Australia's Best Universities
e Good Oil
The first to attempt some sort of quantitatively based ranking of the entire world's universities was that of the Shanghai Jiao Tong University(SJTU), which only began the exercise in 2003. Several international conferences later, these ratings are now conducted under the rubric of the Academic Ranking of World Universities, which is all to the good.
“SJTU vs THES”
Irked that some parvenus in a supposed–Third World nation had deigned to pass judgement on the First World, the well-respected The Times Higher Education Supplement (THES) in the United Kingdom came up with its own Top 200 list of the world's best universities.
The Italians, feeling left out of this Anglo-Sino rivalry, riposted with their own studies at Webometrics. When we know more about them, we'll get back to you.
Ranking the world's universities is a big job, and a difficult one. It's impossible to say how far the concept is meaningful. Everyone would agree that some universities are better than others, but how do we measure the differences? Since no one else has put their hands up to do the task, the SJTU and THES rankings stand as the only benchmarks we can use. You can read a statistical comparison of the two here.
Contents
* The rival rankings
o The SJTU rankings of Aussie universities
o The THES rankings of Aussie universities
* The results: Australia's best universities…
o …according to the SJTU rankings
o …according to the THES rankings
The rival rankings
The SJTU ranks Australian universities
When SJTU's rankings first appeared, the senior management at the University of Sydney sat up in their chairs. This university is one of Australia's oldest, established as an Antipodean Oxford 150 years ago. All well and fine when your function is to reproduce the colonial upper-class. Not today: Australian universities have to produce results, not blue-bloods, to rake in the dough.
The University launched a campaign to become first in the country (Australia); fifth in the region (Asia) and 40th in the world by 2010; on SJTU's ranking. They called it the 1:5:40 strategy. What happened? They couldn't get better than 102nd by 2007. So they shifted the goal-posts to the much more comfy THES system, and voila! goal achieved..
The THES ranks Australian universities
The THES ranks the Australian universities much higher than SJTU does. We are more than dubious. The 2007 THES ratings places one Australian university as better than every university in Europe and every university in Japan. We don't think so.
The results: Australia's best universities
We list here the rankings of the Australian universities from both SJTU and THES, for all the years available (which isn't that many).
We include every Australian university they listed in any of their annual ranking charts. If you can't find your university here, you might want to rethink your educational choice.
As you can see, the lists are quite disparate: many universities on one list are not on the other, let alone their relative position.
The SJTU rankings
SJTU ranks the top 500 of the world's universities.
We've read a detailed defence of SJTU's methodology in one of our favourite journals, Scientometrics1. You can find a further critique by Richard Holmes of the University of Malaysia in the Asian Journal of University Education. He also has some comments about Australian universities at a blog. Well worth reading.
SJTU does not supply a specific rank after number 100, only a grouping. Admittedly, the groupings are inconsistent from year to year, but what the hey.
University 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007
Australian National University 49th 53rd 56th 54th 57th
University of Melbourne 92 82 82 78 79
University of Queensland 102-151 101-152 101-152 102-150 102-150
University of Sydney 102-151 101-152 101-152 102-150 102-150
University of Western Australia — 153-201 153-202 102-150 102-150
University of Adelaide 201-250 202-301 203-300 201-300 151-202
University of New South Wales 152-200 153-201 153-202 151-200 151-202
Macquarie University 300-350 302-403 203-300 201-300 202-304
Monash University 152-200 202-301 203-300 201-300 203-304
Flinders University of South Australia — 404-502 401-500 401-500 305-402
University of Newcastle 351-400 302-403 301-400 301-400 305-402
James Cook University 401-450 — — 401-500 403-510
La Trobe University 401-450 404-502 401-500 301-400 403-510
Murdoch University — 404-502 401-500 401-500 403-510
University of New England — — — 401-500 403-510
University of Tasmania 351-400 302-403 401-500 401-500 403-510
University of Wollongong — — — — 403-510
University of the Sunshine Coast 152-200 — — — —
The THES rankings
THES ranks the top 200 of the world's universities, down to the very rank. We are a bit dubious of that precision: but what do we know? The table below lists every Australian university that has appeared in their rankings.
