Although it’s most famous for its pristine beaches and tropical islands, Queensland is also home to some prestigious universities that are renowned for their academic reputation, cultural diversity and student experience. Queensland universities are known to focus on practical and applied teaching and so are often top ranked in various listings for post-graduation employment outcomes.
When choosing a university, many prospective students look for a balance between those important employment outcomes and the quality of their university experience. The majority of students surveyed by Canstar Blue (79%) said their university degree was vital for their future career prospects, while 60% said university was the best time of their life from a social perspective. So, it’s clear that where you choose to study matters.
Canstar Blue surveyed more than 255 current students and graduates of the past 10 years to identify the universities students rated the best in Queensland. There are many university ratings out there, but for this survey, Canstar Blue asked students to rate their university on a range of factors that were important to them and to understand how satisfied they were overall with their university experience. Please see our methodology here.
The winning university is the one that receives the highest overall satisfaction rating once all the scores from the overall satisfaction criteria are combined and averaged.
Universities must have received at least 30 responses to be included, so not all universities available in Queensland have been compared in this survey. In our 2024 student satisfaction review, we collected sufficient data for three universities (assessed by domestic and international students) to be included in our ratings. So, which are the highest-rated universities in Queensland for student satisfaction?
Here are the universities in Queensland that were included in Canstar Blue’s 2024 student satisfaction survey, listed below in alphabetical order.
| University | Locations |
|---|---|
| Griffith University | Brisbane and the Gold Coast |
| Queensland University of Technology (QUT) | Brisbane |
| University of Queensland (UQ) | Brisbane and Gatton |
The University of Queensland (UQ) received five stars for learning resources, quality of education received, opportunities and career prospects after graduation, teaching staff and overall satisfaction.
UQ is known for its learning and research facilities, and was ranked 37 for Performance Ranking of Scientific Papers for World Universities in 2023.
UQ offers online options for some graduate certificates, graduate diplomas and masters degrees.
Interested in finding out how students rated other top universities from around Australia? Click on the links below to read more about the top-rated universities in the country.
There are 12 major universities in Queensland, with the majority in the capital city Brisbane, along with other major cities and rural areas. These institutions include Australian Catholic University, Bond University, CQ University, Griffith University, James Cook University, Queensland University of Technology, Southern Cross University, University of Queensland, University of Southern Queensland and University of Sunshine Coast. Queensland has other tertiary education providers such as Technical and Further Education (TAFE), along with other vocational education and training providers.
Current and past students surveyed by Canstar Blue were asked to name the key reasons for choosing their university. The main factors identified included the reputation of the university, acceptance of enrollment from the university, and the physical location of the campuses. These are the reasons students and graduates cited for choosing their university:
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This article was written by Canstar Blue Home & Lifestyle Content Producer, Rachel Bollerman. Rachel graduated with a Bachelor of Communications, majoring in Journalism at the Queensland University of Technology. She has worked in a variety of public relations, marketing and communications roles, gaining experience in community management, social media marketing, blog writing and other styles of copywriting. When she’s not working, Rachel enjoys doing arts and crafts projects at home and spending time with friends.
Samantha Howse is Canstar Blue’s Consumer Research Specialist, coordinating the consumer research program behind our customer satisfaction awards across Canstar and Canstar Blue in Australia and New Zealand. Sam has earned a Bachelor of Business (Marketing) from Griffith University and, with seven years in market research and two years in marketing, she is experienced in survey design, implementation and analysis, coupled with an understanding of marketing principles and best practice.
Here are the past winners from Canstar Blue’s Queensland university ratings:
