38 Best universities for Sports / Exercise 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 Sports / Exercise science. A graph of 1.04M citations received by 21.6K 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. University of Queensland

Australia | St Lucia

For Sports / Exercise science

#1 in Oceania

#5 in the World

Enrollment: 48,771
Founded: 1909

2. University of Sydney

Australia | Sydney

For Sports / Exercise science

#2 in Oceania

#8 in the World

Enrollment: 63,602
Founded: 1850

3. Deakin University

Australia | Geelong

For Sports / Exercise science

#3 in Oceania

#17 in the World

Enrollment: 34,616
Founded: 1974

4. University of Western Australia

Australia | Crawley

For Sports / Exercise science

#4 in Oceania

#27 in the World

Enrollment: 25,000
Founded: 1911

5. University of Melbourne

Australia | Melbourne

For Sports / Exercise science

#5 in Oceania

#51 in the World

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

6. University of South Australia

Australia | Adelaide

For Sports / Exercise science

#6 in Oceania

#61 in the World

Founded: 1991

7. University of Newcastle

Australia | Callaghan

For Sports / Exercise science

#7 in Oceania

#62 in the World

Acceptance Rate: 80%
Founded: 1965

8. University of Wollongong

Australia | Wollongong

For Sports / Exercise science

#9 in Oceania

#73 in the World

Enrollment: 31,313
Founded: 1975

9. Queensland University of Technology

Australia | Brisbane

For Sports / Exercise science

#10 in Oceania

#95 in the World

Acceptance Rate: 77%
Founded: 1989

10. University of New South Wales

Australia | Sydney

For Sports / Exercise science

#11 in Oceania

#96 in the World

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

11. Monash University

Australia | Clayton

For Sports / Exercise science

#12 in Oceania

#102 in the World

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

12. Edith Cowan University

Australia | Joondalup

For Sports / Exercise science

#14 in Oceania

#109 in the World

Founded: 1991

13. Curtin University

Australia | Perth

For Sports / Exercise science

#16 in Oceania

#126 in the World

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

14. La Trobe University

Australia | Melbourne

For Sports / Exercise science

#17 in Oceania

#143 in the World

Enrollment: 7,500
Founded: 1964

15. Victoria University

Australia | Melbourne

For Sports / Exercise science

#18 in Oceania

#150 in the World

Founded: 1990

16. RMIT University

Australia | Melbourne

For Sports / Exercise science

#19 in Oceania

#162 in the World

Founded: 1887

17. Australian Catholic University

Australia | North Sydney

For Sports / Exercise science

#20 in Oceania

#166 in the World

Founded: 1991

18. Central Queensland University

Australia | North Rockhampton

For Sports / Exercise science

#21 in Oceania

#169 in the World

Founded: 1967

19. University of Tasmania

Australia | Hobart

For Sports / Exercise science

#22 in Oceania

#183 in the World

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

20. Griffith University

Australia | Brisbane

For Sports / Exercise science

#23 in Oceania

#184 in the World

Founded: 1971

21. Flinders University

Australia | Adelaide

For Sports / Exercise science

#24 in Oceania

#201 in the World

Founded: 1966

22. Western Sydney University

Australia | Penrith

For Sports / Exercise science

#25 in Oceania

#240 in the World

Enrollment: 37,426
Founded: 1989

23. University of Adelaide

Australia | Adelaide

For Sports / Exercise science

#26 in Oceania

#279 in the World

Enrollment: 25,000
Founded: 1874

24. University of Canberra

Australia | Canberra

For Sports / Exercise science

#27 in Oceania

#286 in the World

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

25. Federation University Australia

Australia | Ballarat

For Sports / Exercise science

#29 in Oceania

#327 in the World

Founded: 1870

26. Australian National University

Australia | Canberra

For Sports / Exercise science

#30 in Oceania

#333 in the World

Acceptance Rate: 71%
Founded: 1946

27. Bond University

Australia | Gold Coast

For Sports / Exercise science

#31 in Oceania

#347 in the World

Founded: 1987

28. Charles Sturt University

Australia | Bathurst

For Sports / Exercise science

#32 in Oceania

#418 in the World

Acceptance Rate: 71%
Founded: 1989

29. University of Technology Sydney

Australia | Sydney

For Sports / Exercise science

#33 in Oceania

#421 in the World

Founded: 1965

30. University of Southern Queensland

Australia | Toowoomba

For Sports / Exercise science

#34 in Oceania

#427 in the World

Acceptance Rate: 70%
Founded: 1967

31. James Cook University

Australia | Townsville

For Sports / Exercise science

#35 in Oceania

#475 in the World

Founded: 1970

32. University of the Sunshine Coast

Australia | Sippy Downs

For Sports / Exercise science

#36 in Oceania

#520 in the World

Acceptance Rate: 82%
Founded: 1994

33. Swinburne University of Technology

Australia | Hawthorn

For Sports / Exercise science

#37 in Oceania

#543 in the World

Founded: 1908

34. Macquarie University

Australia | Sydney

For Sports / Exercise science

#38 in Oceania

#569 in the World

Enrollment: 38,747
Founded: 1964

35. Southern Cross University

Australia | Lismore

For Sports / Exercise science

#39 in Oceania

#580 in the World

Acceptance Rate: 70%
Founded: 1994

36. University of New England, Australia

Australia | Armidale

For Sports / Exercise science

#40 in Oceania

#600 in the World

Acceptance Rate: 70%
Founded: 1938

37. Murdoch University

Australia | Murdoch

For Sports / Exercise science

#41 in Oceania

#631 in the World

Enrollment: 22,475
Founded: 1975

38. University of Notre Dame Australia

Australia | Fremantle

For Sports / Exercise science

#42 in Oceania

#633 in the World

Enrollment: 11,579
Founded: 1989

The best cities to study Sports / Exercise science in Australia based on the number of universities and their ranks are St Lucia, Sydney, Geelong, and Crawley.