One Sydney university has ranked among the world's 20 best in the QS World University Rankings
Sydney's good looks are rarely under question, but it's always nice to be reminded that the Harbour City is more than just a pretty face. Recently, Sydney ranked as one of the most liveable cities in the world (not factoring in cost of living), and in seventh place on the prestigious 2025 Global Cities Index. Now, the QS World University Rankings for 2026 have just dropped, revealing which institutions stand in the best stead for the year ahead. One Sydney university cracked the top ten – hats off to you, UNSW.More than 1,500 institutions from around the world were assessed for the 2026 rankings, including 36 from Australia. The top five were pretty similar to last year, with MIT holding onto first place with a perfect score of 100, followed by Imperial College London, Stanford, Harvard and Cambridge.
Australia's highest-ranked institution was the University of Melbourne, which landed 19th on the global list. And just one position behind was the University of New South Wales (UNSW), which held onto its place among the top 20 universities in the world for the third consecutive year. Its overall score of 90.7 saw it drop one position from 19th in 2025, but it maintained impressive ratings for academic reputation (96.3) and ranked equal 12th in the world for sustainability. Of the 36 Australian institutions assessed, UNSW placed first in the employment outcome and international research network categories.
Overall, two-thirds of Australia's ranked universities dropped in this year's rankings. Meanwhile, only seven climbed higher, including Monash University's jump from 37th to 36th. The University of Sydney slipped out of the top 20, landing at 25th, with the Australian National University and the University of Queensland also dropping two spots to 32nd and 42nd, respectively.
Despite the overall decline, we think it's still pretty impressive that nine Australian universities still made the top 100 worldwide. You can check out the full rankings here.
Here are the 20 best universities in the world
Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), USA
Imperial College London, UK
Stanford University, USA
University of Oxford, UK
Harvard University, USA
University of Cambridge, UK
ETH Zurich, Switzerland
National University of Singapore, Singapore
University College London, UK
California Institute of Technology, USA
The University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong
University of Chicago, USA
Peking University, China
University of Pennsylvania, USA
Cornell University, USA
Tsinghua University, China
University of California, Berkeley, USA
University of Melbourne, Australia
University of New South Wales, Australia
Yale University, USA
Here are the 10 best universities in Australia
University of Melbourne
University of New South Wales
University of Sydney
Australian National University
Monash University
University of Queensland
University of Western Australia
Adelaide University
University of Technology Sydney
RMIT University
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This Melbourne university has been named in the top 20 best in the world for 2026, beating out Yale and Princeton
When you think of the most prestigious universities in the world, the first to come to mind will probably be names from the other side of the globe. But there's one university right here in our city that is just as esteemed as the likes of Yale or Princeton. In fact, in a new global list of the world's best university, our very own University of Melbourne outranked both of those well-known institutions. Feel that city pride! The prestigious QS World University Rankings for 2026 have just dropped, revealing which institutions stand in the best stead for the year ahead. Two Australian universities cracked the top 20 for yet another year, out of more than 1,500 institutions from around the world assessed for the 2026 rankings, including 36 from Australia. The top five were pretty similar to last year, with MIT holding onto first place with a perfect score of 100, followed by Imperial College London, Stanford, Harvard and Cambridge. Australia's highest-ranked institution was the University of Melbourne, which landed 19th on the global list. While it slipped six spots from placing 13th in 2025, its overall score actually rose 1.9 points to 90.8 – thanks to improved ratings in seven of the nine ranking indicators. The uni earned a near-perfect 99.7 for academic reputation (the highest in Australia) and also ranked first in the country for employer reputation and sustainability. This university is consistently praised as the best in the country, and was also named as one of the top ten most sustainable universities worldwide last year. Just one position behind was the University of New South Wales (UNSW), which held onto its place among the top 20 universities in the world for the third consecutive year. Its overall score of 90.7 saw it drop one position from 19th in 2025, but it maintained impressive ratings for academic reputation (96.3) and ranked equal 12th in the world for sustainability. Of the 36 Australian institutions assessed, UNSW placed first in the employment outcome and international research network categories. Overall, two-thirds of Australia's ranked universities dropped in this year's rankings. Meanwhile, only seven climbed higher, including Monash University's jump from 37th to 36th. The University of Sydney slipped out of the top 20, landing at 25th, with the Australian National University and the University of Queensland also dropping two spots to 32nd and 42nd, respectively. Despite the overall decline, we think it's still pretty impressive that one of our city's universities made the top 20 worldwide. You can check out the full rankings here. Here are the 20 best universities in the world Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), USA Imperial College London, UK Stanford University, USA University of Oxford, UK Harvard University, USA University of Cambridge, UK ETH Zurich, Switzerland National University of Singapore, Singapore University College London, UK California Institute of Technology, USA The University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong Nanyang Technological University, Singapore University of Chicago, USA Peking University, China University of Pennsylvania, USA Cornell University, USA Tsinghua University, China University of California, Berkeley, USA University of Melbourne, Australia University of New South Wales, Australia Stay in the loop: sign up for our free Time Out Melbourne newsletter for the best of the city, straight to your inbox.
