Deakin University has improved its position in the Times Higher Education (THE) World University Rankings, climbing an estimated 21 places from 265 to 244 and confirming its place as one of the top 1% of universities worldwide.*
Deakin has moved into the 201-250 band for the first time, building on the University’s continued success in recent years.
At a national level, Deakin ranked 13th among Australian universities, an improvement of four places from last year (17) and was the highest ranked of all non-Go8 Victorian institutions.
The prestigious THE index ranks universities across five performance indicators: teaching, research environment, research quality, international outlook and industry.
Acting Vice-Chancellor, Professor Liz Johnson, congratulated the Deakin community on the achievement.
‘As we prepare to celebrate Deakin’s 50th anniversary, I am so pleased that our progress and leadership continue to be recognised on a global stage,’ Professor Johnson said.
‘So much of what has been achieved is the result of the efforts of many across our university and I pay tribute to our remarkable students and staff.
‘Our progress shows we are on the right track and that what we do matters; to our students, local communities and internationally.
‘We have made extraordinary progress for a younger university and remain focused on driving a culture of innovation, creativity and excellence while staying true to our founding values of inclusion and access to education.’
Recent highlights for Deakin include:
- Ranked as one of the world’s top 200 universities in the 2025 QS World University Rankings.
- Number one in Victoria for Overall Student Satisfaction for 14 years, and one of the top universities in Australia on this measure.
- Opening the Hycel Technology Hub, Australia’s first hydrogen research and demonstration centre.
- Celebrating our 30-year partnership with India in 2024.
- Securing approval to proceed with an international branch campus in Indonesia, in collaboration with Lancaster University.
- Being announced as a Trailblazer University to deliver the Deakin University Recycling and Clean Energy Commercialisation Hub (REACH).
- Founding of the Damion Drapac Centre to advance socially inclusive medical education.
*Deakin’s position within the 201-250 Ranked Group is not an official ranking by THE. It is a Deakin calculation that applies the THE weighting to Deakin’s raw scores to derive a position within the Ranked Group.