Eight Australian Universities Are Gaining Ground On The World’s Best

It’s official, kids. We’re starting to kick a fair amount of arse in global higher education. This year’s Times Higher Education ranking of the world’s Universities is out, and seven of the eight premiere Australian schools have all managed to improve their standing in the rankings. Go school!

But unfortunately it ain’t all good news, with the magazine’s editor questioning the balance of a Higher Education system faced with fee deregulation, as proposed by the Abbott Government in the recent – and highly controversial – Federal Budget.
The editor of the Times, Phil Baty, suggested deregulation could see a system evolve where the strong get stronger, and the rest fall by the wayside.

The reforms may help a small Australian elite protect or even improve their global standing, but what about the rest? Are we going to see a greater polarisation in Australia between a global super-elite and a large number of also-rans declining?

The rankings are taken based on a range of different factors, including industry income, teaching, research influence, and international outlook.
Of the eight Australian institutions that made it into the top 200, the University of Melbourne heads up that list, coming in at number 33 (up one place from last year’s ranking of 34) – a ranking owed in large part to its high international outlook. To put this ranking in perspective, at 33 it comes in 5 places higher on the list than the prestigious New York University.
The list of eight schools that made it into the top 200 is as follows:
33. University of Melbourne
45. Australian National University
60. University of Sydney
65. University of Queensland
83. Monash University
109. University of NSW
157. University of Western Australia
164. University of Adelaide

In addition, 12 other Australian Universities were ranked in the extended 201-400 top global rankings.
226-250. University of Technology, Sydney
251-275. University of Newcastle
276-300. Queensland University of Technology
276-300. University of South Australia
276-300. University of Wollongong
301-350. Charles Darwin University
301-350. Deakin University
301-350. Macquarie University
351-400. Curtin University
351-400. Murdoch University
351-400. Swinburne University of Technology
351-400. University of Western Sydney

But if you’re aiming high – really goddamned high – then you might be keen on setting your sights on one of the world’s top ten universities. And why the hell not, we say! You’re a star! Shine bright like a diamond!
THE WORLD’S TOP TEN UNIVERSITIES
1. California Institute of Technology (USA)
2. Harvard University (USA)
3. University of Oxford (UK)
4. Stanford University (USA)
5. University of Cambridge (UK)
6. Massachusetts Institute of Technology (USA)
7. Princeton University (USA)
8. University of California, Berkeley (USA)
9. Imperial College London (UK)
10. Yale University (USA)
Whether or not our proud ‘Strayan schools will be able to maintain their spots in a deregulated environment, time will tell.
But for now, our book learnin’ is officially better than a lot of other places book learnin’, and that ain’t half bad, we tells ya.
via SMH.

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