39 Best universities for Political Science 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 Political Science. A graph of 23.4M citations received by 886K 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 Melbourne

Australia | Melbourne

For Political Science

#1 in Oceania

#22 in the World

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

2. University of Sydney

Australia | Sydney

For Political Science

#2 in Oceania

#26 in the World

Enrollment: 63,602
Founded: 1850

3. University of Queensland

Australia | St Lucia

For Political Science

#3 in Oceania

#41 in the World

Enrollment: 48,771
Founded: 1909

4. University of New South Wales

Australia | Sydney

For Political Science

#4 in Oceania

#47 in the World

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

5. Monash University

Australia | Clayton

For Political Science

#5 in Oceania

#48 in the World

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

6. Australian National University

Australia | Canberra

For Political Science

#6 in Oceania

#51 in the World

Acceptance Rate: 71%
Founded: 1946

7. Griffith University

Australia | Brisbane

For Political Science

#8 in Oceania

#119 in the World

Founded: 1971

8. Deakin University

Australia | Geelong

For Political Science

#9 in Oceania

#147 in the World

Enrollment: 34,616
Founded: 1974

9. Queensland University of Technology

Australia | Brisbane

For Political Science

#10 in Oceania

#151 in the World

Acceptance Rate: 77%
Founded: 1989

10. Macquarie University

Australia | Sydney

For Political Science

#11 in Oceania

#175 in the World

Enrollment: 38,747
Founded: 1964

11. University of Adelaide

Australia | Adelaide

For Political Science

#12 in Oceania

#178 in the World

Enrollment: 25,000
Founded: 1874

12. University of Western Australia

Australia | Crawley

For Political Science

#13 in Oceania

#193 in the World

Enrollment: 25,000
Founded: 1911

13. University of Technology Sydney

Australia | Sydney

For Political Science

#14 in Oceania

#204 in the World

Founded: 1965

14. La Trobe University

Australia | Melbourne

For Political Science

#15 in Oceania

#217 in the World

Enrollment: 7,500
Founded: 1964

15. Curtin University

Australia | Perth

For Political Science

#17 in Oceania

#257 in the World

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

16. RMIT University

Australia | Melbourne

For Political Science

#18 in Oceania

#259 in the World

Founded: 1887

17. University of Wollongong

Australia | Wollongong

For Political Science

#19 in Oceania

#265 in the World

Enrollment: 31,313
Founded: 1975

18. University of South Australia

Australia | Adelaide

For Political Science

#21 in Oceania

#287 in the World

Founded: 1991

19. University of Newcastle

Australia | Callaghan

For Political Science

#22 in Oceania

#304 in the World

Acceptance Rate: 80%
Founded: 1965

20. Flinders University

Australia | Adelaide

For Political Science

#23 in Oceania

#327 in the World

Founded: 1966

21. Western Sydney University

Australia | Penrith

For Political Science

#24 in Oceania

#333 in the World

Enrollment: 37,426
Founded: 1989

22. University of Tasmania

Australia | Hobart

For Political Science

#25 in Oceania

#378 in the World

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

23. University of Canberra

Australia | Canberra

For Political Science

#27 in Oceania

#425 in the World

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

24. James Cook University

Australia | Townsville

For Political Science

#30 in Oceania

#479 in the World

Founded: 1970

25. Swinburne University of Technology

Australia | Hawthorn

For Political Science

#31 in Oceania

#535 in the World

Founded: 1908

26. Charles Sturt University

Australia | Bathurst

For Political Science

#33 in Oceania

#606 in the World

Acceptance Rate: 71%
Founded: 1989

27. Murdoch University

Australia | Murdoch

For Political Science

#34 in Oceania

#615 in the World

Enrollment: 22,475
Founded: 1975

28. Australian Catholic University

Australia | North Sydney

For Political Science

#35 in Oceania

#625 in the World

Founded: 1991

29. Edith Cowan University

Australia | Joondalup

For Political Science

#36 in Oceania

#627 in the World

Founded: 1991

30. University of New England, Australia

Australia | Armidale

For Political Science

#37 in Oceania

#687 in the World

Acceptance Rate: 70%
Founded: 1938

31. Victoria University

Australia | Melbourne

For Political Science

#38 in Oceania

#739 in the World

Founded: 1990

32. University of Southern Queensland

Australia | Toowoomba

For Political Science

#39 in Oceania

#786 in the World

Acceptance Rate: 70%
Founded: 1967

33. Bond University

Australia | Gold Coast

For Political Science

#40 in Oceania

#789 in the World

Founded: 1987

34. Central Queensland University

Australia | North Rockhampton

For Political Science

#41 in Oceania

#878 in the World

Founded: 1967

35. Southern Cross University

Australia | Lismore

For Political Science

#42 in Oceania

#959 in the World

Acceptance Rate: 70%
Founded: 1994

36. University of the Sunshine Coast

Australia | Sippy Downs

For Political Science

#43 in Oceania

#1100 in the World

Acceptance Rate: 82%
Founded: 1994

37. Federation University Australia

Australia | Ballarat

For Political Science

#44 in Oceania

#1176 in the World

Founded: 1870

38. Charles Darwin University

Australia | Darwin

For Political Science

#45 in Oceania

#1205 in the World

Founded: 1989

39. University of Notre Dame Australia

Australia | Fremantle

For Political Science

#47 in Oceania

#1702 in the World

Enrollment: 11,579
Founded: 1989

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