We haven't seen anyone defend the THES rankings in any scholarly journal: for that you have to go to this lunatic's email.
University 2004 2005 2006 2007
Australian National University 16 23 16 16
University of Melbourne 22 19 22 27
University of Sydney 40 38 35 31
University of Queensland 49 40 45 33
Monash University 33 34 38 43
University of New South Wales 36 40 41 44
University of Adelaide 56 80 105 62
University of Western Australia 96 80 111 64
Macquarie University 68 67 82 168
Queensland University of Technology — 118 192 195
University of Wollongong — — 196 199
RMIT 55 82 146 200
Curtin University of Technology 76 101 156 —
University of Technology, Sydney 113 87 — —
La Trobe University 142 98 — —
University of Newcastle — 127 — —
University of South Australia — 154 — —
University of Tasmania 151 166 — —
1. ‘Academic ranking of world universities’, Scientometrics (2005) 64:1, p 101.
Copyright © 2001-2007 Garry Stevens. All rights reserved. Original research on this site is commercial-in-confidence and copyright © 2001-2007 Garry Stevens. It is not public domain. Notwithstanding all this legal palaver, you may freely quote any research on this site or other material to your heart's delight; provided proper attribution to Dr Garry and this site is given.
All opinions expressed are professional opinions, given in good faith. Before emailing us, you should read our privacy and communication policy on our Contact Us page. Dr Garry Stevens does not provide architectural services in Australia.
This website is manufactured entirely from recycled electrons on machinery that also processes nuts and crustacea. Eat at your own risk. It is written in Australian English. Where we feel it in the interests of intelligibility, we have included British or American equivalent terms in braces {like this}. Beyond the satire on this site, we strive for factual accuracy, but we cannot warrant it. You should always independently verify any statement made on this site, especially for pub trivia {quiz} nights. Really, what the hell do we know?
The first to attempt some sort of quantitatively based ranking of the entire world's universities was that of the Shanghai Jiao Tong University(SJTU), which only began the exercise in 2003. Several international conferences later, these ratings are now conducted under the rubric of the Academic Ranking of World Universities, which is all to the good.
“SJTU vs THES”
Irked that some parvenus in a supposed–Third World nation had deigned to pass judgement on the First World, the well-respected The Times Higher Education Supplement (THES) in the United Kingdom came up with its own Top 200 list of the world's best universities.
The Italians, feeling left out of this Anglo-Sino rivalry, riposted with their own studies at Webometrics. When we know more about them, we'll get back to you.
Ranking the world's universities is a big job, and a difficult one. It's impossible to say how far the concept is meaningful. Everyone would agree that some universities are better than others, but how do we measure the differences? Since no one else has put their hands up to do the task, the SJTU and THES rankings stand as the only benchmarks we can use. You can read a statistical comparison of the two here.
Contents
* The rival rankings
o The SJTU rankings of Aussie universities
o The THES rankings of Aussie universities
* The results: Australia's best universities…
o …according to the SJTU rankings
o …according to the THES rankings
The rival rankings
The SJTU ranks Australian universities
When SJTU's rankings first appeared, the senior management at the University of Sydney sat up in their chairs. This university is one of Australia's oldest, established as an Antipodean Oxford 150 years ago. All well and fine when your function is to reproduce the colonial upper-class. Not today: Australian universities have to produce results, not blue-bloods, to rake in the dough.
The University launched a campaign to become first in the country (Australia); fifth in the region (Asia) and 40th in the world by 2010; on SJTU's ranking. They called it the 1:5:40 strategy. What happened? They couldn't get better than 102nd by 2007. So they shifted the goal-posts to the much more comfy THES system, and voila! goal achieved..
The THES ranks Australian universities
The THES ranks the Australian universities much higher than SJTU does. We are more than dubious. The 2007 THES ratings places one Australian university as better than every university in Europe and every university in Japan. We don't think so.
