The top 3 humanities and social science universities in Australia for 2017 are
Uni Reviews ranked Australian universities by a formula using:
- the size of the arts and humanities faculty (with extra weighting for postgraduate students)
- course satisfaction ratings (% of students and recent graduates satisfied with their course overall)
- graduate salaries (adjusted for unemployment and students doing advanced studies).
Note that online universities such as UNE and CSU tend to report high graduate salaries because of teaching large numbers of mature-age students.
Humanities and Social Sciences definition
Humanities and Social Sciences includes: Political Science and Policy Studies, Sociology, Anthropology, History, Archaeology, Geography, Indigenous Studies, Gender Specific Studies, Librarianship, Information Management, Curatorial Studies, Philosophy, Religious Studies and Criminology, Languages, Linguistics and Literature.
University of New England
The arts and social science programs at UNE are ranked first in Australia for Humanities and Social Sciences.
UNE has the highest indicative salary for humanities and social science students ($54,011).
Charles Sturt University
The humanities, social sciences and communications programs at CSU are in the top 3 for Australia for Humanities and Social Sciences.
CSU has one of the larger programs and graduates are on relatively high salaries.
Australian National University
The College of Arts and Social Sciences at ANU tops the subject rankings for Humanities and Social Sciences for non-online universities in 2017.
The College is one of the largest (12,872 students) and graduates have a high indicative salary ($44,999).
Arts, Humanities and Social Science Rankings
Rank | University | Students | Satisfaction | Grad salary | Points |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
1 | University of New England | 8130 | 89% | $54,011 | 220 |
2 | Charles Sturt University | 9049 | 86% | $51,890 | 205 |
3 | Australian National University | 12872 | 86% | $44,999 | 203 |
4 | Monash University | 17506 | 87% | $41,404 | 198 |
5 | University of Melbourne | 11798 | 88% | $39,647 | 185 |
6 | Deakin University | 13802 | 88% | $41,817 | 182 |
7 | Macquarie University | 19502 | 87% | $40,337 | 181 |
8 | Griffith University | 9872 | 90% | $38,885 | 167 |
9 | University of Queensland | 12628 | 86% | $40,611 | 162 |
10 | University of Southern Queensland | 3586 | 89% | $49,621 | 157 |
11 | Edith Cowan University | 4406 | 90% | $45,498 | 156 |
12 | Queensland University of Technology | 7916 | 86% | $43,052 | 149 |
13 | University of Wollongong | 5186 | 92% | $39,585 | 148 |
14 | University of Sydney | 16074 | 83% | $36,430 | 145 |
15 | University of New South Wales | 11554 | 82% | $42,656 | 144 |
16 | University of South Australia | 3529 | 92% | $41,162 | 143 |
17 | University of Newcastle | 5314 | 89% | $38,058 | 140 |
18 | Murdoch University | 5659 | 85% | $47,151 | 139 |
19 | Flinders University | 7803 | 85% | $39,432 | 135 |
20 | Bond University | 1771 | 94% | $37,723 | 134 |
21 | University of Technology Sydney | 4692 | 85% | $42,751 | 127 |
22 | Western Sydney University | 13306 | 86% | $37,541 | 123 |
23 | University of Notre Dame Australia | 2647 | 92% | $38,540 | 122 |
24 | University of Divinity | 1588 | 90% | $41,079 | 119 |
25 | Curtin University | 7334 | 81% | $46,532 | 117 |
26 | University of Canberra | 3404 | 86% | $41,921 | 109 |
27 | Australian Catholic University | 6321 | 81% | $42,552 | 107 |
28 | RMIT University | 4588 | 85% | $38,723 | 107 |
29 | University of Western Australia | 5007 | 82% | $42,967 | 104 |
30 | University of Tasmania | 5879 | 85% | $37,765 | 94 |
31 | La Trobe University | 7400 | 81% | $36,903 | 78 |
32 | Swinburne University of Technology | 6778 | 85% | $30,589 | 75 |
33 | University of Adelaide | 5891 | 85% | $31,717 | 75 |
34 | James Cook University | 4110 | 84% | $36,375 | 69 |
35 | Southern Cross University | 2584 | 80% | $45,684 | 64 |
Updated: 8 November 2016
Universities with small sample sizes for satisfaction or salary components are omitted from overall ranking.
