The Good Oil
Ranking the world's universities is a big job, and a difficult one. It's impossible to say how far the concept is meaningful. Everyone would agree that some universities are better than others, but how do we measure the differences?
Three organisations have put their hands up to do the job:
These ranking systems are the best we have, for all their defects. You can read a statistical comparison of the two here, and in this article in the Wikipedia. A more partisan and deranged-but nonetheless interesting-Wikipedia article can be found here.
As Aussies, we want to know where our universities stand. If you can't find your Aussie university here, you might want to rethink your educational choice. The lists rarely agree.
Updated Added rankings for 2011.
The ARWU ranks the top 500 or so of the world's universities. In their analysis, Australia does surprisingly well: with a tiny 1.5% of global GDP and a minuscule 0.3% of global population, it has 3.8% of the world's top 500 universities.
We've read both a defence and critique of ARWU's methodology in one of our favourite journals, Scientometrics1. You can find a further critique by Richard Holmes of the University of Malaysia in the Asian Journal of University Education. He also has some comments about Australian universities at a blog. Well worth reading.
The ARWU does not supply a specific rank after number 100, only a grouping. Admittedly, the groupings are inconsistent from year to year, but what the hey.
| University | 2005 | 2006 | 2007 | 2008 | 2009 | 2010 | 2011 |
| University of Melbourne | 82 | 78 | 79 | 73 | 75 | 62 | 60 |
| Australian National University | 56 | 54 | 57 | 59 | 59 | 59 | 70 |
| University of Queensland | 101-152 | 102-150 | 102-150 | 101-151 | 101-151 | 101-150 | 86 |
| University of Sydney | 101-152 | 102-150 | 102-150 | 97 | 94 | 92 | 96 |
| University of Western Australia | 153-202 | 102-150 | 102-150 | 101-151 | 101-151 | 101-150 | 102-150 |
| Monash University | 203-300 | 201-300 | 203-304 | 201-302 | 201-302 | 151-200 | 151-200 |
| University of New South Wales | 153-202 | 151-200 | 151-202 | 152-200 | 152-200 | 151-200 | 151-200 |
| Macquarie University | 203-300 | 201-300 | 202-304 | 201-302 | 201-302 | 201-300 | 201-300 |
| University of Adelaide | 203-300 | 201-300 | 151-202 | 201-302 | 201-302 | 201-300 | 201-300 |
| Flinders University of South Australia | 401-500 | 401-500 | 305-402 | 303-401 | 303-401 | 301-400 | 301-400 |
| James Cook University | - | 401-500 | 403-510 | 303-401 | 402-501 | 301-400 | 301-400 |
| University of Newcastle | 301-400 | 301-400 | 305-402 | 303-401 | 303-401 | 301-400 | 301-400 |
| University of Tasmania | 401-500 | 401-500 | 403-510 | 303-401 | 303-401 | 401-500 | 301-400 |
| University of Wollongong | - | - | 403-510 | 303-401 | 303-401 | 301-400 | 401-500 |
| Curtin University of Technology | - | - | - | - | 402-501 | 401-500 | 401-500 |
| La Trobe University | 401-500 | 301-400 | 403-510 | 402-503 | 402-501 | 401-500 | 401-500 |
| Swinburne University of Technology | - | - | - | - | 402-501 | 401-500 | 401-500 |
| Griffith University | - | - | - | - | - | - | 401-500 |
| University of Technology, Sydney | - | - | - | - | - | - | 401-500 |
| Murdoch University | 401-500 | 401-500 | 403-510 | - | - | - | - |
| University of New England | - | 401-500 | 403-510 | - | - | - | - |
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The ARWU ranking of Australian universities. |
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Until 2007 QS Topuniversities ranked the top 200 of the world's universities. From 2008 it included the top 500. QS Topuniversities ranks the Australian universities much higher than ARWU does. We are more than dubious.
The table below lists every Australian university that has appeared in any of their rankings.
We haven't seen anyone defend the QS Topuniversities rankings in any scholarly journal: for that you have to go to this lunatic's email.
| University | 2004 | 2005 | 2006 | 2007 | 2008 | 2009 | 2010 | 2011 |
| Australian National University | 16 | 23 | 16 | 16 | 16 | 17 | 20 | 26 |
| University of Melbourne | 22 | 19 | 22 | 27 | 38 | =36 | 38 | 31 |
| University of Sydney | 40 | 38 | 35 | 31 | 37 | =36 | 37 | 38 |
| University of Queensland | 49 | 40 | 45 | 33 | 43 | 41 | 43 | 48 |
| University of New South Wales | 36 | 40 | 41 | 44 | 45 | 47 | 46 | 49 |
| Monash University | 33 | 34 | 38 | 43 | 47 | 45 | 61 | 60 |
| University of Western Australia | 96 | 80 | 111 | 64 | 83 | 84 | 89 | 73 |
| University of Adelaide | 56 | 80 | 105 | 62 | 106 | 81 | 103 | 92 |
| Macquarie University | 68 | 67 | 82 | 168 | 182 | 189 | 220 | 211 |
| RMIT | 55 | 82 | 146 | 200 | 206 | 223 | - | 228 |
| University of South Australia | - | 154 | - | - | 303 | 295 | 281 | 256 |
| Curtin University of Technology | 76 | 101 | 156 | - | 232 | =244 | 274 | 258 |
| Queensland University of Technology | - | 118 | 192 | 195 | 212 | =244 | 289 | 267 |
| University of Technology, Sydney | 113 | 87 | - | - | 234 | 232 | 257 | 268 |
| University of Wollongong | - | - | 196 | 199 | 207 | 251 | 267 | 269 |
| University of Newcastle | - | 127 | - | - | - | 266 | 256 | 291 |
| Flinders University of South Australia | - | - | - | - | 273 | 254 | 251 | 299 |
| La Trobe University | 142 | 98 | - | - | 242 | 241 | 286 | 317 |
| University of Tasmania | 151 | 166 | - | - | 291 | 326 | - | 343 |
| Griffith University | - | - | - | - | 325 | 291 | - | 346 |
| James Cook University | - | - | - | - | 401-500 | =355 | - | 352 |
| Deakin University | - | - | - | - | 396 | =355 | - | 401-450 |
| Swinburne University of Technology | - | - | - | - | 401-500 | 401-500 | 401-450 | 401-450 |
| Murdoch University | - | - | - | - | 401-500 | 401-500 | 451-500 | 501-550 |
| University of Western Sydney | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | 601+ |
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The QS Topuniversities ranking of Australian universities. |
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This lists the word's top 500 universities.
| University | 2010 | 2011 |
| University of Melbourne | 36 | 37 |
| Australian National University | 43 | 38 |
| University of Sydney | 71 | 58 |
| University of Queensland | 81 | 74 |
| Monash University | 178 | 117 |
| University of New South Wales | 152 | 173 |
| University of Western Australia | – | 189 |
| University of Adelaide | 73 | 201-225 |
| Macquarie University | – | 226-250 |
| University of Wollongong | – | 251-275 |
| Queensland University of Technology | – | 276-300 |
| University of Newcastle | – | 276-300 |
| Charles Darwin University | – | 301-350 |
| University of Tasmania | – | 301-350 |
| Curtin University of Technology | – | 351-400 |
| Deakin University | – | 351-400 |
| Flinders University of South Australia | – | 351-400 |
| Griffith University | – | 351-400 |
| La Trobe University | – | 351-400 |
| Swinburne University of Technology | – | 351-400 |
| University of South Australia | – | 351-400 |
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The THE World University Rankings ranking of Australian universities. |
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