Queensland has two of the Best Student Cities
The Best Student Cities index was recently released with Queensland well represented as Brisbane and the Gold Coast ranked in the Top 100 cities worldwide for the third consecutive year. Australia performed exceptionally well with two places in the Top 10: Melbourne and Sydney. To be considered for inclusion, a city must have a population of over 250,000 (Cairns population is 164,500) and have at least two universities featured in the most recent QS World University Rankings. Cairns’ two universities, James Cook University and Central Queensland University both feature in this global ranking, though due to Cairns relatively small population we are not eligible.
The Best Student Cities index ranks the best cities in the world for international students, based on six categories:
• University Rankings
• Student Mix
• Desirability
• Employer Activity
• Affordability
• Student View (added 2018)
The table below shows the Top 10 cities as well as Australian cities for the period 2016 to 2018. Brisbane and Gold Coast have both recorded a decline in their rankings for the period, Brisbane sliding from 18 to 21 and Gold Coast from 69 to 87. Melbourne, Sydney, Perth and Adelaide all improved their ranking between 2017 and 2018. There are no USA cities ranked in the top 10 due to low Affordability (high cost of living and tuition fees).
The table highlights each Australian city’s ranking across the six categories. Australian cities recorded a low ranking for affordability, although Brisbane and the Gold Coast are deemed the most affordable Australian destinations. Australia’s strong profile as an international student destination is reflected in the Student Mix ranking with Melbourne ranked 1st, Sydney 2nd, Brisbane 8th and all Australian cities ranked in the top 25.
Melbourne and Sydney scored well for Employer Activity, ranking 9th and 13th respectively, well above the other Australian cities with Canberra ranked 40th the next highest. Sydney was the 3rd most desirable location in the world for international students, Melbourne ranked 8th, all Australian cities were ranked inside the top 50.
Melbourne and Sydney topped the Rankings category due to having two highly ranked Go8 universities in each city, Canberra ranked 24 and Brisbane ranked 27th. The Student View saw students nominate Melbourne as the 3rd best location in the world based on their student and after graduation experience, Sydney ranked 14th and Brisbane performed well being ranked 16th.
Read more about the Best Student Cities index.