Australia's reputation for world-class education has taken a hit.

The latest Times Higher Education World University Rankings reveal a decline in the standing of its institutions. Out of the 1,904 universities assessed from 108 countries and regions, only one Australian university is set to retain its position within the top 50 next year.

Australia currently boasts six universities in the top 100 and 11 in the top 200. Unfortunately, many institutions have witnessed a decrease in their rankings. 

The University of Adelaide experienced the most significant drop, falling 23 places, causing it to exit the top 100. 

However, several universities managed to hold onto their top 100 status, including the University of Melbourne, Monash University, the University of Sydney, Australian National University, and the University of Queensland, albeit the latter dropping from 53rd to 70th place. 

Experts have attributed Australia's decline in global rankings partially to the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic. Australia's closed borders for much of 2020 and 2021 appear to have had a detrimental impact on the country's reputation, as reflected in the rankings. 

While many high-ranking Australian universities fared relatively well financially during the pandemic, the disruption to teaching and research caused by extended lockdowns may have contributed to the shift in their ranking positions.

The top five universities in the world, according to the 2024 Times Higher Education World University Rankings, are:

1. University of Oxford, UK

2. Stanford University, US

3. Massachusetts Institute of Technology, US

4. Harvard University, US

5. University of Cambridge, UK

The complete list is on the Times Higher Education World University Rankings website.

The rankings are determined based on 18 performance indicators grouped into five main categories:

1. Teaching (including teaching reputation, student-staff ratio, doctorate-bachelor ratio, and institutional income)

2. Research environment (including research reputation, research income, research productivity, research quality, and citation impact)

3. Industry (including industry income and patents)

4. International outlook (including international students, international staff, and international co-authorship)

5. Overall score (derived from over 60,000 survey responses and over 134 million citations from 16.5 million research publications).

The rankings for Australian universities 2024 are:

  • University of Melbourne: 34th

  • Monash University: 54th

  • University of Sydney: 60th

  • Australian National University: 67th

  • University of Queensland: 70th

  • UNSW Sydney: 84th

  • University of Adelaide: 111th

  • University of Western Australia: 143rd

  • University of Technology Sydney: 148th

  • Macquarie University: 180th