Times Reputation Rankings: Melbourne Uni best in Australia

Ten Australian institutions make the Times Higher Education Reputation Rankings for 2025, as the importance of a university’s brand increases.

The University of Melbourne campus in Carlton. Picture: NCA NewsWire / David Geraghty

The University of Melbourne is considered Australia’s most prestigious university globally, a survey of 55,000 academic ­experts has revealed.

Ten of the 300 universities ranked in the Times Higher Education Reputation Rankings 2025 were Australian, with Melbourne at No. 47.

The University of Sydney was at 60, while Monash University was at 63.

Local controversies around anti-Semitism on campus, inconsistent international student policies, and governance issues did not seem to damper the reputation of Australian universities, with a number of institutions ­improving their rankings.

The University of Melbourne climbed a few spots, while ­Monash jumped almost 20 places since the last ranking in 2023, and the University of Queensland moved up about 10 places to 78. All Group of Eight research universities made the list, with Australian National University and UNSW also making it into the top 100.

UNSW appeared in the top 100 for the first time since 2020.

University of Melbourne vice-chancellor Emma Johnston said she was proud that the institution had grown in global ­esteem. “Global recognition opens the door to new collaborations and more career opportunities for our students and researchers,” she said.

“The result reflects the outstanding contributions of our ­exceptional staff, strong global connections, comprehensive academic environment and ­research partnerships.”

Internationally, Harvard retained the top spot for the 14th year in succession. Oxford and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology were joint second.

Seventy-one of the 300 universities were American, and 39 were from Britain.

Times Higher Education chief global affairs officer Phil Baty said “academic reputation is a powerful currency in global higher education. It shapes student choices, faculty movement, institutional collaborations and investments.”

The survey drew on more than three-quarters of a million votes from a survey of 55,000 ­expert academics worldwide, which Mr Baty said “provides the definitive view of the world’s most prestigious universities – the top global academic brands”.

“While the global university super-brands from the United States and United Kingdom ­remain strongly in place, there are some clear emerging new forces,” he said.

Senior director of Times Higher Education Consultancy Vicky Irwin said the “diversification of the W100 network also comes at a time when reputation management has become increasingly important for universities the world over”.

Only 15 per cent of the 300 ranked universities were in Asia, with Ms Irwin noting the ­“immense growth opportunities” in the region.

The reputation rankings align with the 2025 Times Higher Education rankings for the “top” institutions worldwide based on teaching, research, industry and international outlook, with the University of Melbourne top in Australia, followed closely behind by Monash and Sydney.