39 Best universities for Development Studies in Australia

Updated: March 15, 2026

Ranking by academic field

Below is a list of best universities in Australia ranked based on their research performance in Development Studies. A graph of 7.41M citations received by 265K academic papers made by 39 universities in Australia was used to calculate publications' ratings, which then were adjusted for release dates and added to final scores.

We don't distinguish between undergraduate and graduate programs nor do we adjust for current majors offered. You can find information about granted degrees on a university page but always double-check with the university website.

1. University of Sydney

Australia | Sydney

For Development Studies

#1 in Oceania

#21 in the World

Enrollment: 63,602
Founded: 1850

2. University of Melbourne

Australia | Melbourne

For Development Studies

#2 in Oceania

#22 in the World

Acceptance Rate: 77%
Enrollment: 77,162
Founded: 1853

3. University of Queensland

Australia | St Lucia

For Development Studies

#3 in Oceania

#28 in the World

Enrollment: 48,771
Founded: 1909

4. Monash University

Australia | Clayton

For Development Studies

#4 in Oceania

#34 in the World

Acceptance Rate: 73%
Enrollment: 78,000
Founded: 1958

5. University of New South Wales

Australia | Sydney

For Development Studies

#5 in Oceania

#41 in the World

Acceptance Rate: 60%
Enrollment: 63,864
Founded: 1949

6. Australian National University

Australia | Canberra

For Development Studies

#6 in Oceania

#50 in the World

Acceptance Rate: 71%
Founded: 1946

7. Griffith University

Australia | Brisbane

For Development Studies

#7 in Oceania

#63 in the World

Founded: 1971

8. Queensland University of Technology

Australia | Brisbane

For Development Studies

#9 in Oceania

#88 in the World

Acceptance Rate: 77%
Founded: 1989

9. Deakin University

Australia | Geelong

For Development Studies

#10 in Oceania

#90 in the World

Enrollment: 34,616
Founded: 1974

10. University of Adelaide

Australia | Adelaide

For Development Studies

#11 in Oceania

#130 in the World

Enrollment: 25,000
Founded: 1874

11. University of Technology Sydney

Australia | Sydney

For Development Studies

#12 in Oceania

#139 in the World

Founded: 1965

12. University of Western Australia

Australia | Crawley

For Development Studies

#13 in Oceania

#144 in the World

Enrollment: 25,000
Founded: 1911

13. Macquarie University

Australia | Sydney

For Development Studies

#14 in Oceania

#153 in the World

Enrollment: 38,747
Founded: 1964

14. Curtin University

Australia | Perth

For Development Studies

#15 in Oceania

#162 in the World

Acceptance Rate: 56%
Enrollment: 58,607
Founded: 1966

15. Flinders University

Australia | Adelaide

For Development Studies

#16 in Oceania

#167 in the World

Founded: 1966

16. University of Newcastle

Australia | Callaghan

For Development Studies

#17 in Oceania

#170 in the World

Acceptance Rate: 80%
Founded: 1965

17. La Trobe University

Australia | Melbourne

For Development Studies

#18 in Oceania

#173 in the World

Enrollment: 7,500
Founded: 1964

18. University of South Australia

Australia | Adelaide

For Development Studies

#19 in Oceania

#183 in the World

Founded: 1991

19. Western Sydney University

Australia | Penrith

For Development Studies

#21 in Oceania

#194 in the World

Enrollment: 37,426
Founded: 1989

20. University of Wollongong

Australia | Wollongong

For Development Studies

#22 in Oceania

#195 in the World

Enrollment: 31,313
Founded: 1975

21. RMIT University

Australia | Melbourne

For Development Studies

#23 in Oceania

#211 in the World

Founded: 1887

22. University of Tasmania

Australia | Hobart

For Development Studies

#25 in Oceania

#248 in the World

Acceptance Rate: 72%
Enrollment: 33,879
Founded: 1890

23. University of New England, Australia

Australia | Armidale

For Development Studies

#26 in Oceania

#258 in the World

Acceptance Rate: 70%
Founded: 1938

24. James Cook University

Australia | Townsville

For Development Studies

#27 in Oceania

#328 in the World

Founded: 1970

25. Charles Sturt University

Australia | Bathurst

For Development Studies

#30 in Oceania

#378 in the World

Acceptance Rate: 71%
Founded: 1989

26. University of Canberra

Australia | Canberra

For Development Studies

#32 in Oceania

#403 in the World

Acceptance Rate: 78%
Enrollment: 17,576
Founded: 1967

27. Edith Cowan University

Australia | Joondalup

For Development Studies

#33 in Oceania

#439 in the World

Founded: 1991

28. Australian Catholic University

Australia | North Sydney

For Development Studies

#34 in Oceania

#461 in the World

Founded: 1991

29. Swinburne University of Technology

Australia | Hawthorn

For Development Studies

#36 in Oceania

#487 in the World

Founded: 1908

30. University of Southern Queensland

Australia | Toowoomba

For Development Studies

#37 in Oceania

#504 in the World

Acceptance Rate: 70%
Founded: 1967

31. Murdoch University

Australia | Murdoch

For Development Studies

#38 in Oceania

#509 in the World

Enrollment: 22,475
Founded: 1975

32. Central Queensland University

Australia | North Rockhampton

For Development Studies

#39 in Oceania

#558 in the World

Founded: 1967

33. Victoria University

Australia | Melbourne

For Development Studies

#40 in Oceania

#569 in the World

Founded: 1990

34. Southern Cross University

Australia | Lismore

For Development Studies

#41 in Oceania

#656 in the World

Acceptance Rate: 70%
Founded: 1994

35. Charles Darwin University

Australia | Darwin

For Development Studies

#42 in Oceania

#685 in the World

Founded: 1989

36. University of the Sunshine Coast

Australia | Sippy Downs

For Development Studies

#43 in Oceania

#773 in the World

Acceptance Rate: 82%
Founded: 1994

37. Bond University

Australia | Gold Coast

For Development Studies

#44 in Oceania

#822 in the World

Founded: 1987

38. Federation University Australia

Australia | Ballarat

For Development Studies

#45 in Oceania

#915 in the World

Founded: 1870

39. University of Notre Dame Australia

Australia | Fremantle

For Development Studies

#47 in Oceania

#1356 in the World

Enrollment: 11,579
Founded: 1989

The best cities to study Development Studies in Australia based on the number of universities and their ranks are Sydney, Melbourne, St Lucia, and Clayton.

Economics subfields in Australia

Actuarial Science31

Agricultural Economics32

Econometrics and Mathematical Economics39

Environmental Economics35

Finance39

International Economics33

International Relations and Diplomacy30

International Trade37

Investment Banking and Stock trading36

Political Economy37