The University of Sydney is a world-class public university, and one to look at if you plan to study in Australia. It has an excellent reputation for teaching and research, and you will be sure to receive a quality education experience here. It has more than 54000 students enrolled.
This is Australia’s first university, established in 1850. The main campus is spread across the Sydney suburbs of Camperdown and Darlington, just to the south west of the city center. It also has a number of smaller campuses and satellite campuses around Sydney and a few other locations in Australia.
Given the age of the University, it has some lovely old buildings, and it has been recognized as one of the most beautiful university campuses in the world. It is referred to as one of Australia’s ‘Sandstone Universities’ due to the large stone blocks which many of its first early buildings were constructed from.
Australia has a number of other world-class universities which you might also be investigating, so let’s take a more detailed look at some of the ranks and figures for the University of Sydney. There are some different disciplines in which each university has its strengths.
Number 3 in Australia
The three universities which are consistently vying for the top position in Australia are- the University of Sydney, the Australian National University, and the University of Melbourne.
You will see that the University of Sydney comes in at number 42 in the QS World University Rankings (2019), beaten by the University of Melbourne at 39, and the Australian National University (ANU) which came in at number 24.
A closer look at the ranking indicators, and it becomes clear that the University scores exceptionally well for Academic Reputation and Employer Reputation, and International Student Ratio—all number 2 in Australia. It is also equal first position with ANU for International Faculty Ratio.
According to the Times Higher Education World University Rankings (2019), the University of Sydney also ranks number 3 in Australia and is placed as equal number 59 in the world. In the areas of Citations and Industry Income, it beats the ANU which holds overall second position in Australia.
Subject Rankings
Beyond the overall university rankings and the shuffling of the top positions, you can find details of where each university’s strengths lie. The University of Sydney takes out the top position in Australia for a few subject areas and is a close second in many others.
In the 2019 Times, Higher Education World University Rankings the University of Sydney is number 1 in Australia for 3 subject areas. All of these subjects are also in the top 15 in the world: Veterinary Science at number 9 in the world, Architecture is number 15 in the world, and Education is number 12 in the world.
The university holds a large number of second position rankings in Australia, and also enjoys very high international rankings in these subjects:
- Anatomy and Physiology – #13 in the world
- Archaeology – #24
- Communication and media studies – #20
- Engineering – civil and structural– #20
- English language and literature – #18
- History – #25
- Law – #12
- Medicine – #18
- Modern languages – #26
- Nursing – =#15
- Pharmacy and pharmacology – #19
- Philosophy – =#25
- Sports-related subjects – #4 in the world
Acceptance Rates
Australian universities do not generally release any details of the number of applications they receive, nor any details of acceptance rates, unlike in the US market.
It may be possible to find information for individual courses referred to, but these typically won’t be official figures, and may not be accurate. It can be misleading to quote any university-wide acceptance rate, as will only be a very rough estimate.
Acceptance rates will vary for local students versus international students, for undergraduate versus postgraduate versus research degrees, and for individual faculties, or courses.
International students are welcomed into the university readily as they are generally paying tuition fees. For this reason, the acceptance rates for international students are thought to be quite high.
Graduate Employability
This is a measure of how the university’s graduates are perceived on the world job market, as well as employer-student connections the university has an alumni outcomes.
The University of Sydney holds the top position in Australia for graduate employability. The QS World University Rankings (2019) place the university as number 5 in the world. The University leads in Australia with top scores on ratings for Student-Employer Connections, Alumni Outcomes and for Partnerships with Employers.
Impact Rankings
The University of Sydney makes an appearance in the Times Higher Education World University Impact Rankings (2019). These rankings measure universities against the United Nations’ Sustainable Development Goals (SDG). The rankings look at three broad areas for each goal: research, outreach, and stewardship.
There are a couple of younger Australian universities taking out the top spots in Australia, but the University of Sydney ranks as number 4 in Australia. This also puts the University in 25th place in the world.
It achieves the top score in Australia for SDG 3, which ranks the university’s support for healthcare professions, and the health of students and staff, along with its research on key diseases and conditions.
It also holds tops spot for SDG 8 – decent work and economic growth. The University scores well on two more goals: SDG 5 – Gender Equality, and SDG 17 – Partnerships for the Goals.
Sydney is a Spectacular World Class City
Not only will you set yourself up for a great education experience by Studying at the University of Sydney, but you will also have the chance to experience a world-class city.
The famous Sydney Opera House and the Sydney Harbour Bridge are instantly recognizable around the world. Sydney is an impressive harbor city and Australia’s largest city with a population of around 5.5million.
In the latest QS Best Student Cities Rankings Sydney now comes in a number 2, and number 9 in the world. Keep in mind it is the most expensive city in Australia to live in, but it can be well worth it for the experience.
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