38 Best universities for Earth science / Geoscience / Geophysics in Australia

Updated: March 02, 2025

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 3.95M citations received by 99.1K 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

#8 in the World

Acceptance Rate: 71%
Founded: 1946

2. University of Western Australia

Australia | Crawley

For Earth science and Geophysics

#2 in Oceania

#59 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

#81 in the World

Enrollment: 48,771
Founded: 1909

6. Macquarie University

Australia | Sydney

For Earth science and Geophysics

#6 in Oceania

#82 in the World

Enrollment: 38,747
Founded: 1964

7. Curtin University

Australia | Perth

For Earth science and Geophysics

#7 in Oceania

#85 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

#95 in the World

Acceptance Rate: 77%
Enrollment: 49,000
Founded: 1853

9. University of Adelaide

Australia | Adelaide

For Earth science and Geophysics

#9 in Oceania

#102 in the World

Enrollment: 25,000
Founded: 1874

10. University of New South Wales

Australia | Sydney

For Earth science and Geophysics

#10 in Oceania

#109 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

#148 in the World

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

12. University of Wollongong

Australia | Wollongong

For Earth science and Geophysics

#16 in Oceania

#233 in the World

Enrollment: 31,313
Founded: 1975

13. James Cook University

Australia | Townsville

For Earth science and Geophysics

#17 in Oceania

#270 in the World

Founded: 1970

14. University of Newcastle

Australia | Callaghan

For Earth science and Geophysics

#18 in Oceania

#326 in the World

Acceptance Rate: 80%
Founded: 1965

15. Griffith University

Australia | Brisbane

For Earth science and Geophysics

#19 in Oceania

#439 in the World

Founded: 1971

16. Queensland University of Technology

Australia | Brisbane

For Earth science and Geophysics

#21 in Oceania

#478 in the World

Acceptance Rate: 77%
Founded: 1989

17. University of Technology Sydney

Australia | Sydney

For Earth science and Geophysics

#22 in Oceania

#506 in the World

Founded: 1965

18. La Trobe University

Australia | Melbourne

For Earth science and Geophysics

#24 in Oceania

#513 in the World

Enrollment: 7,500
Founded: 1964

19. RMIT University

Australia | Melbourne

For Earth science and Geophysics

#25 in Oceania

#521 in the World

Founded: 1887

20. Deakin University

Australia | Geelong

For Earth science and Geophysics

#26 in Oceania

#531 in the World

Enrollment: 34,616
Founded: 1974

21. University of New England, Australia

Australia | Armidale

For Earth science and Geophysics

#27 in Oceania

#552 in the World

Acceptance Rate: 70%
Founded: 1938

22. University of South Australia

Australia | Adelaide

For Earth science and Geophysics

#28 in Oceania

#612 in the World

Founded: 1991

23. Flinders University

Australia | Adelaide

For Earth science and Geophysics

#29 in Oceania

#659 in the World

Founded: 1966

24. Swinburne University of Technology

Australia | Hawthorn

For Earth science and Geophysics

#30 in Oceania

#725 in the World

Founded: 1908

25. University of Canberra

Australia | Canberra

For Earth science and Geophysics

#31 in Oceania

#943 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

#953 in the World

Enrollment: 37,426
Founded: 1989

27. Murdoch University

Australia | Murdoch

For Earth science and Geophysics

#33 in Oceania

#1051 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. Victoria University

Australia | Melbourne

For Earth science and Geophysics

#36 in Oceania

#1338 in the World

Founded: 1990

30. University of Southern Queensland

Australia | Toowoomba

For Earth science and Geophysics

#37 in Oceania

#1373 in the World

Acceptance Rate: 70%
Enrollment: 18,388
Founded: 1967

31. Edith Cowan University

Australia | Joondalup

For Earth science and Geophysics

#38 in Oceania

#1388 in the World

Founded: 1991

32. Central Queensland University

Australia | North Rockhampton

For Earth science and Geophysics

#39 in Oceania

#1504 in the World

Founded: 1967

33. Charles Sturt University

Australia | Bathurst

For Earth science and Geophysics

#41 in Oceania

#1585 in the World

Acceptance Rate: 71%
Founded: 1989

34. Charles Darwin University

Australia | Darwin

For Earth science and Geophysics

#43 in Oceania

#1779 in the World

Founded: 1989

35. University of the Sunshine Coast

Australia | Sippy Downs

For Earth science and Geophysics

#44 in Oceania

#1791 in the World

Acceptance Rate: 82%
Founded: 1994

36. Federation University Australia

Australia | Ballarat

For Earth science and Geophysics

#45 in Oceania

#2074 in the World

Founded: 1870

37. Australian Catholic University

Australia | North Sydney

For Earth science and Geophysics

#48 in Oceania

#2978 in the World

Founded: 1991

38. Bond University

Australia | Gold Coast

For Earth science and Geophysics

#49 in Oceania

#3356 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.