Australian Universities

Here you can find a list of Australian universities. These are NOT the only places where you can study for an Australian degree. Like Britain, Australia has a range of colleges in the state sector that are akin to our colleges of Further Education and Technology that offer full validated degree and diplomas; as well as technical, professional and vocational certificated courses. These colleges are called TAFEs. There are also a bigger range than in the UK, of privately run vocational and technical colleges and institutes; specializing in a wide range of programmes and courses.

Quality

In terms of quality, Australian universities have been explained in the past as having a higher average level of quality without perhaps the highs (and lows) of the UK system. This is a myth. It is true that UNESCO (the organization of the United Nations that has tried to assess international university quality) has often given Australia a higher rating than Britain, but don’t read anything hugely significant into this.

The fact is that if you are a high flyer looking for an Oxbridge level degree, you can find it in Australia – after all it was Oxbridge alumni that set up some of Australia’s oldest universities (such as Sydney) to achieve just that. You will also find universities who have been training and educating the elite in professions such as business and accountancy before any in Britain did. Australia has always been proud of both its academic excellence, as well as its degrees designed to produce graduates equipped to excel in the professions and the world of work.

Similarly, there is none of the sometime perceived snobbery you can get in Britain, between old and new universities. Australia’s then Central Institutes and others, were created universities before our Polytechnics. In a country where a lot is new in British terms, you will find so-called new universities in any of the perceived status groups like the Group of Eight (a group of leading research based universities, often compared to the British Russell Group).

The links provided in this list of universities, are wherever possible to the International Offices of the universities; who are normally well-equipped to deal with British student enquiries and help you with any information and your application. The universities are listed alphabetically, even though (as in Britain) several prefer the title of ‘University of…’