The Australian Financial Review Best Universities Rankings 2024 confirms that Group of Eight (Go8) universities are the nation’s top performing universities delivering on research, equity and graduate employability.
The AFR ranking evaluates university performance across four key pillars: teaching, research, career impact and equity.
Group of Eight Chief Executive, Vicki Thomson said the results highlighted what is at risk if current Government policy to cap international students is legislated.
“There is no doubt that Australia punches above its weight when it comes to quality in both research and teaching. There is also no doubt that a cap on international students, combined with a flawed and distorted funding model threatens our ability to maintain world class outcomes – and that directly impacts our students and staff.”
This year’s AFR ranking confirms Go8 members as the top eight Australian universities for research – reflecting the $8.5 billion annual investment in R&D across the Go8.
“Our universities undertake more than 70 percent of Australia’s university research and award half of all domestic research doctorates in Australia.
“That research, and our teaching, is heavily cross subsidised from international fee revenue – a funding model that is flawed and long overdue for change.
Go8 universities also excelled in the area of student career outcomes, filling the top six places with all eight in the top nine nationally. Go8 universities enrol 425,000 students, produce more than half of Australia’s science graduates and more than 40 per cent of engineering graduates.
“Importantly, the Go8’s performance in equity – with six ranked in the top 10 – demonstrates our commitment to not only increasing participation of students from disadvantaged backgrounds, but ensuring that high retention and completion rates for our students set them up for successful careers.
“Despite the different methodology between the AFR rankings and the standard global rankings such as the QS, Times Higher Education, and Shanghai Rankings – the results consistently show that Australia’s research-intensive universities are delivering high quality research and education outcomes.
“Australia’s future economic and social prosperity depends on the capacity of our universities to continue to do so.”
The University of Queensland was ranked number one in Australia by the AFR for the second year running, with UNSW Sydney and University of Sydney jointly ranked number one for student career outcomes, and the University of Melbourne number one for research.