London: Nearly three-quarters of Australia’s globally-ranked universities are improving their international research impact, according to the world’s most-consulted international university ranking.
The fifteenth edition of the QS World University Rankings, released recently by global higher education analysts QS Quacquarelli Symonds, sees 26 of Australia’s 37 featured institutions score more highly for QS’s research impact indicator (Citations per Faculty).
Massachusetts Institute of Technology is named the world’s leading university for a record-breaking seventh consecutive year, while Australian National University (24th, down from 20th) remains Australia’s best. QS are providing students, policymakers, and academia with data on 1,000 institutions from 85 countries, and their flagship site, www.TopUniversities.com, was visited nearly 60 million times in 2017.
Australian Performance: Key Points
- Australia retains five of the world’s top 50 universities (see Table 1), more than all nations except the United States (19) and the United Kingdom (8).
- Though overall Australian performance is mixed, the system sees more universities rise (15 up) than fall (12 down). Ten remain stable.
- Most of Australia’s improvements are experienced by its leading institutions, with nine of the fifteen highest-ranked universities rising.
- Relative to global competitors, a number of Australian institutions are internationalizing successfully. 24 of 37 improve their performance in the International Student Ratio indicator, with 13 dropping.
- Preventing further overall improvements are Australian results in QS’s Academic Reputation and Faculty/Student Ratio (FSR) The first measures the global academic recognition enjoyed by an institution, while the second measures the extent to which students might expect meaningful interaction with faculty.
- The Faculty/Student Ratio indicator is the most severe for Australian institutions. 34 of 37 see their relative rank for FSR drop, with only three improving.
However, 25 of 37 also see their results for Academic Reputation decline, reflecting the improving repute – and academic standards – at institutions around the world.
| QS World University Rankings 2019: Australian Overview | ||
| 2019 | 2018 | Institution Name |
| 24 | 20 | Australian National University (ANU) |
| 39 | 41= | The University of Melbourne |
| 42 | 50 | The University of Sydney |
| 45 | 45 | The University of New South Wales (UNSW) |
| 48 | 47= | The University of Queensland (UQ) |
| 59= | 60 | Monash University |
| 91 | 93= | The University of Western Australia (UWA) |
| 114 | 109= | The University of Adelaide |
| 160= | 176 | University of Technology Sydney (UTS) |
| 214= | 224= | University of Newcastle |
| 218= | 232 | University of Wollongong |
| 244= | 247= | Queensland University of Technology (QUT) |
| 250= | 262 | Curtin University |
| 250= | 240= | Macquarie University |
| 250= | 247= | RMIT University |
| 264= | 279= | University of South Australia (UniSA) |
| 287 | 313 | University of Tasmania |
| 309 | 293= | Deakin University |
| 329= | 325= | Griffith University |
| 369= | 367= | James Cook University (JCU) |
| Source: QS Quacquarelli Symonds 2004-2018 https://www.topuniversities.com/. All rights reserved. | ||
