The University of Melbourne has claimed the 19th spot in the QS World University Rankings 2026.
The prestigious QS World University Rankings for 2026 have just dropped, revealing which institutions stand in the best stead for the year ahead. A Melbourne university is in the top 20.
Two Aussie universities cracked the top 20 for yet another year, out of more than 1500 institutions from around the world assessed for the 2026 rankings, including 36 from Australia.
Australia’s highest-ranked institution was the University of Melbourne, which landed 19th on the global list.
University of Melbourne ranked top 20
- The University of Melbourne has ranked 19th in QS World University Rankings for 2026
- The ranking puts the Australian university ahead of both Yale and Princeton
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While it slipped six spots from placing 13th in 2025, its overall score actually rose 1.9 points to 90.8 – thanks to improved ratings in seven of the nine ranking indicators.
This achievement places the University of Melbourne ahead of two of America’s most prestigious Ivy League institutions; Yale University at 23rd and Princeton University at 25th.
The University of Melbourne earned a near-perfect 99.7 for academic reputation (the highest in Australia) and also ranked first in the country for employer reputation and sustainability.
Independent world rankings place the university as number one in Australia and among the leading universities internationally, number 19 (QS), number 37 (ARWU) and 39 (THE).
Just one position behind was the University of New South Wales (UNSW), which held onto its place among the top 20 universities in the world for the third consecutive year.
Its overall score of 90.7 saw it drop one position from 19th in 2025, but it maintained impressive ratings for academic reputation (96.3) and ranked equal 12th in the world for sustainability.
The QS World University Rankings is one of the most comprehensive of its kind, evaluating thousands of universities from around the world on a range of indicators related to research, employability and outcomes, global engagement and sustainability.
Yale University and Princeton University, both Ivy League institutions with centuries-old reputations, found themselves trailing behind Melbourne’s performance this year.
According to the QS World University Ranking, Yale University moved from 16th in 2024 to 23rd in 2025, while Princeton placed equal 25th globally with the University of Sydney in the QS World University Rankings.
The top five were pretty similar to last year, with MIT holding onto first place with a perfect score of 100, followed by Imperial College London, Stanford, Harvard and Cambridge.
The University of Melbourne is the only Australian university to have ranked in the top 50 in all broad subject areas in 2025.
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