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6 hours ago
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One Sydney university has ranked among the world's 20 best in the QS World University Rankings
Sydney's good looks are rarely under question, but it's always nice to be reminded that the Harbour City is more than just a pretty face. Recently, Sydney ranked as one of the most liveable cities in the world (not factoring in cost of living), and in seventh place on the prestigious 2025 Global Cities Index. Now, the QS World University Rankings for 2026 have just dropped, revealing which institutions stand in the best stead for the year ahead. One Sydney university cracked the top ten – hats off to you, than 1,500 institutions from around the world were assessed for the 2026 rankings, including 36 from Australia. The top five were pretty similar to last year, with MIT holding onto first place with a perfect score of 100, followed by Imperial College London, Stanford, Harvard and Cambridge. Australia's highest-ranked institution was the University of Melbourne, which landed 19th on the global list. And just one position behind was the University of New South Wales (UNSW), which held onto its place among the top 20 universities in the world for the third consecutive year. Its overall score of 90.7 saw it drop one position from 19th in 2025, but it maintained impressive ratings for academic reputation (96.3) and ranked equal 12th in the world for sustainability. Of the 36 Australian institutions assessed, UNSW placed first in the employment outcome and international research network categories. Overall, two-thirds of Australia's ranked universities dropped in this year's rankings. Meanwhile, only seven climbed higher, including Monash University's jump from 37th to 36th. The University of Sydney slipped out of the top 20, landing at 25th, with the Australian National University and the University of Queensland also dropping two spots to 32nd and 42nd, respectively. Despite the overall decline, we think it's still pretty impressive that nine Australian universities still made the top 100 worldwide. You can check out the full rankings here. Here are the 20 best universities in the world Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), USA Imperial College London, UK Stanford University, USA University of Oxford, UK Harvard University, USA University of Cambridge, UK ETH Zurich, Switzerland National University of Singapore, Singapore University College London, UK California Institute of Technology, USA The University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong University of Chicago, USA Peking University, China University of Pennsylvania, USA Cornell University, USA Tsinghua University, China University of California, Berkeley, USA University of Melbourne, Australia University of New South Wales, Australia Yale University, USA Here are the 10 best universities in Australia University of Melbourne University of New South Wales University of Sydney Australian National University Monash University University of Queensland University of Western Australia Adelaide University University of Technology Sydney RMIT University Stay in the loop: sign up for our free Time Out Sydney newsletter for more news, food & drink inspo and activity ideas, straight to your inbox.
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8 hours ago
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Two Australian universities have been ranked among the world's 20 best for 2026
Thinking of hitting the books again? Or just wondering where the brainiest students study these days? The prestigious QS World University Rankings for 2026 have just dropped, revealing which institutions stand in the best stead for the year ahead. Two Australian universities cracked the top ten for yet another year – but it's not all straight HDs, with 25 Aussie unis dropping in the rankings compared to 2025. More than 1,500 institutions from around the world were assessed for the 2026 rankings, including 36 from Australia. The top five were pretty similar to last year, with MIT holding onto first place with a perfect score of 100, followed by Imperial College London, Stanford, Harvard and Cambridge. Australia's highest-ranked institution was the University of Melbourne, which landed 19th on the global list. While it slipped six spots from 13th in 2025, its overall score actually rose 1.9 points to 90.8 – thanks to improved ratings in seven of the nine ranking indicators. The uni earned a near-perfect 99.7 for academic reputation (the highest in Australia) and also ranked first in the country for employer reputation and sustainability. Hats off to you, UoM! Just one position behind was the University of New South Wales (UNSW), which held onto its place among the top 20 universities in the world for the third consecutive year. Its overall score of 90.7 saw it drop one position from 19th in 2025, but it maintained impressive ratings for academic reputation (96.3) and ranked equal 12th in the world for sustainability. Of the 36 Australian institutions assessed, UNSW placed first in the employment outcome and international research network categories. Overall, two-thirds of Australia's ranked universities dropped in this year's rankings. Meanwhile, only seven climbed higher, including Monash University's jump from 37th to 36th. The University of Sydney slipped out of the top 20, landing at 25th, with the Australian National University and the University of Queensland also dropping two spots to 32nd and 42nd, respectively. Despite the overall decline, we think it's still pretty impressive that nine Australian universities still made the top 100 worldwide. You can check out the full rankings here. Here are the 20 best universities in the world Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), USA Imperial College London, UK Stanford University, USA University of Oxford, UK Harvard University, USA University of Cambridge, UK ETH Zurich, Switzerland National University of Singapore, Singapore University College London, UK California Institute of Technology, USA The University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong University of Chicago, USA Peking University, China University of Pennsylvania, USA Cornell University, USA Tsinghua University, China University of California, Berkeley, USA University of Melbourne, Australia University of New South Wales, Australia Yale University, USA Here are the 10 best universities in Australia University of Melbourne University of New South Wales University of Sydney Australian National University Monash University University of Queensland University of Western Australia Adelaide University University of Technology Sydney RMIT University 🧑🏻🎓
