While entry was forced to the building during each break-in, significant damage wasn't caused.

"We're requesting members of the community that may have been in the area at the time, and have seen any suspicious vehicles or suspicious persons in and around the campus in the early hours of the morning to contact Crime Stoppers," the detective said.

Call 1800 333 000.