University ranked number one in Australia

The University of Melbourne remains the highest ranked Australian university in the Times Higher Education (THE) World University Rankings, placing 32nd for the third year in a row.

THE rankings are among the most comprehensive and prestigious in the higher education sector. They are based on five pillars: teaching, research, citations, international outlook and industry income.

University of Melbourne Vice-Chancellor Duncan Maskell said the result supports the University’s continued focus on the highest quality education, teaching and research.

"The University aspires to deliver the finest-quality education and to combine this with world-leading research,” Professor Maskell said.

“This is reflected in the THE rankings which show the University’s performance is strongest in the teaching and research pillars. Also, the University’s continued focus on better communicating the outcomes of our research is shown by steady improvement in the Citations and Industry pillars.”

Professor Maskell paid tribute to the University of Melbourne’s staff and students who he said have driven the rankings results.

“Our staff and students are the people who make the University such a great place to work or study. These results reflect the hard work of our academic staff who deliver outstanding research and create a world-class learning environment for our students to thrive."

Australia has performed well in this year’s rankings, with a record 11 representatives in the top 200, up from nine last year and eight in 2016. Of the 35 Australian universities present in the ranking, 19 finished higher than last year, with only five declining. Rounding out the top five after Melbourne are Australia National University at 50, University of Sydney at 60, University of Queensland at 66 and UNSW Sydney at 71.