The University of NSW has toppled the University of Melbourne as the best-ranked Australian university in the prestigious Quacquarelli Symonds ranking survey for the first time.
The QS rankings, released on Thursday, show that most Australian universities have improved significantly over the past decade – UNSW has climbed 30 places to sit at 19th in the world, the University of Melbourne has gone from No.42 to No.22, the University of Sydney has moved from No.46 to No.28, while the fourth-placed Australian National University has slipped from No.22 to No.29.
Rankings are important to universities because they help attract international students, who provide a significant revenue stream.
There have also been improvements outside Australia’s prestigious universities – the University of Technology Sydney leapt from 193rd place to 85th in the past decade, while Melbourne’s RMIT has gone from 252nd to 119th.
“Australia’s 2027 results point to a higher education system competing with real confidence on the world stage. Its reputation among both academics and employers is strengthening, while its ability to attract international students and faculty reflects the value that global talent brings to Australian campuses, research excellence and the wider economy,” QS chief executive Jessica Turner said.
The rankings consider academic reputation, employer reputation, faculty-to-student ratio and sustainability, among other factors.
UNSW vice chancellor Attila Brungs said: “We’re excited to be No.1 in Australia because it allows us to do more, to have more impact, more influence, and access to more networks. It gives our talented staff and students even greater opportunities.”
Commerce and computer science student Alex Fox, 20, said the university’s prestige contributed to his decision to study there.
“UNSW was also the No.1 most employable university in Australia,” he said.
He is hopeful his employability will be enhanced by the work-integrated learning course in fraud detection he is undertaking at a bank.
“It’s two-pronged – it makes me more attractive to employers because I have that real-world experience, but also I’m going to spend a lot of my life working. I want to try as many flavours as I can and figure out what I like before I graduate.”
Boston’s Massachusetts Institute of Technology retains the world’s No.1 spot for a 15th year, followed at equal second by Imperial College London and California’s Stanford University.
Australia’s positive results come with a warning: more investment in the student experience, skills development and employability is needed.
“Australia performs less strongly on teaching capacity and graduate outcomes,” Turner said. “At a time when international education is more competitive than ever, maintaining this momentum will also depend on ensuring Australia remains an accessible and welcoming destination.”
Group of Eight chief executive Vicki Thomson warned the results come despite a “challenging funding environment” for the sector.
“To maintain our global competitiveness we need sustained investment, a national approach that brings government, business and industry together and incentivises business. Lifting investment in R&D is central to Australia’s future economic prosperity and sovereign capability,” she said.
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