39 Best universities for Ecology 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 Ecology. A graph of 23.4M citations received by 599K 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 Queensland

Australia | St Lucia

For Ecology

#17 in the World

Enrollment: 48,771
Founded: 1909

2. University of Melbourne

Australia | Melbourne

For Ecology

#30 in the World

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

3. University of Sydney

Australia | Sydney

For Ecology

#37 in the World

Enrollment: 63,602
Founded: 1850

4. University of New South Wales

Australia | Sydney

For Ecology

#52 in the World

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

5. Australian National University

Australia | Canberra

For Ecology

#53 in the World

Acceptance Rate: 71%
Founded: 1946

6. University of Western Australia

Australia | Crawley

For Ecology

#79 in the World

Enrollment: 25,000
Founded: 1911

7. Monash University

Australia | Clayton

For Ecology

#89 in the World

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

8. University of Adelaide

Australia | Adelaide

For Ecology

#97 in the World

Enrollment: 25,000
Founded: 1874

9. James Cook University

Australia | Townsville

For Ecology

#109 in the World

Founded: 1970

10. Griffith University

Australia | Brisbane

For Ecology

#11 in Oceania

#155 in the World

Founded: 1971

11. University of Tasmania

Australia | Hobart

For Ecology

#12 in Oceania

#183 in the World

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

12. Macquarie University

Australia | Sydney

For Ecology

#13 in Oceania

#188 in the World

Enrollment: 38,747
Founded: 1964

13. University of Technology Sydney

Australia | Sydney

For Ecology

#15 in Oceania

#255 in the World

Founded: 1965

14. Curtin University

Australia | Perth

For Ecology

#16 in Oceania

#260 in the World

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

15. Queensland University of Technology

Australia | Brisbane

For Ecology

#17 in Oceania

#264 in the World

Acceptance Rate: 77%
Founded: 1989

16. University of Wollongong

Australia | Wollongong

For Ecology

#19 in Oceania

#298 in the World

Enrollment: 31,313
Founded: 1975

17. Deakin University

Australia | Geelong

For Ecology

#20 in Oceania

#319 in the World

Enrollment: 34,616
Founded: 1974

18. Murdoch University

Australia | Murdoch

For Ecology

#21 in Oceania

#350 in the World

Enrollment: 22,475
Founded: 1975

19. RMIT University

Australia | Melbourne

For Ecology

#22 in Oceania

#351 in the World

Founded: 1887

20. University of Newcastle

Australia | Callaghan

For Ecology

#23 in Oceania

#357 in the World

Acceptance Rate: 80%
Founded: 1965

21. La Trobe University

Australia | Melbourne

For Ecology

#25 in Oceania

#389 in the World

Enrollment: 7,500
Founded: 1964

22. University of New England, Australia

Australia | Armidale

For Ecology

#26 in Oceania

#417 in the World

Acceptance Rate: 70%
Founded: 1938

23. Western Sydney University

Australia | Penrith

For Ecology

#27 in Oceania

#422 in the World

Enrollment: 37,426
Founded: 1989

24. University of South Australia

Australia | Adelaide

For Ecology

#28 in Oceania

#428 in the World

Founded: 1991

25. Flinders University

Australia | Adelaide

For Ecology

#30 in Oceania

#481 in the World

Founded: 1966

26. Charles Sturt University

Australia | Bathurst

For Ecology

#33 in Oceania

#649 in the World

Acceptance Rate: 71%
Founded: 1989

27. Swinburne University of Technology

Australia | Hawthorn

For Ecology

#34 in Oceania

#694 in the World

Founded: 1908

28. Southern Cross University

Australia | Lismore

For Ecology

#35 in Oceania

#729 in the World

Acceptance Rate: 70%
Founded: 1994

29. University of Canberra

Australia | Canberra

For Ecology

#36 in Oceania

#732 in the World

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

30. Charles Darwin University

Australia | Darwin

For Ecology

#37 in Oceania

#735 in the World

Founded: 1989

31. Edith Cowan University

Australia | Joondalup

For Ecology

#38 in Oceania

#852 in the World

Founded: 1991

32. University of Southern Queensland

Australia | Toowoomba

For Ecology

#39 in Oceania

#886 in the World

Acceptance Rate: 70%
Founded: 1967

33. Central Queensland University

Australia | North Rockhampton

For Ecology

#40 in Oceania

#916 in the World

Founded: 1967

34. University of the Sunshine Coast

Australia | Sippy Downs

For Ecology

#42 in Oceania

#1017 in the World

Acceptance Rate: 82%
Founded: 1994

35. Victoria University

Australia | Melbourne

For Ecology

#43 in Oceania

#1057 in the World

Founded: 1990

36. Federation University Australia

Australia | Ballarat

For Ecology

#45 in Oceania

#1651 in the World

Founded: 1870

37. Australian Catholic University

Australia | North Sydney

For Ecology

#46 in Oceania

#1882 in the World

Founded: 1991

38. Bond University

Australia | Gold Coast

For Ecology

#47 in Oceania

#2114 in the World

Founded: 1987

39. University of Notre Dame Australia

Australia | Fremantle

For Ecology

#49 in Oceania

#3397 in the World

Enrollment: 11,579
Founded: 1989

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

Environmental Science subfields in Australia

Agricultural Science38

Earth science and Geophysics38

Environmental Chemistry36

Environmental Engineering36

Environmental Management39

Geography and Cartography39

Geotechnical Engineering38

Hydrology and Water resources management31

Meteorology and Atmospheric Science39

Mining Engineering29

Petrology and Geochemistry37

Urban and Regional planning36

Wildlife and Fisheries Management & Conservation39