The results: Australia's best universities
We list here the rankings of the Australian universities from both SJTU and THES, for all the years available (which isn't that many).
We include every Australian university they listed in any of their annual ranking charts. If you can't find your university here, you might want to rethink your educational choice.
As you can see, the lists are quite disparate: many universities on one list are not on the other, let alone their relative position.
The SJTU rankings
SJTU ranks the top 500 of the world's universities.
We've read a detailed defence of SJTU's methodology in one of our favourite journals, Scientometrics1. You can find a further critique by Richard Holmes of the University of Malaysia in the Asian Journal of University Education. He also has some comments about Australian universities at a blog. Well worth reading.
SJTU does not supply a specific rank after number 100, only a grouping. Admittedly, the groupings are inconsistent from year to year, but what the hey.
University 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007
Australian National University 49th 53rd 56th 54th 57th
University of Melbourne 92 82 82 78 79
University of Queensland 102-151 101-152 101-152 102-150 102-150
University of Sydney 102-151 101-152 101-152 102-150 102-150
University of Western Australia — 153-201 153-202 102-150 102-150
University of Adelaide 201-250 202-301 203-300 201-300 151-202
University of New South Wales 152-200 153-201 153-202 151-200 151-202
Macquarie University 300-350 302-403 203-300 201-300 202-304
Monash University 152-200 202-301 203-300 201-300 203-304
Flinders University of South Australia — 404-502 401-500 401-500 305-402
University of Newcastle 351-400 302-403 301-400 301-400 305-402
James Cook University 401-450 — — 401-500 403-510
La Trobe University 401-450 404-502 401-500 301-400 403-510
Murdoch University — 404-502 401-500 401-500 403-510
University of New England — — — 401-500 403-510
University of Tasmania 351-400 302-403 401-500 401-500 403-510
University of Wollongong — — — — 403-510
University of the Sunshine Coast 152-200 — — — —
The THES rankings
THES ranks the top 200 of the world's universities, down to the very rank. We are a bit dubious of that precision: but what do we know? The table below lists every Australian university that has appeared in their rankings.
We haven't seen anyone defend the THES rankings in any scholarly journal: for that you have to go to this lunatic's email.
University 2004 2005 2006 2007
Australian National University 16 23 16 16
University of Melbourne 22 19 22 27
University of Sydney 40 38 35 31
University of Queensland 49 40 45 33
Monash University 33 34 38 43
University of New South Wales 36 40 41 44
University of Adelaide 56 80 105 62
University of Western Australia 96 80 111 64
Macquarie University 68 67 82 168
Queensland University of Technology — 118 192 195
University of Wollongong — — 196 199
RMIT 55 82 146 200
Curtin University of Technology 76 101 156 —
University of Technology, Sydney 113 87 — —
La Trobe University 142 98 — —
University of Newcastle — 127 — —
University of South Australia — 154 — —
University of Tasmania 151 166 — —
1. ‘Academic ranking of world universities’, Scientometrics (2005) 64:1, p 101.
Copyright © 2001-2007 Garry Stevens. All rights reserved. Original research on this site is commercial-in-confidence and copyright © 2001-2007 Garry Stevens. It is not public domain. Notwithstanding all this legal palaver, you may freely quote any research on this site or other material to your heart's delight; provided proper attribution to Dr Garry and this site is given.
All opinions expressed are professional opinions, given in good faith. Before emailing us, you should read our privacy and communication policy on our Contact Us page. Dr Garry Stevens does not provide architectural services in Australia.
This website is manufactured entirely from recycled electrons on machinery that also processes nuts and crustacea. Eat at your own risk. It is written in Australian English. Where we feel it in the interests of intelligibility, we have included British or American equivalent terms in braces {like this}. Beyond the satire on this site, we strive for factual accuracy, but we cannot warrant it. You should always independently verify any statement made on this site, especially for pub trivia {quiz} nights. Really, what the hell do we know?
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5:42 AM
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