How merged Adelaide Uni scores in world rankings – before opening
A merger of two of South Australia’s three universities has been ranked on the Times Higher Education World University Rankings, months before it opens its doors.
The merged University of Adelaide and University of South Australia has fallen down the the Times Higher Education World University Ranking for 2026.
The new institution, which cost state taxpayers about $450 million, ranked a joint 176th. Last year, the standalone University of Adelaide ranked at 128.
But a spokesperson from the University of Adelaide, which ranked within the top 100 universities worldwide in the QS World University Rankings earlier this year, told InDaily the institution was “confident” it would move up the rankings once it opened its doors to students on January 5.
“The underlying performance of our foundation universities is strong and we are focused on building on our legacies, experience and achievements to further strengthen our global reputation throughout our formative years,” he said in a statement.
“Adelaide University will bring together significant academic and research capability with increased capacity to achieve even greater positive impact for our students, partners and community – and despite an increasingly competitive global tertiary sector, the new institution remains well placed, ranked in the top one per cent worldwide on an ongoing basis.”
The rankings, released on Thursday, mean the University of Melbourne has retained its position as the top-rated Australian institution for the 16th consecutive year.
It ranked 37th, up two places on last year’s results, while the University of Sydney moved up eight places to joint 53rd.
The rankings, which assessed more than 3000 research universities, found Australia’s average score had risen because of improvements in 15 of the 18 metrics.
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The University of Melbourne’s marginal rise was credited to improvements in teaching reputation and research reputation.
Australia has 37 ranked universities, one fewer than last year because of the merger.
Only four of Australian institutions dropped in the table, while 12 improved their rankings and three of those – Macquarie, Charles Sturt and Notre Dame – achieved their best-ever performances.
Australia’s improvements were most prominent in citation impact and teaching reputation, both metrics that carry a lot of weight.
New Zealand’s top place was University of Auckland, ranked joint 156th and Fiji has one ranked university, University of the South Pacific, in band 1001-1200.
THE chief global affairs officer Phil Baty said the rankings highlighted a dramatic and accelerating trend – the shift in the balance of power in research and higher education excellence from the long-established, dominant institutions of the West to rising stars of the East.
The US and much of western Europe lost significant ground, while East Asian nations, led by China, continue to thrive and surge up the table.
“But Australia is in a unique position, emerging strongly from stymied internationalisation during COVID to buck the western trend and see solid improvements in the rankings this year,” he said.
“There’s a real opportunity for Australia to capitalise on the shifting dynamics of global higher education – to strengthen its international talent attraction and to increase collaboration with thriving Southeast Asian institutions.”
Australia’s international student numbers are showing a post-COVID rebound.
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The government has capped international numbers at 295,000 for 2026 – a rise of nine per cent – to manage growth in a “sustainable” way.
International student education was worth $51 billion for the Australian economy in 2023/24.
TOP 10 RANKED AUSTRALIAN UNIVERSITIES:
* Melbourne – 37th, up two places
* Sydney – equal 53rd, up eight places
* Monash – equal 58th, same as previous
* ANU – equal 73rd, same as previous
* UNSW Sydney – 79th, up four places
* Queensland – 80th, down three places
* UTS – equal 145th, up nine places
* WA – 153rd, down four places
* Macquarie – equal 166th, up 12 places
* Adelaide – equal 176th, new entry
-with AAP
