University of Melbourne rated best in Australia in global rankings report | Australian universities

The University of Melbourne remains Australia’s top-ranked institution, ranking 37th in the latest Times Higher Education World University Rankings report.

The university rose to 37th in the 2026 rankings, up from 39th last year, above the University of Sydney and Monash University.

The report stated that the University of Melbourne’s rise compared to last year was due to improvements in its teaching reputation and research reputation.

_{Sign up: AÜ Breaking News email}

Five more Australian institutions ranked in the top 100 globally. The University of Sydney was ranked 53rd; Monash University was ranked 58th and the Australian National University was ranked 73rd. The University of New South Wales was ranked 79th; The University of Queensland ranked 80th.

Schools were ranked based on a variety of factors, including the quality of teaching, research, ability to contribute to innovation and international standing.

University of Melbourne vice-chancellor Emma Johnston welcomed the news and said the school offered “unique expertise and diversity of experience”.

“As Australia’s leading global public university, our responsibility is to develop the next generation of thinkers, researchers and leaders needed for a more resilient and sustainable future,” Johnston said in a statement.

Phil Baty, head of global affairs at Times Higher Education, said in a statement that this year’s rankings show a shift in the balance of power “from the long-established, dominant institutions of the West to the rising stars of the East.”

“While the United States and much of Western Europe are experiencing serious losses in the world rankings, East Asian countries, led by China, continue to develop and rise,” Baty said.

“But Australia is in a unique position, having bounced back strongly from internationalization that was hampered during Covid, bucking the western trend and seeing solid improvements in the rankings this year.

“There is a real opportunity for Australia, and indeed New Zealand, to capitalize on the changing dynamics of global higher education, strengthen international talent attraction and increase collaboration more broadly with emerging Southeast Asian institutions and universities in Asia.”

At the top of the rankings were a familiar group of British schools and American Ivy League institutions. Oxford University was at the top of the list for the 10th time in a row, while Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Harvard University, Princeton University and Cambridge University were also in the top five.

This comes after the QS World University Rankings placed 10 Australian institutions in the top 100. The University of Melbourne was ranked 19th in this ranking, which also included the University of Western Australia, the University of Adelaide and the University of Technology Sydney.

The University of Melbourne has not faced criticism in recent months, becoming the first university to officially expel pro-Palestinian student activists in June.

Victoria’s deputy information commissioner also found the university breached the state’s Privacy and Data Protection Act when it used its wifi network to spy on students and staff staging a pro-Palestinian protest last year. In response, the university argued that it could have provided “clearer active notice” of the use of Wi-Fi location data but that this was “reasonable and proportionate in the circumstances”.