Best Universities in Australia

14 min read

Australia is the home of some globally leading universities. By studying in the best universities in Australia, you can take advantage of some world-class lectures, student support facilities, and outstanding faculty. It will open up a lot of opportunities in your personal and professional life.

Finding the best university is often the most challenging decision for a student. This is mainly because a lot of considerations go into the decision-making process of choosing the right university. International students going to Australia for higher education already know about the country’s high quality of education and progressive education system. 

Therefore, to make this university search process more straightforward for international students, a discussion about the best universities in Australia and university ranking processes is explained below.

Universities and Higher Education

Higher education in Australia is also known as Tertiary Education. According to the Australian Qualifications Framework (AQF), level 5-10 generally falls under Higher Education.

Levels and Qualification as per Australian Qualification Framework (AQF)

In Australia, there are 43 universities, among which 40 are Australian universities, 2 are international universities, and one private specialty university. All these universities offer a wide range of courses to earn advanced degrees in Bachelor, Master, and Doctoral.

The higher education sector in Australia includes private and public universities, the Australian branches of overseas universities, and other higher education providers.

In general, Australia has the reputation in the world to be the best, particularly in Engineering and Technology, Medicine, Accounting and Finance, and Environmental Science disciplines. However, the majority of international students in Australia enroll in the following courses. 

• Accounting
• Actuarial Science
• Agricultural Science
• Architecture
• Biomedical Engineering
• Earth Science
• Psychology
• Core Engineering
• Computer Science and Information Technology
• Tourism and Hospitality Management 

These courses are also termed the top 10 programs to study in Australia because they increase employment and permanent residency in Australia.

All the universities in Australia follow a national regulation and quality agency for higher education, known as Tertiary Education Quality and Standards Agency (TEQSA). TEQSA aims globally to ensure student rights and protect Australian Higher Education in terms of excellence and innovation. 

Source: Teqsa.gov.au

Global University Rankings

For many years students and their families trust the guidance of different university rankings to select universities for higher education. As this decision is an important aspect of a student’s life, these ranking systems help students evaluate and judge universities based on research, Teaching systems, Campus, International reputation, Student ratio, and many other aspects. 

There are multiple university rankings available, but the most famous and well known are - 

Times Higher Education World University Ranking: Created by Times Higher Education, this ranking methodology uses 13 performance indicators grouped into five categories to evaluate universities in different countries. The five categories are - Teaching, Research, Citations, Industry Income and International Outlook. 

Source: Times Higher education

QS World University Ranking: Created by Quacquarelli Systems (QS) is an annual publication to rank universities based on six performance indicators. The six categories are - Academic Reputation, Employee Reputation, Student-to-faculty ratio, Research Citations, Proportion of International Faculty, and Proportion of International Students. 

It is one of the most viewed world rankings of universities by students and approved by the International Ranking Expert Group (IREG). 

What are the best Universities in Australia?

Based on these two methodologies, the top universities in Australia have been ranked below. These universities provide world-class education and are well known around the world.

These ten universities are some of the most prestigious and best universities in Australia for international students. They are well known for providing globally recognized degrees, one-of-a-kind teaching and assessment systems, and outstanding research and innovation. 

There are at least 3 Australian universities in the top 50 of the world’s best universities across different study disciplines of Engineering and Technology, Arts and Humanities, Life Sciences, Natural Sciences, Medicine, and Business and Management. 

However, other than these 10 universities, there are some very good universities in Australia which are very lucrative among international students. 

What is The Group of Eight (Go8) in Australia? 

Go8 is a company that was started in 1999 in Canberra to develop long-term sustainable higher education and research policy. 

Being, someone of the top education providers of the world, Australia has created a ranking for their universities, popularly known as the prestigious Group of Eight or Go8. It is a coalition of the top 8 universities of the country that contribute more than half of research done in Australia. 

The Eight Universities are consistently highest ranked in Australia and placed at the world’s top 100 universities. 

• The University of Melbourne 
• The Australian National University 
• The University of Sydney 
• The University of Western Australia 
• The Universities of Queensland 
• Monash University 
• The University of Adelaide 
• University of New South Wales Sydney 

The Group of Eight universities is sometimes compared with the Ivy League colleges in the United States of America. However, the Go8 is not so exclusive as Ivy League colleges, and they accept a more significant number of higher education students nationally and internationally. 

Each of these eight universities has something unique to offer. Therefore, while choosing which university to study as an international student, it is ideal to have a specific career path and focused study area. 

Top 5 Universities in Australia - Facts

The University of Melbourne 

Founded in 1853, The University of Melbourne is one of the best public universities in Australia. It is Australia’s second-oldest university and is located in Melbourne, Victoria. This university accepts only the brightest students and researchers from all around the world. 

