Top 10 Universities in Australia for 2020

Posted January 2, 2020

Now you have decided to study in Australia. When you click in google, you get the top 10 or 20 universities in Australia. Do you know how these universities are ranked? How the university brand affects you and your career? Below are the answers to these questions

Who rank the universities?

QS World University Ranking is an annual publication of university rankings by a British company (specialized in education) called “Quacquarelli Symonds”(QS) . There are three influential firms that produce rankings of world universities are ShangaiConsultancy (the Academic Ranking of World Universities; ARWU), Times Higher Education (THE) and QS. Of these, QS is worlds’ most viewed global university rankings.

What the rank means to you?

From my view, rank is just a number (I may be misunderstanding), students who have studied in top universities are not the only one achieved big in their life. There are people who dropped out of college has established corporate empires like Bill Gates, Steve jobs, Nicole Kidman, Mark Zuckerberg, Oprah Winfrey and many others.

Having a Degree from a reputed college may help you to get easy access to a right path for your career. (Example: access to great mentors, career guidance and internships in a reputed organizations etc). Just remember it is not guaranteed unless you take initiative for your own path of success.

Advantages and disadvantages of studying in Top Universities

Advantages:

Good recognition for your degree across the world
Better career prospects after graduation
Experienced and qualified faculty
Good facilities in terms of research funding and labs
Career opportunities while studying
Great exposure to internships and graduate programs
Studying with high caliber students
Number of scholarships availability

Disadvantages:

Expensive fee
Strict entry requirements

How Universities are ranked?

Academic Reputation (40%)

The highest weighting is allotted to Academic reputation score of the University. The score is collated based on the opinions of over 94,000 individuals in the higher education sector regarding teaching and research quality at the participating universities.

2. Employer Reputation (10%)

Students prefers university education which helps them to prepare for the employment market. This ranking helps student community to understand how successful institutions are at providing that preparation. This information is sourced from Employers who recruit most competent, innovative, effective graduates.

3. Faculty/Student Ratio (20%)

This score assesses the teaching quality within the institution. The higher number of faculty members per student will reduce the teaching burden on each individual academic. Also helps the student to get better understanding of the subjects enrolled.

4. Citations per faculty (20%)

This indicator is used to understand the university contribution towards research on number of faculties. It is calculated based on the number of citation received by all papers produced by an institution across a five-year period by the number of faculty members at that institution.

5. International Faculty Ratio (5%)

Having international faculty helps students to understand the multicultural environment, best beliefs and practices. This further provides students with international sympathies and global awareness. Hence, universities are ranked based on the number of international faculty recruitment.

6. International Student Ratio (5%)

5% weight is given to University on the basis of international student enrolments. This demonstrates the ability of the University to attract students from across the world and creating its own international brand.

List of Top Universities in Australia:

University of Newcastle:

The rank is up 7 places to 207^th from 214^th from last year 2019. University of Newcastle was founded in 1965 with its main campus at Callaghan suburb of Newcastle, New South Wales. It has six campuses in including one in Singapore.

9.University of Technology Sydney (UTS)

University of Technology Sydney has improved its ranking from 160^th to 140^th this year. This was established in the year 1988 with 3 campuses within Sydney Cosmopolitan Central Business District (CBD). There are 514 courses offered with 45,930 students in 2018. 77.4% graduates were employed in four months after completion of studies.

8. The University of Adelaide

University of Adelaide ranking improved from 114^th to 106^th of the global ranking. This is one of the most prestigious universities in Australia with 4 campuses, being North Terrace the main campus located in the heart of Adelaide. It has over 21,000 students with 21:1 student ratio.

7.The University of Western Australia

This university has got better with its ranking from 91^th to 86^th of the global ranking. The university was established in 1911 as the State’s first university. If you have a plan to study Civil and Structural Engineering, Mineral and Mining Engineering, this university may be a good option; because Perth is a place for mining industries. From my observation, many internships offered in Civil and Structural Engineering as well. For more information, you can refer to the job board on this blog.

One more good news for International students, you may be eligible for scholarships by Australia Awards and UWA funded. The website also claims they have mentorship with industry leader and I believe this is a good starting point for an international / domestic to start their career under guidance.

6. Monash University

Monash was established in the year 1958 focusing on research in Science and Technology. Eventually, it expanded its boundaries into other fields of study. The global ranking of this university moved from 59^th to 58^th of the global ranking. The university has 6 local campuses and 3 international campuses (China, India and Malaysia).

It is the best university for engineering and technology, Pharmacy and Pharmaceutical sciences (7^th in the world), Chemical Engineering (29^th best in the world), Metallurgical Engineering, Education, Performing Arts, Nursing, Accounting and Finance and many more. Listed here

There are number of scholarships available for international students which can be viewed here.

5. University of Queensland

This university was founded in 1909 and has 3 campuses and 12 research facilities in the state of Queensland. The ranking for this university has gone up from 48^thto 47^th of the global ranking. The top three programs enrolled in the university are Doctor of Philosophy, Bachelor of Arts, Bachelor of Engineering (Honours).

The university has access to number of scholarships for international students. The list is attached here.

4. The University of New South Wales (UNSW)

University of New South Wales is one of the renowned Universities in Australia and located in the suburb of Kensington, Sydney. It has ranked 43 in the global ranking of QS University rankings. The top subjects ranked the best are Law, Accounting and Finance, Mineral and Mining Engineering, Civil and Structural Engineering, Architecture and Psychology. Number of scholarships are available to international students. This university has strong research outcomes. If you are planning to undertake a research study, this might be a good option as they have invested about $250 million in the research last year.

3. The University of Sydney

The University of Sydney is the Australia’s first University started in 1850 with a motto of “The stars change; the mind remains the same”. It is located in Sydney with 11 campuses spread across Sydney. This university alumnus has number of politicians including 7 prime ministers, famous writers, doctors and Television stars.

Master of Business Administration ranked number one in the Economist and the Financial Times. Subjects like Education, Transportation science and technology and Veterinary sciences ranked number one in Australia. Number of scholarships are available for international students.

2. The University of Melbourne

University of Melbourne has got better ranking of 38 compared to last year ranking of 39. It has seven campuses located across Melbourne. This university alumnus is very impressive with famous writers, politicians and actors. Some of them are Julia Gillard who was the Prime Minister of Australia, Pallavi Sharda (actress) and Anna Funder (Writer).

Number of scholarships are available for local and international students.

1. Australian National University

The number one University in Australia and ranked 24 globally. Located in Australia’s capital city, Canberra. It has four campuses located in states of ACT, New South Wales and Northern Territory. 96% of broad field research at ANU is rated above standards. It has very good teacher to student ratio compared to other universities.

There are number of scholarships available for all types of students. You can check here.

Selection of a university plays an important role in your career path but it cannot guarantee success without your determination and hard work.