The key to choosing an Australian university is to understand each university’s character and areas of focus, and then choose one that matches your personality, interests and goals. Every university has its own distinctive strengths. Here we offer some advice to help you choose the university that best suits you.
Understand Australia’s University Networks
One way to understand a university’s character is to look at which university network it belongs to, which tells you where that university’s research focus lies. For example:
1. Group of Eight (Go8):
Made up of Australia’s eight leading research universities, the Group of Eight spends A$6 billion each year on academic research, A$2 billion of which goes to medical and health-services research. In the 2017 QS rankings, all eight universities placed in the world’s top 100 for fields including biological sciences, medicine, earth sciences, environmental science, accounting and finance, and education. Together, the eight universities educate more than half of Australia’s medicine, dentistry and veterinary science students.
The eight universities are The University of Melbourne, The Australian National University, The University of Sydney, The University of Queensland, The University of Western Australia, The University of Adelaide, Monash University and UNSW Sydney.
2. The Australian Technology Network (ATN):
This network brings together five of Australia’s most innovative and enterprising universities, with a focus on industry collaboration and real-world research. They form partnerships with industry and government to provide solutions to the real problems and challenges that governments and businesses face. The five universities are: QUT, University of Technology Sydney, RMIT University, University of South Australia and Curtin University.
3. Regional Universities Network (RUN):
A network of six universities headquartered in Australia’s regional areas, these six universities are committed to playing a transformative role in their respective regions. Through their teaching and research contributions to the economic, social, cultural and environmental development of their regions, each member university plays an important and distinctive role in advancing Australia’s national prosperity, productivity and identity. The six universities are: CQUniversity, Southern Cross University, Federation University Australia, University of New England, University of Southern Queensland and University of the Sunshine Coast.
4. Innovative Research Universities Network (IRU):
Made up of seven Australian universities committed to serving their communities through teaching, learning and research of the highest standard. As a constructive hub for shaping Australian university policy, these seven universities champion and support excellent policies in teaching, learning and research that are both locally relevant and globally applicable. The seven universities are: Charles Darwin University, Flinders University, Griffith University, James Cook University, La Trobe University, Murdoch University and Western Sydney University.
Choosing an Australian University by Admission Requirements, Reputation, Location and Tuition Fees
Different Australian institutions may have different admission requirements for English proficiency and academic results.
Understanding a university’s reputation, its graduate employment rate, and how employers rate each university’s graduates all help with finding work in Australia after graduation. At some Australian universities, at least half of students find a job within a year of graduating; at others, many students still cannot find work a year after finishing.
When choosing a university by location, also find out which campus your chosen field of study is taught at. For example, some universities have two campuses, one in Melbourne and one in a regional town, with a particular programme taught only at the regional campus. If you are eager to study and live in a big city, you will need to think carefully about whether that university is the right choice for you.
Choosing an Australian University by Field-of-Study Ranking
| Top 10 Australian Universities for Archaeology | Top 10 Australian Universities for Arts and Humanities |
|---|---|
| The Australian National University The University of Sydney The University of Queensland La Trobe University Monash University The University of Melbourne The University of Western Australia James Cook University Macquarie University University of New England Australia |
The Australian National University The University of Sydney The University of Melbourne The University of New South Wales (UNSW Sydney) Monash University The University of Queensland Macquarie University The University of Adelaide The University of Western Australia RMIT University |
| Top 10 Australian Universities for Architecture and the Built Environment | Top 10 Australian Universities for English Language and Literature |
| The University of Sydney The University of Melbourne The University of New South Wales (UNSW Sydney) RMIT University The University of Newcastle, Australia (UON) The University of Queensland Curtin University Griffith University Monash University Queensland University of Technology |
The University of Sydney The University of Melbourne The Australian National University Monash University The University of New South Wales (UNSW Sydney) Macquarie University The University of Queensland The University of Western Australia The University of Adelaide Flinders University |
| Top 20 Australian Universities for Engineering and Technology | Top 20 Australian Universities for Computer Science and Information Systems |
| The University of Melbourne The University of New South Wales (UNSW Sydney) The University of Sydney Monash University The Australian National University The University of Queensland RMIT University Queensland University of Technology (QUT) University of Technology Sydney The University of Western Australia The University of Adelaide The University of Newcastle, Australia (UON) University of Wollongong Curtin University University of South Australia Deakin University Swinburne University of Technology Macquarie University Griffith University Western Sydney University |
The University of Melbourne The Australian National University The University of New South Wales (UNSW Sydney) The University of Sydney Monash University RMIT University The University of Queensland University of Technology Sydney Queensland University of Technology (QUT) The University of Adelaide The University of Western Australia Curtin University Deakin University Macquarie University Swinburne University of Technology The University of Newcastle, Australia (UON) University of South Australia University of Wollongong La Trobe University Victoria University Western Sydney University Griffith University |
| Top 10 Australian Universities for Chemical Engineering | Top 10 Australian Universities for Civil and Structural Engineering |
| Monash University The University of Melbourne The University of Queensland The University of New South Wales (UNSW Sydney) The University of Sydney Curtin University RMIT University The University of Adelaide The University of Western Australia The University of Newcastle, Australia |
The University of New South Wales (UNSW Sydney) The University of Sydney The University of Melbourne Monash University The University of Western Australia Queensland University of Technology RMIT University The University of Adelaide The University of Queensland The University of Newcastle, Australia |
| Top 10 Australian Universities for Life Sciences and Medicine | Top 10 Australian Universities for Mechanical, Aeronautical and Manufacturing Engineering |
| The University of Melbourne The University of Sydney Monash University The University of Queensland The University of New South Wales (UNSW Sydney) The University of Western Australia The University of Adelaide The Australian National University The University of Newcastle, Australia (UON) Deakin University |
The University of Melbourne The University of New South Wales (UNSW Australia) The University of Sydney Monash University RMIT University The Australian National University Queensland University of Technology (QUT) The University of Queensland University of Technology Sydney The University of Adelaide |
| Top 10 Australian Universities for Accounting and Finance | Top 10 Australian Universities for Electrical and Electronic Engineering |
| The University of New South Wales The University of Melbourne The University of Sydney The Australian National University Monash University The University of Queensland Macquarie University The University of Adelaide The University of Western Australia University of Technology Sydney |
The University of Melbourne The Australian National University The University of New South Wales (UNSW Australia) Monash University RMIT University The University of Queensland The University of Sydney The University of Adelaide The University of Western Australia University of Technology Sydney |
| Top 10 Australian Universities for Business and Management Studies | Top 10 Australian Universities for Nursing |
| The University of Melbourne The University of New South Wales (UNSW Sydney) Monash University The University of Sydney The Australian National University RMIT University The University of Queensland The University of Western Australia University of Technology Sydney Deakin University |
University of Technology Sydney The University of Sydney Monash University The University of Melbourne Deakin University The University of Adelaide Griffith University The University of Queensland Queensland University of Technology (QUT) University of South Australia |
| Top 10 Australian Universities for Materials Science | Top 6 Australian Universities for Hospitality and Leisure Management |
| The University of New South Wales (UNSW Sydney) The Australian National University Monash University The University of Queensland University of Wollongong Swinburne University of Technology The University of Adelaide Curtin University Griffith University University of South Australia |
Griffith University The University of Queensland Monash University University of South Australia Southern Cross University La Trobe University |
