Embargoed to 11pm Tuesday, August 14
The University of Queensland has again been independently ranked as one of Australia's best universities in a new guide released today.
The 2008 edition of The Good Universities Guide awarded UQ the maximum five-star rating for five key performance indicators. They included getting a job, staff qualifications, research grants, research intensivity and toughness to get in (St Lucia campus).
Last year UQ was the only Queensland university included in the top 50 universities in the world in another ranking list. This is the annual world top 200 ranking, produced by the UK’s Times Higher Education Supplement. UQ advanced two places from 47th to 45th spot.
This month the respected Academic Ranking of World Universities undertaken by the Institute of Higher Education at Shanghai Jiao Tong University, ranked UQ as the top university in Queensland and third nationally.
UQ’s regional rank in the Australia-Pacific region is 10-18. In academic rankings of world universities by broad subject fields, UQ was in the top 100 universities in the world in life and agricultural sciences; clinical medicine and pharmacy; and social sciences.
UQ also features in the latest Newsweek ranking of the world’s top 100 universities.
This week's new ranking is by the Good Universities Guide, an independent consumer guide which provides ratings, rankings, comment and information about Australian higher education institutions.
UQ was the only Queensland university to receive the highest rating for research grants and research intensivity. UQ, ACU and Bond University were the only Queensland universities to receive the maximum five stars for graduate employment and staff qualifications.
Vice-Chancellor Professor John Hay AC welcomed the independent assessment of the University`s high quality standing.
“This is the 11th consecutive year that the Good Universities Guide has assessed UQ as being at the top of the State`s academic hierarchy for its combination of research and good graduate outcomes,” he said.
“The University focuses both on achieving the highest quality teaching and research excellence.
“Our staff members have earned far more national teaching awards than any other Australian university, while our faculties and cluster of research institutes indicate the depth and breadth of our expertise.
“UQ is a founding member of the Group of Eight, a group of Australian universities which conducts 70 percent of all university research in Australia.
“It is also one of only three Australian members of Universitas 21 – an international network of comprehensive, research-intensive universities committed to quality through benchmarking against world-best practice.”
Professor Hay said the Good Universities Guide's assessment reflected the University`s track record of performance and its attractiveness to students, its first-class facilities, its exceptional research performance and the outstanding success of graduates in gaining employment and access to advanced study.
Students can examine UQ first hand at Open Days UQ Ipswich (August 19, 10am-2pm) and at UQ Gatton (August 26, 9.30am-3pm). Visit www.uq.edu.au/opendays for more details.
Alternately, visit the UQ display at the Fun and Learning Pavilion (pavilion 6, Agriculture Street) at the “Ekka” at the RNA Showgrounds, Brisbane, through until Saturday.
Media: for more information, contact Jan King at UQ Communications, telephone 0413 601 248.
