38 Best universities for Earth science / Geoscience / Geophysics 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 Earth science and Geophysics. A graph of 4.21M citations received by 102K academic papers made by 38 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. Australian National University

Australia | Canberra

For Earth science and Geophysics

#1 in Oceania

#9 in the World

Acceptance Rate: 71%
Founded: 1946

2. University of Western Australia

Australia | Crawley

For Earth science and Geophysics

#2 in Oceania

#61 in the World

Enrollment: 25,000
Founded: 1911

3. University of Sydney

Australia | Sydney

For Earth science and Geophysics

#3 in Oceania

#63 in the World

Enrollment: 63,602
Founded: 1850

4. Monash University

Australia | Clayton

For Earth science and Geophysics

#4 in Oceania

#72 in the World

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

5. University of Queensland

Australia | St Lucia

For Earth science and Geophysics

#5 in Oceania

#80 in the World

Enrollment: 48,771
Founded: 1909

6. Macquarie University

Australia | Sydney

For Earth science and Geophysics

#6 in Oceania

#83 in the World

Enrollment: 38,747
Founded: 1964

7. Curtin University

Australia | Perth

For Earth science and Geophysics

#7 in Oceania

#84 in the World

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

8. University of Melbourne

Australia | Melbourne

For Earth science and Geophysics

#8 in Oceania

#86 in the World

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

9. University of Adelaide

Australia | Adelaide

For Earth science and Geophysics

#9 in Oceania

#101 in the World

Enrollment: 25,000
Founded: 1874

10. University of New South Wales

Australia | Sydney

For Earth science and Geophysics

#10 in Oceania

#110 in the World

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

11. University of Tasmania

Australia | Hobart

For Earth science and Geophysics

#12 in Oceania

#155 in the World

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

12. University of Wollongong

Australia | Wollongong

For Earth science and Geophysics

#15 in Oceania

#232 in the World

Enrollment: 31,313
Founded: 1975

13. James Cook University

Australia | Townsville

For Earth science and Geophysics

#17 in Oceania

#273 in the World

Founded: 1970

14. University of Newcastle

Australia | Callaghan

For Earth science and Geophysics

#18 in Oceania

#327 in the World

Acceptance Rate: 80%
Founded: 1965

15. Griffith University

Australia | Brisbane

For Earth science and Geophysics

#19 in Oceania

#426 in the World

Founded: 1971

16. Queensland University of Technology

Australia | Brisbane

For Earth science and Geophysics

#21 in Oceania

#470 in the World

Acceptance Rate: 77%
Founded: 1989

17. University of Technology Sydney

Australia | Sydney

For Earth science and Geophysics

#22 in Oceania

#492 in the World

Founded: 1965

18. RMIT University

Australia | Melbourne

For Earth science and Geophysics

#23 in Oceania

#508 in the World

Founded: 1887

19. La Trobe University

Australia | Melbourne

For Earth science and Geophysics

#25 in Oceania

#520 in the World

Enrollment: 7,500
Founded: 1964

20. Deakin University

Australia | Geelong

For Earth science and Geophysics

#26 in Oceania

#522 in the World

Enrollment: 34,616
Founded: 1974

21. University of New England, Australia

Australia | Armidale

For Earth science and Geophysics

#27 in Oceania

#559 in the World

Acceptance Rate: 70%
Founded: 1938

22. University of South Australia

Australia | Adelaide

For Earth science and Geophysics

#28 in Oceania

#620 in the World

Founded: 1991

23. Flinders University

Australia | Adelaide

For Earth science and Geophysics

#29 in Oceania

#661 in the World

Founded: 1966

24. Swinburne University of Technology

Australia | Hawthorn

For Earth science and Geophysics

#30 in Oceania

#717 in the World

Founded: 1908

25. University of Canberra

Australia | Canberra

For Earth science and Geophysics

#31 in Oceania

#882 in the World

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

26. Western Sydney University

Australia | Penrith

For Earth science and Geophysics

#32 in Oceania

#929 in the World

Enrollment: 37,426
Founded: 1989

27. Murdoch University

Australia | Murdoch

For Earth science and Geophysics

#33 in Oceania

#1048 in the World

Enrollment: 22,475
Founded: 1975

28. Southern Cross University

Australia | Lismore

For Earth science and Geophysics

#34 in Oceania

#1118 in the World

Acceptance Rate: 70%
Founded: 1994

29. University of Southern Queensland

Australia | Toowoomba

For Earth science and Geophysics

#36 in Oceania

#1340 in the World

Acceptance Rate: 70%
Founded: 1967

30. Edith Cowan University

Australia | Joondalup

For Earth science and Geophysics

#37 in Oceania

#1354 in the World

Founded: 1991

31. Victoria University

Australia | Melbourne

For Earth science and Geophysics

#38 in Oceania

#1367 in the World

Founded: 1990

32. Central Queensland University

Australia | North Rockhampton

For Earth science and Geophysics

#39 in Oceania

#1482 in the World

Founded: 1967

33. Charles Sturt University

Australia | Bathurst

For Earth science and Geophysics

#41 in Oceania

#1561 in the World

Acceptance Rate: 71%
Founded: 1989

34. Charles Darwin University

Australia | Darwin

For Earth science and Geophysics

#43 in Oceania

#1717 in the World

Founded: 1989

35. University of the Sunshine Coast

Australia | Sippy Downs

For Earth science and Geophysics

#44 in Oceania

#1745 in the World

Acceptance Rate: 82%
Founded: 1994

36. Federation University Australia

Australia | Ballarat

For Earth science and Geophysics

#45 in Oceania

#2060 in the World

Founded: 1870

37. Australian Catholic University

Australia | North Sydney

For Earth science and Geophysics

#48 in Oceania

#2926 in the World

Founded: 1991

38. Bond University

Australia | Gold Coast

For Earth science and Geophysics

#49 in Oceania

#3346 in the World

Founded: 1987

The best cities to study Earth science and Geophysics in Australia based on the number of universities and their ranks are Canberra, Crawley, Sydney, and Clayton.