South Australia is renowned for its rolling hills, food and wine but it’s also home to some globally recognised universities.
Choosing a university can be difficult, but since the majority of students surveyed by Canstar Blue (79%) said their university degree was vital for their future career prospects, and 60% called university the best time of their life from a social perspective, making the right choice is important.
Canstar Blue surveyed more than 138 current students and graduates of the past 10 years to identify the universities students rated the best in South Australia. 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 South Australia 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 South Australia for student satisfaction?
Here are the universities in South Australia that were included in Canstar Blue’s 2024 student satisfaction survey, listed below in alphabetical order.
| University | Locations |
|---|---|
| Flinders University | Adelaide, regional centres and Northern Territory |
| University of Adelaide | Adelaide, Roseworthy and Melbourne |
| University of South Australia | Adelaide, Whyalla and Mount Gambier |
The University of Adelaide received five stars for teaching staff, quality of education received, learning resources, campus amenities and overall satisfaction.
The University of Adelaide is known for its sciences, technology and culinary subjects.
The University of Adelaide offers online learning on select short courses, micro-credentials, undergraduate and postgraduate 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 three major universities in South Australia: Flinders University, University of South Australia and University of Adelaide. South Australia has other tertiary education providers such as Technical and Further Education (TAFE) and 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 South Australian university ratings:
