39 Best universities for Optical Engineering 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 Optical Engineering. A graph of 10.8M citations received by 292K 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 Optical Engineering

#1 in Oceania

#56 in the World

Enrollment: 63,602
Founded: 1850

2. Australian National University

Australia | Canberra

For Optical Engineering

#2 in Oceania

#72 in the World

Acceptance Rate: 71%
Founded: 1946

3. University of Melbourne

Australia | Melbourne

For Optical Engineering

#3 in Oceania

#86 in the World

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

4. University of New South Wales

Australia | Sydney

For Optical Engineering

#4 in Oceania

#93 in the World

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

5. University of Queensland

Australia | St Lucia

For Optical Engineering

#5 in Oceania

#111 in the World

Enrollment: 48,771
Founded: 1909

6. Monash University

Australia | Clayton

For Optical Engineering

#6 in Oceania

#153 in the World

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

7. University of Adelaide

Australia | Adelaide

For Optical Engineering

#8 in Oceania

#242 in the World

Enrollment: 25,000
Founded: 1874

8. University of Western Australia

Australia | Crawley

For Optical Engineering

#9 in Oceania

#255 in the World

Enrollment: 25,000
Founded: 1911

9. Queensland University of Technology

Australia | Brisbane

For Optical Engineering

#10 in Oceania

#279 in the World

Acceptance Rate: 77%
Founded: 1989

10. Macquarie University

Australia | Sydney

For Optical Engineering

#11 in Oceania

#322 in the World

Enrollment: 38,747
Founded: 1964

11. University of Technology Sydney

Australia | Sydney

For Optical Engineering

#12 in Oceania

#347 in the World

Founded: 1965

12. RMIT University

Australia | Melbourne

For Optical Engineering

#13 in Oceania

#382 in the World

Founded: 1887

13. University of Wollongong

Australia | Wollongong

For Optical Engineering

#14 in Oceania

#405 in the World

Enrollment: 31,313
Founded: 1975

14. Swinburne University of Technology

Australia | Hawthorn

For Optical Engineering

#15 in Oceania

#463 in the World

Founded: 1908

15. Curtin University

Australia | Perth

For Optical Engineering

#16 in Oceania

#508 in the World

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

16. Griffith University

Australia | Brisbane

For Optical Engineering

#18 in Oceania

#601 in the World

Founded: 1971

17. University of Newcastle

Australia | Callaghan

For Optical Engineering

#20 in Oceania

#629 in the World

Acceptance Rate: 80%
Founded: 1965

18. Flinders University

Australia | Adelaide

For Optical Engineering

#21 in Oceania

#719 in the World

Founded: 1966

19. Deakin University

Australia | Geelong

For Optical Engineering

#22 in Oceania

#730 in the World

Enrollment: 34,616
Founded: 1974

20. University of South Australia

Australia | Adelaide

For Optical Engineering

#24 in Oceania

#777 in the World

Founded: 1991

21. University of Tasmania

Australia | Hobart

For Optical Engineering

#25 in Oceania

#781 in the World

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

22. La Trobe University

Australia | Melbourne

For Optical Engineering

#26 in Oceania

#855 in the World

Enrollment: 7,500
Founded: 1964

23. Western Sydney University

Australia | Penrith

For Optical Engineering

#28 in Oceania

#1000 in the World

Enrollment: 37,426
Founded: 1989

24. James Cook University

Australia | Townsville

For Optical Engineering

#29 in Oceania

#1041 in the World

Founded: 1970

25. Victoria University

Australia | Melbourne

For Optical Engineering

#31 in Oceania

#1182 in the World

Founded: 1990

26. University of Canberra

Australia | Canberra

For Optical Engineering

#32 in Oceania

#1199 in the World

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

27. Edith Cowan University

Australia | Joondalup

For Optical Engineering

#33 in Oceania

#1259 in the World

Founded: 1991

28. University of Southern Queensland

Australia | Toowoomba

For Optical Engineering

#35 in Oceania

#1312 in the World

Acceptance Rate: 70%
Founded: 1967

29. Murdoch University

Australia | Murdoch

For Optical Engineering

#36 in Oceania

#1500 in the World

Enrollment: 22,475
Founded: 1975

30. Charles Sturt University

Australia | Bathurst

For Optical Engineering

#37 in Oceania

#1599 in the World

Acceptance Rate: 71%
Founded: 1989

31. University of New England, Australia

Australia | Armidale

For Optical Engineering

#38 in Oceania

#1688 in the World

Acceptance Rate: 70%
Founded: 1938

32. Charles Darwin University

Australia | Darwin

For Optical Engineering

#39 in Oceania

#1788 in the World

Founded: 1989

33. Central Queensland University

Australia | North Rockhampton

For Optical Engineering

#41 in Oceania

#2038 in the World

Founded: 1967

34. Southern Cross University

Australia | Lismore

For Optical Engineering

#42 in Oceania

#2512 in the World

Acceptance Rate: 70%
Founded: 1994

35. Australian Catholic University

Australia | North Sydney

For Optical Engineering

#43 in Oceania

#2533 in the World

Founded: 1991

36. Federation University Australia

Australia | Ballarat

For Optical Engineering

#44 in Oceania

#2542 in the World

Founded: 1870

37. University of the Sunshine Coast

Australia | Sippy Downs

For Optical Engineering

#45 in Oceania

#2671 in the World

Acceptance Rate: 82%
Founded: 1994

38. Bond University

Australia | Gold Coast

For Optical Engineering

#46 in Oceania

#2762 in the World

Founded: 1987

39. University of Notre Dame Australia

Australia | Fremantle

For Optical Engineering

#48 in Oceania

#3335 in the World

Enrollment: 11,579
Founded: 1989

The best cities to study Optical Engineering in Australia based on the number of universities and their ranks are Sydney, Canberra, Melbourne, and St Lucia.