If you’re planning to move to Queensland to study, you’ve made a fantastic choice. There are several award-winning universities across the state, with 31 campuses located from the Gold Coast to Far North Queensland and everywhere in between.
To give you an idea of the education options on offer, here’s our complete list of universities in Queensland.
Brisbane
Griffith University
Established: 1971
Location: The largest campus of Griffith University is located in Southport, Gold Coast, with additional campuses in South Bank, Nathan, Mt Gravatt and Logan.
Courses: There are 200 degrees on offer across arts, architecture, education, law, business, health and sciences. Griffith excels in hospitality, tourism, nursing and law.
Student population: There are currently more than 18,000 students enrolled at Griffith University in Southport. Nathan has 13,000+ students, Mt Gravatt has 4,000+ students, South Bank has 3,400 students and the Logan campus has almost 2,500 students. There are currently 11,000 students across all campuses.
Graduate success rate: Griffith graduates rank consistently high for graduate employability. Of all of its campuses, Gold Coast graduates were the most successful in securing full-time employment (70%).
Global rankings and awards: Griffith University sits in the top 2% of universities worldwide according to various ranking systems.
Queensland University of Technology (QUT)
Established: 1989
Location: QUT has a main campus in Gardens Point and a second campus in Kelvin Grove.
Courses: Study degrees in business, creative industries, health, education, law and science.
Student population: As of 2018, QUT has over 50,800 students enrolled across its two campuses, with over 8,943 international students.
Graduate success rate: In 2018, QUT was ranked number one in Queensland for the highest graduate employability rating at 90.8%.
Global Rankings and Awards: QUT is in the top 300 universities worldwide according to the 2019 QS World University Rankings. In 2018, it was also ranked the best Queensland university under 50 years old according to the Times Higher Education 150 Under 50.
University of Queensland (UQ)
Established: 1909 (it’s the oldest university in Queensland)
Location: The main UQ campus is located in St Lucia, while other campuses can be found in Herston, Gatton and Ipswich.
Courses: Business and law, engineering and IT, health and social sciences, medicine, science, humanities. UQ exceeds in nursing degrees.
Student population: There are a total of 53,696 students currently studying across UQ campuses, with 18,074 international students from 134 countries around the world.
Graduate success rate: UQ is the number-one university in Queensland for graduate employability and is in the top 10% worldwide.
Global rankings and awards: UQ sits in the top 50 universities worldwide in the 2019 QS World University Rankings and has several awards for university teaching, environmental sciences and ecology studies. It is also ranked ninth in the world for its nursing courses.
Regional
Bond University
Established: 1989
Location: Robina on the Gold Coast.
Courses: Business, law, health sciences and medicine, society and design.
Student population: There are currently 4,000 students enrolled at Bond University, with 54% being domestic students and 46% being international students from over 80 different countries.
Graduate success rate: Graduates are highly employable, with employers rating Bond graduates 91% for employer satisfaction in 2018.
Global rankings and awards: Bond University is in the Top 20 Best Small Universities in the World according to the Times Higher Education rankings and has a consistent five-star rating for student experience in the Good Universities Guide.
CQUniversity
Established: 1967
Location: CQUniversity is located in Rockhampton North and is a popular choice for rural Queenslanders. There are additional campuses in Brisbane, Bundaberg, Cairns, Emerald, Gladstone, Mackay, Noosa and Townsville.
Courses: Education, business, law, arts, engineering and technology, research, health, social sciences, and trades.
Student population: Over 30,000 students study at CQUniversity. International students come from over 70 countries around the world.
Graduate success rate: CQUniversity graduates have an 80.4% success rate when it comes to securing full-time employment within three months of graduation and are often earning a higher salary compared to most of Australia ($62,000 compared to the national average of $58,000).
Global rankings and awards: According to the Times Higher Education World University Rankings, CQUniversity is currently ranked 501-600 and in the top 2% of universities worldwide.
James Cook University (JCU)
Established: 1970
Location: Townsville and Cairns. There is also a campus in the Brisbane CBD.
Courses: Arts, sciences, business, health, education, law, IT, tourism. JCU excels in marine sciences and tropics conservation.
Student population: JCU has 11,882 students, with 12% being international students.
Graduate success rate: In the 2017 Employer Satisfaction Survey, JCU graduates currently have the highest satisfaction rating in Australia as voted by employers.
Global rankings and awards: JCU is currently ranked 201-250 in the Times Higher Education World University Rankings, with several awards for teaching and research on the subject of tropical environments.
University of Southern Queensland (UniSQ)
Established: 1967
Location: Toowoomba, with additional campuses in Springfield and Ipswich.
Courses: Business, education, law, arts, health, engineering, sciences, teaching and Indigenous studies.
Student population: There are currently 3,608 students enrolled at Toowoomba, with around 1,788 students enrolled at Springfield and 1,682 students at Ipswich. Students from 94 different countries study at UniSQ.
Graduate success rate: The Good Universities Guide 2019 found that 80.5% of UniSQ graduates landed a job within four months after graduation. They also had the highest median salary of any university in Australia at $63,800 per year.
Global rankings and awards: UniSQ is ranked 151-200 in the Times Higher Education survey of the best universities under 50 years old.
University of the Sunshine Coast (USC)
Established: 1994
Location: Sippy Downs, with more campuses located in Gympie, Caboolture, South Bank (Brisbane), and Fraser Coast. A new campus is opening in Moreton Bay in 2020.
Courses: Business, IT, tourism, creative industries, education, engineering, health, humanities and law.
Student population: USC has a total of 17,809 students enrolled at its campuses, with 2,981 international students coming from 80 different countries.
Graduate success rate: In 2018, an impressive 83% of graduates secured work within four months of completing their degree according to the Graduate Outcomes Survey.
Global rankings and awards: USC ranks 151-200th in the 2018 Times Higher Education’s Young University Rankings.
Southern Cross University (SCU)
Established: 1994
Location: You can find SCU in Coffs Harbor and Lismore in New South Wales, and in Bilinga on the Gold Coast.
Courses: Arts and social sciences, business, education, environment, engineering, Indigenous studies, health, law and marine science. SCU is considered the number one university for psychology according to the Quality Indicators for Learning and Teaching (QILT).
Student population: The Gold Coast campus is the biggest of the three, with around 4,970 enrolled students.
Graduate success rate: SCU graduates have a very high success rate, reporting a higher than average salary in their chosen fields, particularly agriculture and environmental studies.
Global Rankings and Awards: SCU currently ranks within the top 150 in the Times Higher Education Young University Rankings. It also ranked number one in Australia for international student support according to the International Student Barometer (ISB).