1. Humanities and Social Sciences Faculty Size
University | Students | Undergraduate | Postgraduate | International |
---|---|---|---|---|
Macquarie University | 19502 | 16753 | 2749 | 2514 |
Monash University | 17506 | 12499 | 5007 | 3499 |
University of Sydney | 16074 | 11651 | 4423 | 2151 |
Deakin University | 13802 | 11238 | 2564 | 467 |
Western Sydney University | 13306 | 12744 | 562 | 275 |
Australian National University | 12872 | 5827 | 7045 | 1688 |
University of Queensland | 12628 | 10411 | 2217 | 1748 |
University of Melbourne | 11798 | 5825 | 5973 | 2010 |
University of New South Wales | 11554 | 8506 | 3048 | 1303 |
Griffith University | 9872 | 8239 | 1633 | 436 |
Charles Sturt University | 9049 | 5893 | 3156 | 373 |
University of New England | 8130 | 6315 | 1815 | 114 |
Queensland University of Technology | 7916 | 6372 | 1544 | 418 |
Flinders University | 7803 | 5488 | 2315 | 1129 |
La Trobe University | 7400 | 6437 | 963 | 333 |
Curtin University | 7334 | 6227 | 1107 | 591 |
Swinburne University of Technology | 6778 | 5805 | 973 | 334 |
Australian Catholic University | 6321 | 4736 | 1585 | 286 |
University of Adelaide | 5891 | 5032 | 859 | 431 |
University of Tasmania | 5879 | 5276 | 603 | 439 |
Murdoch University | 5659 | 4810 | 849 | 1115 |
University of Newcastle | 5314 | 3498 | 1816 | 177 |
Victoria University | 5196 | 4222 | 974 | 249 |
University of Wollongong | 5186 | 4645 | 541 | 712 |
University of Western Australia | 5007 | 3970 | 1037 | 428 |
University of Technology Sydney | 4692 | 3310 | 1382 | 132 |
RMIT University | 4588 | 2955 | 1633 | 292 |
Edith Cowan University | 4406 | 3802 | 604 | 158 |
James Cook University | 4110 | 3570 | 540 | 936 |
University of Southern Queensland | 3586 | 3164 | 422 | 57 |
University of South Australia | 3529 | 2967 | 562 | 254 |
University of Canberra | 3404 | 2753 | 651 | 411 |
University of Notre Dame Australia | 2647 | 2279 | 368 | 40 |
Southern Cross University | 2584 | 2283 | 301 | 20 |
University of the Sunshine Coast | 2286 | 2051 | 235 | 117 |
Charles Darwin University | 2045 | 1818 | 227 | 112 |
CQUniversity | 1942 | 1809 | 133 | 3 |
Bond University | 1771 | 1016 | 755 | 581 |
University of Divinity | 1588 | 580 | 1008 | 134 |
Federation University Australia | 1438 | 1219 | 219 | 24 |
Source: uCube Higher Education Statistics (Category: Society and Culture)
2. Student Course Satisfaction
Rank | University | Graduates | Students | Overall |
---|---|---|---|---|
1 | Bond University | 97% | 88% | 94% |
2 | University of Wollongong | 95% | 88% | 92% |
3 | University of Notre Dame Australia | 91% | 90% | 92% |
4 | University of South Australia | 91% | 90% | 92% |
5 | Griffith University | 91% | 87% | 90% |
6 | Edith Cowan University | 90% | 87% | 90% |
7 | University of the Sunshine Coast | 90% | 88% | 90% |
8 | University of Divinity | 94% | 84% | 90% |
9 | University of Newcastle | 92% | 85% | 89% |
10 | University of New England | 90% | 86% | 89% |
11 | University of Southern Queensland | 94% | 85% | 89% |
12 | Federation University Australia | 83% | 88% | 88% |
13 | University of Melbourne | 88% | 86% | 88% |
14 | Deakin University | 90% | 85% | 88% |
15 | Monash University | 90% | 83% | 87% |
16 | Macquarie University | 89% | 83% | 87% |
17 | University of Queensland | 88% | 84% | 86% |
18 | Charles Sturt University | 87% | 84% | 86% |
19 | Australian National University | 89% | 83% | 86% |
20 | University of Canberra | 91% | 82% | 86% |
21 | Queensland University of Technology | 86% | 86% | |
22 | Western Sydney University | 88% | 81% | 86% |
