The University of New South Wales Sydney (UNSW) has ranked first among Australian universities contributing to scientific research in the natural sciences, rising from last year’s third place in the 2020 Nature Index.
The rankings track academic institutions’ contributions to research papers published in the world’s top scientific journals in 2019.
UNSW topped 41 other Australian universities in the list and climbed three spots to 86th globally. The country ranked 10th in the world for research output.
The Nature Index bases the rankings in four broad subject areas.
The University took first place in Australia and 90th in the world for Chemistry, and second in the country for both Physical Sciences and Earth & Environmental Sciences. The University also placed 5th among Australian universities and 31st globally in Life Sciences.
“Our rise up the Nature Index is a clear pay off from our ambitious 2025 Strategy, moving from a more modest 106th position just two years ago,” said Professor Nicholas Fisk, Deputy Vice-Chancellor, Research at UNSW.
“UNSW’s 5.5% improvement in score over the last year compared to a 0.3% Go8 average is exemplary and validates the excellence and commitment of our academics in this space,” he said.
Rounding up the country’s top five universities in the list were Monash University (87th globally); University of Queensland (102nd); Australian National University (123rd); and University of Melbourne (125th).