University of Adelaide joins six Australian institutions in Times Higher Education top 100

The University of Adelaide is the latest to join the global top 100 list, while Melbourne claims national bragging rights after a big jump from one of its tertiary institutions.

The University of Adelaide has entered the Times Higher Education’s world top 100 at 88th. Picture: Brenton Edwards

Australia now has seven universities in the world’s top 100 as ranked by Times Higher Education with the University of Adelaide joining the elite group.

The University of Melbourne remains Australia’s most highly ranked institution, slipping to 34th this year from 33rd last year.

Monash University is next at 44th place, after rising from 57th last year.

The University of Queensland (53rd), the University of Sydney (54th), the Australian National University (62nd) and UNSW (71st) also make the top 100, along with the University of Adelaide at 88th, up from 111th last year.

The University of Melbourne has retained its position as Australia’s highest-ranked tertiary institution. Picture: NCA NewsWire / Daniel Pockett

The University of Adelaide said its success in entering the world’s top 100 universities was a significant milestone for higher education in South Australia,

“A top 100 university is only possible with top ranked staff. They should be proud of their achievements,” said UA vice-chancellor Peter Hoj.

Times Higher Education chief knowledge officer Phil Baty said Melbourne was the city with bragging rights.

“It now boasts Australia’s number one and number two universities, with Monash University leapfrogging ahead of Brisbane’s University of Queensland and pushing it into third place,” he said.

Monash University vice-chancellor Margaret Gardner said the results were a landmark for her university.

“This achievement will inspire exciting opportunities to access new research funding, build new partnerships and attract additional students,” she said.

The University of Queensland is Australia’s third-highest tertiary institution at 53rd in the global rankings. Picture: University of Queensland

University of Melbourne vice-chancellor Duncan Maskell said the rankings reflected the global standing of Australian universities highlighting their contribution during the pandemic and their value to society.

While more Australian universities were now in the world’s top 100, there were two fewer in the top 200 after Brisbane’s Queensland University of Technology and the University of Canberra dropped below the threshold.

Other universities which remained in the top 200 were the University of WA at 131st, University of Technology Sydney at 133rd and Macquarie University at 175th.

Mr Baty warned that the position of Australian universities could worsen when the full impact of the pandemic and Australia’s closed borders filtered through.

“But to be clear, the bigger picture remains remarkably healthy for Australia, thanks in large part to very healthy levels of research funding over the past 15 years or so, strong research productivity and very strong international collaboration and long-term success in the lucrative overseas student market,” he said.

Globally, Oxford retained its No.1 position in the world, followed by Harvard with Cambridge and Stanford equal third.

Mr Baty said that universities in the Oceania region, which includes Australia, New Zealand and Pacific nation, had the highest overall average score of all world regions, this year overtaking North America for the first time. He said that this year more Australian universities moved up the rankings than moved down.

There are signs that US universities are trending downwards in the Times Higher Education ranking. The number of US universities in the top 100 continues to fall, from a peak of 43 in 2018 to 34 this year.