Data Science and Artificial Intelligence in Australia: All 13 Ranked Universities, QS 2026 Data

Australia fields 13 universities in the QS World University Rankings by Subject 2026 for Data Science and Artificial Intelligence, placing it joint-third globally alongside China (Mainland) by number of ranked institutions. The country’s best entry is The University of Melbourne at rank 31. No Australian university reaches the global top 30 in this subject, but five institutions sit within the top 50 and nine within the top 100, giving the country a solid mid-tier cluster rather than a single flagship at the very top.

How Australia compares globally

Across the 201 ranked institutions in this subject worldwide, spanning 37 countries, Australia’s 13 entries tie it with China (Mainland) for third place in sheer volume. The United States leads with 41 ranked universities, followed by the United Kingdom with 22. India, Spain, Canada, Italy, Malaysia, and Hong Kong SAR round out the top ten countries, each with between 6 and 8 ranked institutions.

This volume-based comparison matters for readers already committed to Australia: the country offers more distinct options in this discipline than any European nation except the UK, and more than Canada or India. But volume does not translate into top-tier dominance. Australia has zero universities in the top 10, top 20, or top 30 bands. Its highest-ranked entry sits at 31, meaning the country’s best performance in this subject is a strong mid-30s position rather than a global leadership spot.

The top 50: five universities

Five Australian universities rank between 31 and 50 globally. The University of Melbourne leads at 31, followed by four other institutions in the 31–50 band. This group represents the country’s most competitive tier in Data Science and AI, and it is the only band where Australia has more than a single representative.

The score distribution within this group shows meaningful differentiation. The highest overall score among Australian universities is 89.6, and the lowest within the top 50 sits at 80.6. Between these extremes, scores of 84.7, 84.9, and 87.6 appear, indicating that the five top-50 institutions are not tightly bunched — there is a visible gap between the leader and the fourth or fifth entry in this band.

The median rank for all 13 Australian universities is 51.0, which means half of the country’s ranked institutions sit at or above rank 51. This median sits just outside the top 50, highlighting that Australia’s strength is concentrated in the 31–100 range rather than evenly distributed across the full ranking.

The 51–100 band: four more universities

Four additional Australian universities rank between 51 and 100, bringing the country’s total within the top 100 to nine. These institutions carry overall scores ranging from 68.7 to 77.2, with individual scores of 68.7, 69.2, 74.8, and 77.2 appearing in this band. The gap between the lowest top-50 score (80.6) and the highest 51–100 score (77.2) is modest, suggesting that the boundary between these two tiers is not a sharp cliff in terms of measured performance.

For readers comparing options within Australia, this band matters because it offers institutions with solid international standing that may be more accessible in terms of entry requirements or program structure. The four universities in this range provide a meaningful middle option between the top-50 group and the remaining four ranked institutions.

The 101–150 band: the remaining four

Four Australian universities rank between 101 and 150, completing the country’s 13 ranked entries. All 13 Australian institutions fall within the top 150 globally — none rank below 150. The lowest-ranked Australian entry in this subject sits at rank 151 or better, meaning the country’s entire ranked presence is concentrated in the top 150 of a 201-institution list.

Scores in this band span from 50.6 to 66.2, with individual values of 50.6, 57.4, 59.0, and 66.2 appearing across the four institutions. The spread here is wider than in the 51–100 band, indicating that the bottom tier of Australia’s ranked universities varies considerably in measured performance.

The score distribution: what the numbers reveal

Across all 13 Australian universities, only one institution achieves an overall score of 80 or above — that is The University of Melbourne at 89.6. Five universities score between 70 and 79, and five more score between 60 and 69. The remaining two institutions score between 50 and 59.

This distribution shows that Australia’s Data Science and AI programs are heavily concentrated in the 60–79 score range, with a single standout at the top. No Australian university scores below 50, and none reaches the 90–99 band. The country’s overall profile is one of broad mid-tier strength with limited high-end differentiation.

What this means for readers choosing a program

For readers who have already decided on Australia as their destination, the key takeaway is that the country offers depth — 13 ranked institutions — but the top of the field is not dominated by a single elite university. The University of Melbourne leads at 31, but four other institutions sit within the top 50, and four more within the top 100. This means that strong programs exist across multiple cities and institutions, rather than being concentrated in one or two locations.

The absence of any Australian university in the global top 30 in this subject is worth noting. If a reader’s priority is studying at a globally top-30 program in Data Science and AI, Australia does not currently offer that option. However, for readers seeking a well-ranked program in a country with multiple choices, Australia’s 13 ranked institutions provide considerable flexibility.

Data notes

The data in this article comes from the QS World University Rankings by Subject 2026, published by Quacquarelli Symonds (QS), with a data reference date of 2026-04-03. The rankings cover 60 subject areas and include component scores for academic reputation, employer reputation, citations, H-index, and international research network. The official source page is https://www.topuniversities.com/university-subject-rankings.

The figures presented here were extracted by parsing the subject-specific ranking for Data Science and Artificial Intelligence and filtering for institutions located in Australia. Rank values are taken as the lower-bound integer for each institution’s reported position. The global list for this subject includes 201 ranked institutions across 37 countries.

One limitation worth noting: the ranking only includes institutions that meet QS’s eligibility criteria for this subject. Universities in Australia that do not appear in the list may still offer programs in Data Science and AI, but they are not captured in this dataset. Additionally, the QS subject rankings rely on survey responses and bibliometric indicators, which may not fully reflect all aspects of program quality, such as teaching innovation or industry partnerships.

Subject Rank	Institution	Country/Region	Academic Reputation	Employer Reputation	Citations	Overall Score
31	The University of Melbourne	Australia	81	80.4	84.7	80.6
38	The University of Sydney	Australia	73.7	73.8	94.5	79
44	Australian National University (ANU)	Australia	74.8	72.8	92	77.2
45	University of Technology Sydney	Australia	71	69.5	96.2	76.9
48	Monash University	Australia	69	74	93.4	76.3
51-100	The University of New South Wales (UNSW Sydney)	Australia	67.6	74.1	88.6	—
51-100	Adelaide University	Australia	64.5	66.2	97.2	—
51-100	RMIT University	Australia	68.9	69.2	83.8	—
51-100	The University of Queensland	Australia	64.4	68.7	89.5	—
101-200	Macquarie University (Sydney, Australia)	Australia	62.5	65.5	87.6	—
101-200	Deakin University	Australia	57.4	57.6	89.6	—
101-200	Queensland University of Technology (QUT)	Australia	63.8	52.6	84.9	—
101-200	The University of Western Australia	Australia	50.6	62.9	91.1	—

Country/Region	Ranked Institutions
United States of America	41
United Kingdom	22
China (Mainland)	13
Australia	13
India	8
Spain	8
Canada	7
Italy	7
Malaysia	7
Hong Kong SAR, China	6