Top Queensland university slips in global rankings, as others rise

Queensland’s top university has slipped three places in the globe’s top research university rankings, while every other university has retained or improved its position.

The University of Queensland fell to equal 80th in the 2026 Times Higher Education World University Rankings, and sixth in Australia, after UNSW Sydney jumped ahead.

Brisbane universities QUT and Griffith University remained the state’s second and third highest-ranked universities, with Griffith rising back into the global top 300.

The 2026 rankings shunted Griffith up to equal 14th in Australia.

Despite slipping from its 2025 ranking of 77 in the world, UQ vice-chancellor Deborah Terry said the university had consolidated its position as a top global institution.

“We continue to deliver on our mission to provide world-leading education and research that delivers meaningful economic and social benefits for Queensland,” she said in a statement responding to the ranking announcement.

The University of Melbourne was Australia’s top performer in 37th place thanks to improvement to teaching reputation and research reputation scores, while the University of Sydney ranked 53rd in the world, followed by UNSW at 79th and The University of Technology at 145th.

Some Australian institutions tumbled in the rankings last year because of poor scoring on international research collaboration and international talent metrics.

The rankings are billed as the most comprehensive and balanced assessment of research universities, assessing 2191 institutions based on 19 million research papers, 1.5 million votes in an academic reputation survey and detailed institutional data.

Oxford University again ranked first in the world. The top 10 comprised of only US and UK universities.

Griffith University dean of sustainability and rankings, Professor Jennifer Boddy, described the institution’s rise as a “terrific reflection of the university’s performance across a range of key measures”.

The university has recently shaken up its presence in Brisbane – where QUT and UQ also have their primary campuses – by acquiring the old Treasury building last year, which it expected to reopen as a second specialised CBD campus in 2027.

The university also closed down its Mount Gravatt campus earlier this year.

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