23 | University of Technology Sydney | 86% | 83% | 85% |
24 | Flinders University | 87% | 82% | 85% |
25 | University of Adelaide | 86% | 82% | 85% |
26 | Swinburne University of Technology | 85% | 83% | 85% |
27 | Murdoch University | 88% | 81% | 85% |
28 | RMIT University | 80% | 84% | 85% |
29 | University of Tasmania | 90% | 80% | 85% |
30 | James Cook University | 90% | 79% | 84% |
31 | University of Sydney | 85% | 80% | 83% |
32 | Victoria University | 77% | 81% | 82% |
33 | University of Western Australia | 85% | 79% | 82% |
34 | University of New South Wales | 86% | 78% | 82% |
35 | Charles Darwin University | 88% | 74% | 81% |
36 | Australian Catholic University | 79% | 82% | 81% |
37 | La Trobe University | 85% | 77% | 81% |
38 | CQUniversity | 82% | 78% | 81% |
39 | Curtin University | 79% | 79% | 81% |
40 | Southern Cross University | 84% | 74% | 80% |
Sources: Course Experience Questionnaire (2014-2015), University Experience Survey (2014-2015)
Universities are ranked by student and graduate satisfaction. For further details, see Course Ratings by Students.
3. Indicative Graduate Salaries
Rank | University | Employed | Studying | Other | Salary |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
1 | University of New England | 59% | 17% | 24% | $54,011 |
2 | Charles Sturt University | 73% | 10% | 17% | $51,890 |
3 | University of Southern Queensland | 47% | 37% | 16% | $49,621 |
4 | Murdoch University | 51% | 21% | 28% | $47,151 |
5 | Curtin University | 47% | 28% | 25% | $46,532 |
6 | Southern Cross University | 56% | 15% | 29% | $45,684 |
7 | Edith Cowan University | 47% | 24% | 29% | $45,498 |
8 | Australian National University | 42% | 34% | 24% | $44,999 |
9 | Queensland University of Technology | 53% | 21% | 26% | $43,052 |
10 | University of Western Australia | 38% | 37% | 24% | $42,967 |
11 | University of Technology Sydney | 65% | 9% | 26% | $42,751 |
12 | University of New South Wales | 51% | 26% | 23% | $42,656 |
13 | Australian Catholic University | 37% | 35% | 28% | $42,552 |
14 | University of Canberra | 49% | 18% | 34% | $41,921 |
15 | Deakin University | 39% | 35% | 26% | $41,817 |
16 | Monash University | 34% | 41% | 25% | $41,404 |
17 | University of South Australia | 41% | 33% | 26% | $41,162 |
18 | University of Divinity | 71% | 17% | 12% | $41,079 |
19 | University of Queensland | 41% | 31% | 28% | $40,611 |
20 | Macquarie University | 50% | 21% | 29% | $40,337 |
21 | University of Melbourne | 25% | 57% | 18% | $39,647 |
22 | University of Wollongong | 26% | 56% | 18% | $39,585 |
23 | Flinders University | 35% | 31% | 34% | $39,432 |
24 | Griffith University | 38% | 30% | 33% | $38,885 |
25 | RMIT University | 36% | 37% | 27% | $38,723 |
26 | University of Notre Dame Australia | 39% | 26% | 35% | $38,540 |
27 | University of Newcastle | 28% | 42% | 29% | $38,058 |
28 | University of Tasmania | 27% | 45% | 28% | $37,765 |
29 | Bond University | 41% | 22% | 36% | $37,723 |
30 | Western Sydney University | 23% | 55% | 22% | $37,541 |
31 | La Trobe University | 30% | 47% | 23% | $36,903 |
32 | University of Sydney | 30% | 41% | 29% | $36,430 |
33 | James Cook University | 36% | 32% | 31% | $36,375 |
34 | University of Adelaide | 19% | 47% | 34% | $31,717 |
35 | Swinburne University of Technology | 36% | 29% | 35% | $30,589 |
Source: Graduate Destinations Survey (2013-2015)
The indicative graduate salary accounts for:
- low incomes of unemployed graduates
- earnings potential of graduates doing advanced studies.
For further details, see Graduate Salaries by University.