Want to know how Australian universities are placed in world university rankings? Here is a league table covering every Australian university that is globally ranked coming into 2025.

The overall order for Australia is based on the average ranking among the four major international systems: QS, THE (Times Higher Education), ARWU (Shanghai Academic Ranking of World Universities), and Webometrics.

Aust rank University QS THE ARWU Webo
1 University of Melbourne 13 37 37 36
2 University of Sydney 18 60 74 55
3 University of New South Wales 19 84 77 39
4 University of Queensland 40 70 63 49
5 Monash University 37 54 82 62
6 Australian National University 30 67 125 84
7 University of Western Australia 77 143 125 136
8 University of Adelaide 82 111 175 115
9 University of Technology Sydney 88 148 250 159
10 Macquarie University 133 180 250 200
11 Curtin University 174 225 250 215
12 Queensland University of Technology 213 199 250 210
13 Deakin University 197 276 250 187
14 RMIT University 123 276 350 199
15 University of Wollongong 167 225 350 259
16 Griffith University 255 276 250 239
17 La Trobe University 217 276 350 321
18 University of Newcastle 179 225 450 323
19 University of Tasmania 293 276 350 362
20 Western Sydney University 384 326 350 392
21 University of South Australia 340 326 450 374
22 Flinders University 336 326 450 393
23 James Cook University 445 375 350 469
24 Swinburne University of Technology 291 225 250 957
25 Murdoch University 436 375 550 569
26 Edith Cowan University 516 375 650 500
27 University of Canberra 403 375 850 754
28 Australian Catholic University 901 450 650 744
29 University of Southern Queensland 396 375 650 1343
30 Victoria University 741 450 708
31 CQUniversity 495 550 870
32 Southern Cross University 576 550 876
33 Charles Darwin University 621 450 937
34 Bond University 587 450 1127
35 University of the Sunshine Coast 1001 550 750 952
36 Charles Sturt University 851 900 950 663
37 University of New England Australia 1001 747
38 Federation University Australia 700 1180
39 Torrens University Australia 1883
40 University of Notre Dame Australia 1401 2638
Updated: 3 October 2024
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World Rankings of Australian Universities

Global university degree

Australia’s top universities

Australia’s leading universities, based on world rankings, are the University of Melbourne (UniMelb), the University of Sydney, the University of New South Wales (UNSW), the University of Queensland (UQ), and Monash University. These universities stand out in research performance and academic reputation.

What world university rankings measure

World university rankings assess universities across various factors like research output, reputation, and online presence. Each rating agency has its methodology, which leads to somewhat different outcomes.

Rankings from QS, ARWU, THE, and Webometrics were averaged to get a national rank for each Australian university. Where positions were expressed as ranges, midpoints were used to simplify the comparison.

Ranking Methodologies

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QS

QS rankings rely heavily on academic surveys. Researchers are polled about their views on different universities. UniMelb is the top-ranked Australian university in QS, followed by Monash, Sydney, UNSW, and UQ.

View QS rankings

ARWU

The Shanghai Academic Ranking of World Universities focuses on research output. It measures prestigious outcomes such as Nobel Prizes and high-impact publications. Here, UniMelb and UQ consistently place at the top for Australia, with ANU and UNSW also performing well.

ARWU full list

Times Higher Education

The THE rankings are broader, covering staffing stats, research, and international outlook. In this system, UniMelb, UNSW, UQ, and Sydney score well, with ANU slipping further down the list compared to other methods.

Check THE rankings

Webometrics

Webometrics ranks universities based on their web presence and the impact of online content. UQ leads in Webometrics, followed by UniMelb, UNSW, and Sydney. These universities maintain strong visibility online.

See Webometrics rankings

Related: Australian University Rankings