The top 3 Creative Arts schools in Australia for 2017 are

  1. Griffith University
  2. Queensland University of Technology
  3. RMIT University

Uni Reviews ranked Australian universities by a formula using:

  • creative arts school size (student numbers)
  • student and graduate satisfaction with creative arts courses (% satisfied)
  • indicative graduate salaries (based on pay, study and unemployment rates).

Creative Arts definition

Creative Arts includes Music & Performing Arts, Art & Design.

Detailed study areas: Fine Arts, Photography, Graphic Arts and Design Studies, Textile Design and Fashion Design, Music, Drama and Theatre Studies, and Dance.

Griffith University

The visual and creative arts and music programs at Griffith top the subject rankings for Creative Arts in 2017.

The university is one of the largest in Australia for creative arts (5,212 students) and has a high satisfaction rate (84%).

Queensland University of Technology

The Creative, Design and Performance program at QUT is ranked 2nd in Australia for Creative Arts.

The program is large and achieves a good satisfaction rate (80%).

RMIT University

The Art, Design and Architecture program at RMIT is one of Australia’s top 3 for Creative Arts.

The university has the most creative arts students (7,939).

Overall Ranking

Rank University Students Satisfaction Grad salary Points
1 Griffith University 5212 84% $30,270 178
2 Queensland University of Technology 5784 80% $32,307 177
3 RMIT University 7939 79% $29,309 172
4 University of New South Wales 4661 71% $37,621 169
5 Swinburne University of Technology 3814 81% $32,192 158
6 University of Melbourne 3076 81% $30,193 158
7 Edith Cowan University 2040 84% $31,969 154
8 Monash University 2972 82% $30,010 147
9 University of Sydney 2457 78% $31,866 140
10 University of Technology Sydney 5134 76% $30,137 125
11 University of Canberra 1620 73% $37,411 117
12 University of South Australia 2440 77% $32,490 109
13 University of Newcastle 1686 82% $28,570 92
14 Western Sydney University 2105 82% $27,706 86
15 Deakin University 2172 82% $27,144 85
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Updated: 7 November 2016

Universities with small sample sizes for satisfaction or salary components are omitted from overall ranking.

1. Creative Arts School Size

University Students Undergraduate Postgraduate International
RMIT University 7939 6578 1361 2729
Queensland University of Technology 5784 5316 468 510
Griffith University 5212 4733 479 451
University of Technology Sydney 5134 4487 647 519
University of New South Wales 4661 3761 900 641
Swinburne University of Technology 3814 3550 264 469
University of Melbourne 3076 1518 1558 499
Monash University 2972 2205 767 789
University of Tasmania 2515 2394 121 49
University of Sydney 2457 1508 949 382
University of South Australia 2440 2228 212 215
Deakin University 2172 1981 191 230
University of Wollongong 2109 1977 132 170
Western Sydney University 2105 1939 166 27
Edith Cowan University 2040 1781 259 186
Southern Cross University 1902 1878 24 9
University of Queensland 1825 1462 363 229
University of Newcastle 1686 1487 199 114
University of Canberra 1620 1482 138 147
University of Adelaide 1307 1218 89 66
Charles Sturt University 1284 1187 97 6
Murdoch University 1133 1084 49 797
La Trobe University 990 869 121 38
Macquarie University 967 736 231 121
Curtin University 918 676 242 404
University of the Sunshine Coast 851 795 56 34
Flinders University 660 594 66 73
Australian National University 617 574 43 36
University of Southern Queensland 609 565 44 138
CQUniversity 600 589 11 13
Victoria University 559 476 83 53
Federation University Australia 429 398 31 3
James Cook University 423 379 44 18
Australian Catholic University 409 404 5 19
Bond University 374 326 48 74
University of New England 367 339 28 0
University of Notre Dame Australia 352 352 0 7
University of Western Australia 321 249 72 166
Charles Darwin University 138 124 14 9
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Source: uCube Higher Education Statistics (Category: Creative Arts)

2. Student Course Satisfaction

Rank University Graduates Students Overall*
1 University of the Sunshine Coast 89% 89% 88%
2 University of Queensland 82% 91% 85%
3 Australian Catholic University 84% 89% 85%
4 CQUniversity 88% 82% 84%
5 Edith Cowan University 80% 89% 84%
6 Griffith University 82% 87% 84%
7 University of Western Australia 81% 93% 84%
8 Deakin University 79% 87% 82%
9 Western Sydney University 87% 79% 82%
10 University of Newcastle 80% 85% 82%
11 Monash University 83% 82% 82%
12 Swinburne University of Technology 85% 80% 81%
13 Federation University Australia 75% 87% 81%
14 University of Melbourne 80% 82% 81%
15 Queensland University of Technology 78% 83% 80%
16 University of Wollongong 78% 83% 80%
17 Flinders University 78% 82% 80%
18 RMIT University 76% 82% 79%
19 University of Sydney 79% 80% 78%
20 University of Southern Queensland 78% 78%
21 University of New England 86% 68% 77%
22 Charles Sturt University 72% 80% 77%
23 University of South Australia 80% 76% 77%
24 University of Technology Sydney 76% 78% 76%
25 Victoria University 71% 80% 76%
26 Southern Cross University 83% 71% 75%
27 University of Tasmania 73% 76% 74%
28 University of Canberra 71% 76% 73%
29 University of Adelaide 69% 76% 73%
30 Australian National University 74% 73% 72%
31 La Trobe University 70% 73% 71%
32 University of New South Wales 72% 72% 71%
33 James Cook University 60% 75% 68%
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Sources: Course Experience Questionnaire (2014-2015), University Experience Survey (2014-2015)

* Adjusted to account for higher average satisfaction rates among current students compared to graduates.

Universities are ranked by graduate and student satisfaction, with a downward adjustment for higher average satisfaction rates among current students. For further details, see Course Ratings by Students.

3. Indicative Graduate Salaries

Rank University Employed Studying Other Salary
1 University of New South Wales 46% 20% 33% $37,621
2 University of Canberra 48% 13% 39% $37,411
3 University of South Australia 34% 31% 35% $32,490
4 Queensland University of Technology 38% 28% 34% $32,307
5 Swinburne University of Technology 45% 14% 40% $32,192
6 Edith Cowan University 32% 25% 43% $31,969
7 University of Sydney 32% 37% 32% $31,866
8 Griffith University 35% 28% 36% $30,270
9 University of Melbourne 24% 37% 39% $30,193
10 University of Technology Sydney 47% 11% 42% $30,137
11 Monash University 33% 30% 37% $30,010
12 RMIT University 29% 31% 39% $29,309
13 University of Newcastle 25% 26% 49% $28,570
14 Western Sydney University 32% 23% 45% $27,706
15 Deakin University 33% 24% 44% $27,144
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Source: Graduate Destinations Survey (2013-2015)

The indicative graduate salary accounts for:

  1. low incomes of unemployed graduates
  2. earnings potential of graduates doing advanced studies.

For further details, see Graduate Salaries by University.