The University of Sydney 

Founded in 1850, this is the oldest public research university situated in Sydney, Australia. It is also regarded as the very first university of Australia and ranked in the top 10 of the world’s most beautiful universities by The Telegraph and The Huffington Post. 

It is also considered the first university to admit women based on their merits alongside men. 

The Australian National University (ANU)

Ranked as the #1 public research university in Australia, ANU was established by the Parliament of Australia. The campus is located in Canberra, the capital of Australia. 

The university is ranked as the best university in Australia and the Southern Hemisphere by the QS World University Ranking. ANU is also the home of 6 Nobel Laureates and 49 Rhodes Scholars. Two of the Australian Prime Ministers are also among the alumni of Australian National University. 

The University of Queensland 

Located in Brisbane, the capital state of Queensland, The University of Queensland was founded in 1909 by the Queensland Parliament. The university is well known for its collaboration with over 100 research institutes, such as Boeing Research and Technology Australia Center, Institute for Molecular Bioscience, UQ Dow Center for Sustainable Engineering Innovation, and many more. 

One of the recent notable innovations by this university is developing a COVID-19 vaccine in human trials. They also invented the HPV vaccine to prevent Cervical Cancer. 

Monash University 

Named after a prominent World War I general, Sir John Monash, Monash University was established in 1958. This is the second oldest university in the state of Victoria and has four campuses in Melbourne. 

The university has international campuses in Malaysia and China, a research and training center in Italy, and a graduate research school in Mumbai, India. Monash has the most significant number of alumni listed as the CEOs of the 500 largest companies worldwide and ranked on the Ecole des Mines de Paris or popularly known as the Mines ParisTech ranking. 

The university is the home of significant research facilities with 100 research centers. They are currently running the world’s most extensive study on global climate-related mortality. 

What are the other Good Universities in Australia?

There are universities in Australia which might not be in the top 100 world ranking but have an outstanding reputation in the country. These universities are pretty good options for international students based on locations, tuition fees, and teaching quality. 

University of Wollongong

It is a public university situated in the south of Sydney, a coastal city of Wollongong. According to QS World University Ranking, the university ranks 196th in the world and can be considered the best 10 universities of Australia. 

Other than in Wollongong, the university has an international campus in Dubai, United Arab Emirates. Many international students prefer this university because it is affordable and has 7 regional campuses to give students flexibility. 

The university offers over 300 programs across different disciplines. 

Macquarie University 

Based in Sydney, Macquaries University was founded in 1964 and was established by the New South Wales Government. It is the first university in Australia to own and operate a private medical facility on its campus, Macquarie University Hospital. 

The university is very well known among international students because of its incubator space for research and developing ideas that can be commercialized. Also, the university has two residential colleges inside the campus.

According to QS World University Ranking, it is 214th in the world and the 12th best university in Australia. 

Royal Melbourne Institute of Technology / RMIT University

Started as a night school in 1887, the Royal Melbourne Institute of Technology (RMIT) is now a major public research university in Melbourne. It is one of the best universities in Australia for Art and Design and ranked 15th globally, for this subject by the QS World University Rankings. 

The university has international campuses in Vietnam, China, Singapore, Hong Kong, Indonesia, and Srilanka. It has a research and collaboration center in Barcelona as well. 

The University of Newcastle (UON)

Popularly known as Newcastle University, this university was founded in 1965 and is located in Callaghan, NSW. The university is the 11th best university in Australia and 197th globally by the QS World University Ranking. 

This university first implemented a problem-based learning system for the Bachelor of Medicine program, which the Australian Medical Council later mandated throughout Australia. It has an overseas campus in Singapore as well. 

Newcastle University is also well known for delivering Postgraduate Coursework degrees through an online platform known as UOnline to students worldwide. 

Griffith University 

Griffith University was officially opened in 1975 and the first university in Australia to offer environmental science and Asian studies degrees. 

Located in South East Queensland, the university has 5 campuses in Australia across Gold Coast and Brisbane. The university was the first to launch a Digital Campus in 2018, which is considered their sixth campus to provide online degrees. 

The university has ranked 303rd globally by the QS World University Ranking and can be listed in the top 20 universities in Australia. 

International students are considered an integral part of the Australian community. Australian university ranking is always the best in the world as they maintain education and teaching quality uncompromisingly. 

However, it is a huge task for an international student to choose the best university, especially abroad. The best-ranking university in Australia doesn’t need to be the best suit for you. The choice of university needs to be best as per your desired subject, location, and costs. 

Therefore, before choosing the university, research what subject is right for you and what universities in Australia offer them. Compare the university rankings, location, and fees, globally and you will have the best experience of your life!

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