Which WA university courses made it to the global top 100?

Two Perth universities sit near the top of a prestigious global subject rankings list for a specialised field related closely to the state’s mining sector.

Curtin University ranked second in the 2024 QS World University Rankings by Subject for Mineral and Mining Engineering, beaten to the top spot by the Colorado School of Mines in the United States.

WA universities have made the top rankings globally for certain subjects, but one in particular stands out. Credit: Cameron Myles/ iStock

The University of Western Australia came in seventh in the same subject category.

The only other universities in Australia to receive a subject score as high as Curtin were the University of Queensland, scoring second in the world in Pharmacy, and Monash University, in sports-related subjects.

Curtin was recognised in a total of 31 academic disciplines and also secured its place within the world’s top 50 universities in earth and marine sciences, geology, geophysics and petroleum engineering.

UWA features 40 times across the tables, with eight appearances among the world’s top 50.

Edith Cowan University made the top 50 globally for sports-related subjects, while Murdoch University made the list for Veterinary Science.

While Murdoch improved its score in Veterinary Science, climbing from a 51-70 ranking in 2023, Edith Cowan dropped three spots from 33.

Other subjects within the global top 100 at Curtin and UWA also fell from their 2023 rankings – six at UWA and four at Curtin.

Curtin Vice Chancellor Professor Harlene Hayne said she was delighted with the university’s success in the 2024 rankings, the eighth year in a row it ranked second in the mineral and mining subject, delivered at its Bentley and Kalgoorlie campuses.

“The ongoing success means our future mineral and mining engineers are learning from the best in the country and the second-best in the world, confirming Curtin’s position as a global leader in the field,” she said.

The QS subject rankings are determined using five key indicators – academic reputation, employer reputation, citation per paper, international research network and H index (the number of times an author has been cited by others).

QS chief-executive Jessica Turner said Australia had a remarkable concentration of high-quality universities with exceptional breadth, resulting in 7 per cent of the world’s top 50 and top 100 ranked subjects.

Angel Calderon, a member of the QS Rankings advisory board, said the results highlighted how Australian universities continued to perform well despite challenging circumstances over the past five years.

But she also said the federal government response to the Australian Universities Accord would be fundamental in shaping how are universities were seen on the global stage.

WA has also announced its own separate review of its universities, with the state government raising concerns about the decline of WA universities due to a lack of research grants and international students.

No date has yet been given for when the final report will be released, but an interim report in July 2023 proposed sweeping reforms to boost WA universities up the global rankings with a focus on improving research.

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