Australia’s top universities are revealed – as new data shows they are falling behind
Australia’s top universities are revealed as new data shows they are falling behind
- The Times Higher Education global rankings for 2024 have been revealed
- University of Melbourne tops for Australia
- Nearly all Australian universities have dropped places on the list
- READ MORE: Pressure to change Deakin University’s name
Six Australian universities have been placed in the top 100 institutions in the latest global rankings, but the data shows almost all of the country’s universities have fallen places.
The Times Higher Education (THE) 2024 global rankings, which rank all universities and colleges around the world, were released this week.
There were 1904 universities in the rankings this year, including 37 institutions from Australia.
Nearly all of Australia’s top universities have fallen in the rankings. Only one remained in the top 50 and six in the top 100.
The University of Melbourne was crowned the top institution in Australia with a global ranking of 37. This was a drop of three places after previously ranking 34th.
The University of Melbourne (pictured) was crowned the best institution in Australia with a global ranking of 37
Monash University came in second for the country with a ranking of 54. The Melbourne-based institution dropped 10 places.
Third place went to the University of Sydney, which is ranked 60th. They have fallen six places in the past year.
The Australian National University finished in fourth place. It has a global ranking of 67 and was previously ranked 62nd.
The University of Queensland followed in fifth place with a ranking of 70, dropping a whopping 17 positions.
The University of Adelaide had the largest decline of all Australian universities. It came in tied for 111th after falling 23 places.
The annual THE list rates more than 1,500 universities from 93 countries and regions in five areas: teaching, research, citations, international prospects and industry revenue.
DE Chief Global Affairs Officer Phil Baty said university rankings in Australia and New Zealand have been heavily affected by the lockdowns imposed during the COVID pandemic.
“While Australia still boasts many of the world’s top universities, this year’s World University Rankings data raises serious warning signs,” he said.
Monash University (pictured) came in second for the country with a global ranking of 54
DE Chief Global Affairs Officer Phil Baty said university rankings in Australia and New Zealand have been hit hard by lockdowns (pictured, Australian National University in Canberra)
‘While Australia is one of the world’s leading university sectors in attracting international talent and collaboration, the country’s relative isolation during the pandemic is reflected in the data, adversely affecting universities’ ranking positions.’
Mr Baty noted that Australia scored highly for research productivity and excellence, but suffered when it came to the average score for international students, as fewer international students chose to study at Australian institutions.
He added that the country’s universities needed to focus on attractiveness to international students and continue to invest in research.
“What our largest, most rigorous and authoritative rankings show is that you have to run very fast even if you want to stand still in an increasingly dynamic, competitive global higher education sector,” he added.
It is the twentieth year that THE has released its global rankings.
The University of Oxford came first globally in the latest results. It is the ninth year in a row that it has come out on top.
The top 10 institutions in the global rankings included seven institutions from the US and three from Great Britain.