Australian university among World’s top 20

The Australian National University has improved on its global ranking to enter the top 20.

The QS World University Rankings for 2015-16 puts ANU on an equal position with Kings College London at 19th. The position improves on its number 25 position achieved last year.

The world’s number one is Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) with Harvard and Cambridge in second and third.

Other Australian universities in the league table include Melbourne at 42, Sydney at 45, New South Wales and Queensland at equal 46th, Monash at 67 and Western Australia at 98.

The latest rankings show that ANU is now just 4 places behind America’s Yale.

For Arts and Humanities the ANU is even better placed, coming 12th in the world while for Social Sciences and Management it’s at 18 and for Natural Sciences it’s equal 12th. It is number one in Australia for Arts and Humanities and Natural Sciences; and second in Australia for Social Sciences and Management.

"While rankings can move around from year to year, the latest results are a great  endorsement of the hard work and commitment of our staff and students, who all contribute to make ANU one of best places in the world to study and conduct research," said ANU Vice-Chancellor Professor Ian Young AO.

The Canberra-based university also scored 99.6 per cent for academic reputation, putting it at number 26 globally.

The rankings are even more impressive when considered in the context of the scale of the QS assessment. More than 3,500 universities with more than 120,000 academic staff and employers surveyed worldwide.