Three Australian universities have been placed in the top 20 of the QS World University Rankings.

The University of Melbourne, the University of New South Wales, and the University of Sydney made the short list after the introduction of new metrics that emphasise international research and sustainability.

The QS World University Rankings, conducted by Quacquarelli Symonds, draws on data from millions of academic papers, as well as insights from 240,000 academics and employers, and evaluations of 1,500 universities worldwide.

The University of Melbourne this year achieved its highest ranking ever, placing 14th on the list. It is Australia's highest-ranked university on the scale, with the University of New South Wales and the University of Sydney both tied for 19th place. Other Australian universities that achieved top 50 rankings include the Australian National University, Monash University, and the University of Queensland.

The significant jump for the University of Melbourne was attributed to its strong academic reputation and impressive performance in three new categories introduced this year: employment outcomes, international research, and sustainability. These new categories are meant to reflect the evolving priorities of students and the education sector.

Australia as a whole ranked 11th globally for sustainability programs and research, with the University of Sydney achieving seventh place in this category. The revised ranking system reduced the weight of academic reputation and faculty-student ratios, while emphasising sustainability and international research.

Australia outperformed the United States, Canada, and the United Kingdom, the “big four” study destinations, with an overall score of 40.7 out of 100.
The country’s academic reputation, citations, international faculty ratio, and international research were all ranked well, but it was placed last in terms of faculty-student ratio, indicating room for improvement in teaching resources.

Although Australia experienced job cuts during the height of the pandemic in 2021, resulting in a decline in rankings for 29 universities, it remains an attractive destination for international students.

In 2022, Australia enrolled 619,370 foreign students, second only to the UK in terms of international student proportion. The decline in Chinese students was offset by an increase in Indian students.

Ben Sowter, the senior vice-president of QS, acknowledged that the rankings now reflect the concerns of the socially conscious generation, highlighting the need for universities to commit to sustainability, graduate employability, and international collaboration to tackle global issues.

MIT maintained its top position for the 12th consecutive year, followed by the University of Cambridge and the University of Oxford. The top 20 included universities from the US, UK, Singapore, Switzerland, and China.