World Rankings

World rankings

The University of Adelaide is consistently ranked in the top 1% of the world’s universities. We are recognised globally as a leading research university.

This is measured by the best-known world university ranking methodologies available – US News Best Global Universities Rankings, QS World University Rankings, Times Higher Education World University Rankings, and the ShanghaiRanking Academic Ranking of World Universities.

  • 66 in US News Best Global Universities Rankings

    The University of Adelaide ranked 66th in the 2022 US News Best Global Universities. The 2022 rankings measured 1750 global universities over thirteen metrics including Research Reputation, Publication Output, Citations, Highly Cited Papers and International Collaboration.

    Year 2016 2017 2018 2019 2020 2021 2022
    Ranking 184 152 122 102 80 73 66

  • 109 in QS World University Rankings

    The University of Adelaide ranked 109th in the 2023 QS World University Rankings. The 2023 rankings measured 1300 global universities over five metrics – Academic Reputation, Employer Reputation, Faculty/Student Ratio, International Faculty and International Students.

    Year 2016 2017 2018 2019 2020 2021 2022 2023
    Ranking 113 125 109 114 106 106 108 109

  • 111 in Times Higher Education World University Rankings

    The University of Adelaide ranked 111th in the 2022 THE World University Rankings. The 2022 rankings measured 1600+ global universities over five performance areas – Teaching, Research, Citations, Industry Income and International Outlook.

    Year 2016 2017 2018 2019 2020 2021 2022
    Ranking 149 142 134 135 120 118 111

  • 133 in ShanghaiRanking Academic Ranking of World Universities

    The University of Adelaide ranked 133rd in the 2021 Academic Ranking of World Universities. The 2021 rankings measured 1000 global universities over six metrics – Alumni Awards, Staff Awards, Highly Cited Researchers, Nature & Science Papers, Publication Output and Per-Capita Academic Performance.

    Year 2016 2017 2018 2019 2020 2021
    Ranking 169 139 139 137 152 133

  • 102 in UNSW Aggregate Ranking of Top Universities

    The University of Adelaide ranked 102nd in the 2021 Aggregate Ranking of Top Universities. The 2021 rankings measured 2052 global universities based on an aggregation of their most recent ranks in the ShanghaiRanking Academic Ranking of World Universities, QS World University Rankings and Times Higher Education World University Rankings schemes.

    Year 2016 2017 2018 2019 2020 2021
    Ranking 117 114 116 104 108 102

  • Top 100 for 14 academic subjects in QS World University Rankings by Subject

    The University of Adelaide was ranked in the global Top 100 for 14 subject areas in the 2022 QS World University Rankings by Subject. At subject level, QS assesses universities over five metrics – Academic Reputation, Employer Reputation, Citations, H-Index and International Research Network which are weighted according to subject area.

    Top 100 subject areas for 2022:

    Subject Area Ranking
    Petroleum Engineering 10
    Engineering - Mineral & Mining 19
    Dentistry 25
    Nursing 46
    Agriculture & Forestry 70
    Pharmacy & Pharmacology 70=
    Computer Science & Information Systems 96=
    Veterinary Science 51-60
    Philosophy 51-100
    Engineering - Civil & Structural 51-100
    Anatomy & Physiology 51-100
    Earth & Marine Sciences 51-100
    Geology 51-100
    Development Studies 51-100

  • Top 100 for 3 academic subjects in Times Higher Education World University Rankings by Subject

    The University of Adelaide was ranked in the global Top 100 for 3 subject areas in the 2022 THE World University Rankings by Subject. At subject level, THE assesses universities over the same five performance areas as per their World University Rankings, with the weightings recalibrated for each subject area.

    Top 100 subject areas for 2022:

    Subject Area Ranking
    Clinical & Health 73
    Education 90
    Engineering 92

  • Top 100 for 16 academic subjects in ShanghaiRanking Global Ranking of Academic Subjects

    The University of Adelaide was ranked in the global Top 100 for 16 subject areas in the 2021 Global Ranking of Academic Subjects. At subject level ShanghaiRanking assesses universities over five metrics - Q1 Journal Impact Factor Publications, Category Normalized Citation Impact (CNCI), International Collaboration, Papers Published in Top Journals and Staff Awards.

    Top 100 subject areas for 2021:

    Subject Area Ranking
    Mining & Mineral Engineering 7
    Automation & Control 25
    Water Resources 31
    Civil Engineering 35
    Agricultural Sciences 42
    Dentistry & Oral Sciences 44
    Computer Science & Engineering 48
    Instruments Science & Technology 61
    Earth Sciences 70
    Nursing 72
    Electrical & Electronic Engineering 76
    Veterinary Sciences 79
    Energy Science & Engineering 80
    Mechanical Engineering 86
    Clinical Medicine 94
    Nanoscience & Nanotechnology 99