By Ryan Bourke.
In Short:
– ANU is no longer the number one ranked university in Australia.
– The University has fallen to 4th place nationally, and 34th globally.
– Melbourne Uni, Sydney Uni and UNSW all make the global top 20 in this year’s rankings.
– This comes after ranking methodology changes to incorporate Sustainability and heavier emphasis on employment outcomes.
The recently released 2024 QS World University Rankings have brought mixed results for Australian universities. While Australian institutions as a whole have shown improvement, ANU has experienced a decline for the third consecutive year.
The QS World University Rankings are released annually, reflecting 1500 institutions. The rankings are generated based on a university’s research reputation and impact, ‘internationalisation’, and learning and teaching impact. This year’s methodology introduced employment outcomes, commitment to sustainability, and how ‘internationally connected’ a university’s research is.
ANU, previously the highest-ranked university in Australia, has dropped four places from 30th to 34th globally in the 2024 rankings. This setback has pushed ANU from 1st to 4th place nationally, having fallen behind the University of Sydney (USYD), the University of New South Wales (UNSW), and the University of Melbourne.
In contrast to ANU’s decline, Australian universities as a collective have witnessed progress in this year’s rankings. In the 2023 rankings, no Australian universities made the global top 20, but the 2024 rankings have seen three Australian universities break into this elite group.
The University of Melbourne made an impressive jump, securing the 14th spot after climbing 19 places. Meanwhile, both USYD and UNSW surged significantly, sharing the 19th position after climbing 22 and 26 places respectively.
However, the overall improvement of Australian universities has been overshadowed by setbacks in crucial metrics. A total of 29 institutions in Australia scored lower in student-to-faculty ratios due to severe post-pandemic staff cuts, which affected the quality of education.
These developments coincide with the recent changes implemented by QS in its ranking methodology. The revisions take into account sustainability, employment outcomes, and international research networks into the assessment criteria. Additionally, less emphasis was placed on student-to-faculty ratios and academic reputation.
Under the new system, Australia ranked 11th worldwide on sustainability programs and research.
MIT, Cambridge and Oxford have taken out the top three globally, with MIT securing first place for its 12th consecutive year.
10 of the top 20 universities were based in the US, while four were in the UK. Singapore, Switzerland and China were also represented in the top 20.
Graphics by Ryan Bourke.
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