Australia’s leading universities have dropped in the 2025 Times Higher Education World University Rankings, with 17 institutions falling due to worsening reputation and concern over incoming caps on international students.

Although the University of Melbourne has held its position as Australia’s best-ranked campus for 15 consecutive years, it has fallen from 37th to 39th. This marks its lowest placement in the 21-year history of the global ranking.

Monash University was Australia’s next best-ranked campus, which fell from 54th to 58th, followed by the University of Sydney, now ranked one place lower at 61st.  

The Times Higher Education chief global affairs officer, Phil Baty, said the Australian sector faces a number of serious concerns.

“Australian universities are losing ground in terms of their global academic reputation [and] funding levels,” he said. “Perhaps most alarmingly, they are losing ground in areas of great traditional strength, international research collaboration and the attraction of international talent.” 

“Many in the sector are very worried about forthcoming new international student caps, which may further erode income for some top institutions, as well as diminish Australia’s world-leading reputation as an open and internationally facing sector.”

Despite Australia’s leading universities taking a tumble down the rankings, University of Melbourne Vice-Chancellor Professor Duncan Maskell praised Australian universities for their contribution to the nation. 

“More broadly, these latest rankings have underscored that international education is a prized national asset and as a country we should be proud to see the number of Australian universities ranked in the top 100 globally,” he said.

Maskell said these results reflect the University’s commitment to excellence in education and research, vowing to continue to deliver high standards. 

“This latest ranking not only reflects the University’s exceptional global reputation but also underscores the remarkable contribution and dedication of all our people. Our continued success in these global rankings reflects the sustained hard work of all members of our university community over many years and for that I am profoundly grateful,” he said.

“Our universities are central to our strong Australian society and its cultural development.”

Professor Mark Scott, Vice-Chancellor and President from the University of Sydney, said these results serve as an endorsement to the university’s staff. 

“I congratulate all our staff on our continuing success in these rankings, including our improved performance for research quality, teaching and industry. I especially note our outstanding performance in the industry pillar this year, a direct reflection of our strong collaboration with industry partners and the relevance of our research to new patents,” he said.  

Other universities that saw a lower ranking this year was the Australian National University, which fell from 67th to 73rd, and the University of Queensland, which completed Australia’s top five, dropping from 70th to 77th.

Only four institutions, University of New South Wales, Macquarie University, Deakin University and Federation University Australia, improved their position in the latest rankings.

Out of 2,000 institutions from 115 countries and territories, Oxford University held the top spot for the ninth year running, followed by MIT, which overtook Stanford for second place.  

The comprehensive evaluation of university performance is based on 18 carefully calibrated indicators to assess institutions across five key areas, teaching, research, environment, research quality, industry engagement and international outlook.  

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