The Uni Reviews Subject Rankings rate Australian universities across each of 19 study fields.

  • For each subject, each university is given scores out of 100 for faculty size, graduate satisfaction with courses, and graduate salaries.
  • The calculated scores are combined to give a score out of 300 for each subject and uni, from which ranking tables are generated.

The top 3 universities by subject for the 2017 academic year are:

Subject #1 Faculty #2 Faculty #3 Faculty
Agriculture and EnvironmentUniversity of New England University of Adelaide University of Melbourne
Architecture and BuildingDeakin University University of New England University of South Australia
Business and ManagementUniversity of Melbourne Charles Sturt University University of Southern Queensland
CommunicationsUniversity of Technology Sydney Griffith University University of Melbourne
Computer ScienceUniversity of Wollongong Monash University Charles Sturt University
Creative ArtsGriffith University Queensland University of Technology RMIT University
DentistryJames Cook University University of Adelaide University of Queensland
EducationAustralian Catholic University Queensland University of Technology University of New England
EngineeringUniversity of Melbourne University of New South Wales University of Southern Queensland
Humanities, Social SciencesUniversity of New England Charles Sturt University Australian National University
LawUniversity of New South Wales Queensland University of Technology University of New England
MedicineJames Cook University University of Western Australia Monash University
NursingUniversity of Notre Dame Australia Australian Catholic University Edith Cowan University
PharmacyUniversity of South Australia University of Tasmania Monash University
Physio, Occupational TherapyUniversity of Notre Dame Australia Australian Catholic University University of Queensland
PsychologyEdith Cowan University Macquarie University University of New England
ScienceUniversity of Queensland University of Wollongong University of Adelaide
Social WorkCurtin University Edith Cowan University Charles Darwin University
Veterinary ScienceJames Cook University Murdoch University Charles Sturt University
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Sources: uCube Higher Education Statistics, Course Experience Questionnaire (2014-2015), Graduate Destinations Survey (2013-2015), UniCurve modelling.

Updated: Varies by subject

Subject Quality Indicators

The rankings are calculated by adding scores for 3 subject quality indicators.

1. Faculty size

A larger faculty, department, school or program is generally able to offer a wider selection of specialisations and units for the subject. Size is also an indicator of popularity and how valuable the faculty is to the Australian student community.

The size score is calculated under a scaling assumption: the ranking benefit of an extra student is high initially but diminishes as student numbers rise.

Where exact figures on student numbers are unavailable, relative size is estimated by the numbers of responses received for national student and graduate surveys.

2. Course satisfaction

Course satisfaction is measured by the percentage of students and recent graduates who felt positively about their overall course experience. A high percentage indicates the university is achieving high standards for teaching and student services. An adjustment is made for students generally having a lower average satisfaction rate compared to graduates.

3. Graduate salaries

For each subject and university, an indicative graduate salary is calculated using survey estimates of (i) actual salaries (ii) percentage of graduates going on to further study and (iii) percentage of graduates who are unemployed.

The indicative salary is an all-round measure of how well graduates fare shortly after completing undergraduate study. It measures the effectiveness of the faculty, department, school or program in getting students into high-paying jobs or preparing them for further study.