In a recently published 2016 Academic Ranking of World Universities (ARWU), six universities made it to the top 100 best research and academic institutions in the world. The prestigious international ranking included The University of Melbourne, The University of Queensland, The Australian National University, Monash University, University of Sydney, and The University of Western Australia.
This year’s ranking displayed a huge improvement for some of these and other Australian universities as more than half of the public universities in the country are now included in the top 500 list. So without further ado, let’s take a glance to the top six academic institutions in the country that are now among the world’s best 100.
The University of Melbourne
Website: unimelb.edu.au
Global Ranking: 40
National Ranking: 1
Founded in: 1853
With its main campus located in Parkville north of the Melbourne central business district, the University of Melbourne is the second oldest university in the country and the oldest in Victoria. It constitutes of 11 academic units operating separately.
Itis well connected with many academic and research institutes such as the Melbourne Institute of Applied Economic and Social Research, Florey Institute of Neuroscience and Mental Health, and the Walter and Eliza Hall Institute of Medical Research. The university has 15 graduate schools such as the Melbourne Law School, the Melbourne Medical School, and the Melbourne Business School.
According to the 2015 QS World University Rankings by Subject, the University of Melbourne ranked 5th in the world for education, 8th in law, 13th in computer science and IT, 13th in arts and humanities, 14th in accounting and finance, 14th in dentistry, and 18th in medicine.
Remarkable alumni:
- Julia Gillard, Former Prime Minister of Australia
- Gillian Triggs, Human Rights Commissioner
- Ian H Frazer, Leader of Gardasil vaccine
- Stephanie Alexander, Chef, restauranteur, and food writer
The University of Queensland
Website: uq.edu.au
Global Ranking: 55
National Ranking: 2
Founded in: 1909
One of the sandstone universities (Australia’s oldest tertiary education institutions), the University of Queensland is principally a research university, dedicated in generating research and producing graduate students. It consolidates various research institutions like the Sustainable Minerals Institute, the Institute for Molecular Bioscience, the Australian Institute for Bioengineering and Nanotechnology, and the Asia-Pacific Centre for the Responsibility to Protect, among others.
Through the years, UQ has produced world-changing researches such as the still continuing pitch drop experiment, the advancement in high-performance superconducting MRI magnets for portable scanning of human limbs, and the renowned HPV vaccine invention against cervical cancer.
The university is constantly in the top 0.5 percent of all major world university rankings. The Economist Intelligence Unit and The Australian Financial Review rates the Business School’s flagship MBA program as the best in Australia and the Asia Pacific.
Noteworthy alumni:
- Peter C. Doherty, Nobel laureate in medicine
- Quentin Bryce, Governor-General of Australia
- Paul de Jersey AC QC, Former Chief Justice of the Supreme Court of Queensland
- Ray Griggs AO CSC RAN, Vice Chief of The Defence Force
The Australian National University
Website: anu.edu.au
Global Ranking: 77
National Ranking: 3
Founded in: 1946
The only university to have been created by the Parliament of Australia, the Australian National University is a national research university situated in the country’s capital, Canberra. It consistently found itself ranked among the world’s top academic institutions, and boasts of six Nobel laureates among its faculty and alumni.
It comprises of seven colleges: Arts and Social Sciences, Asia and the Pacific, Business and Economics, Engineering and Computer Science, Law, Medicine, Biology and Environment, and Physical and Mathematical Sciences. Also, the university has already schooled two Prime Ministers, 30 of Australia’s current Ambassadors, and more than a dozen current heads of the Australian Government departments.
Noteworthy alumni:
- John Cockcroft, Nobel Prize- winning nuclear physicist and former chancellor
- John Bryant, CEO of Kellogg Company
- Kevin Rudd, former Prime Minister of Australia
- Andrew Barr, the Chief Minister of the Australian Capital Territory
Monash University
Website: monash.edu
Global Ranking: 79
National Ranking: 4
Founded in: 1958
The second oldest university in Victoria after the University of Melbourne, Monash University is a public research university and is the only Australian member of the prominent M8 Alliance of Academic Health Centers, Universities and National Academies. It also cradles the Australian Synchrotron and the Australian Stem Cell Centre.
Monash University is home to 47,000 undergraduate and 20,000 graduate students, and recieves more applicants than any university in Victoria. It has produced CEOs for the 500 largest companies worldwide, skyrocketing its status as one of two Australian universities to be ranked in the The École des Mines de Paris (Mines ParisTech), placing it in the top 20% in teaching, top 10% in international outlook, top 20% in industry income and top 10% in research for the current year.
Its centers extend beyond the Australia, too. The university has a graduate research school in Mumbai, India, a teaching and research center in Prato, Italy, and a graduate school in Jiangsu Province, China.
Noteworthy alumni:
- Bill Shorten, Australian Leader of the Opposition
- Anna Burke, former Speaker of the Australian House of Representatives
- Boediono, Vice President of Indonesia
- Lim Guan Eng, Chief Minister of the State of Penang, Malaysia
University of Sydney
Website: sydney.edu.au
Global Ranking: 82
National Ranking: 5
Founded in: 1850
Also one of the sandstones, the country’s very first university has formidable reputation in the field of Law, Education, Medicine, Accounting and Finance, with the 2016 QS World University Rankings by Subject positioning it at 11th, 16th, 17th, and 18th, respectively, in the global ranking. Through its history, six prime ministers, and 24 justices of the High Court of Australia, including four chief justices have been educated here. Also, it has five Nobel and two Crafoord laureates among its affiliations as graduates and faculty.
The University of Sydney is the result of the expansion of the Sydney College into a larger institution, reasoning that a state university is compulsory in the growth of the society. Currently, it is a member of prestigious academic organizations such as the Academic Consortium 21, Group of Eight, the Australia-Africa Universities Network (AAUN), and the Association of Southeast Asian Institutions of Higher Learning.
Noteworthy alumni:
- Tony Abbott, Prime Ministers of Australia
- Fred Hilmer, CEO of University of New South Wales
- Taufa’ahau Tupou IV, The King of Tonga
- Geraldine Brooks, Pulitzer Prize novelist
The University of Western Australia
Website: uwa.edu.au
Global Ranking: 96
National Ranking: 6
Founded in: 1911
Another member of the sandstone universities, the University of Western Australia is the oldest educational institution of its kind in the region. The intensive-research university was established as part of an act by Western Australian Parliament, though it never began teaching students until 1913. Throughout its existence, it had educated one Australian Prime Minister, one Nobel Prize laureate, and 100 Rhodes Scholars.
To further its research projects, it established over 80 research centres and institutes, such as the Centre for Energy, the Energy and Minerals Institute, the Oceans Institute, and the Centre for Software Practice. The main campus is situated in Perth.
Noteworthy alumni:
- Bob Hawke, former Prime Minister of Australia
- Barry Marshall, 2005 Nobel Prize laureate
- Sir Rod Eddington, former CEO of British Airways
- Barry Hickey, Catholic Archbishop of Perth
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