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Any person who intends to become a lawyer will likely ask, what are the best law schools and universities in Australia?

There are a number of results that are published each year, but there has never been a definitive list that aggregates all findings – until now.

Below is an analysis of the most reputable university ranking lists that have been published in 2022.

The analysis takes results from the ‘QS World University Rankings’, ‘Times Higher Education Rankings’ and the ‘CWUR Top Universities List’ to provide a weighted average ranking.

What are the Best Law Schools in Australia?

The best law schools in Australia are:

1. Australian National University
2. University of Melbourne
3. University of New South Wales (UNSW Sydney)
4. University of Sydney
5. University of Queensland
6. Monash University
7. University of Adelaide
8. University of Western Australia
9. University of Technology Sydney
10. University of Wollongong
11. Griffith University
12. Macquarie University
13. University of Tasmania
14. University of Newcastle Australia (UON)
15. Western Sydney University
16. Queensland University of Technology (QUT)
17. Curtin University
18. Deakin University
19. La Trobe University
20. Deakin University

What are the Best Law Schools & Universities in the World?

The best law schools and Universities in the world to study law are:

1. Harvard University, United States
2. University of Oxford, United Kingdom
3. University of Cambridge, United Kingdom
4. Yale University, United States
5. Stanford University, United States
6. New York University (NYU), United States
7. The London School of Economics and Political Science (LSE), United Kingdom
8. Colombia University, United States
9. University of California, Berkeley (UCB), United States
10. University of Chicago, United States
11. National University of Singapore (NUS), Singapore
12. The University of Melbourne, Australia
13. UCL, United Kingdom
14. The University of New South Wales (UNSW Sydney), Australia
15. King’s College London, United Kingdom
16. The University of Sydney, Australia
17. The University of Edinburgh
18. Universite Paris 1 Patheon- Sorbonne, France
19. University of Toronto, Canada
20. The University of Hong Kong, Hong Long SAR
21. Georgetown University, United States
22. Leiden University, Netherlands
23. The Australian National University, Australia
24. The University of Tokyo, Japan
25. University of California, Los Angeles

Top 10 Universities in Australia

Australia’s best Universities overall in 2022 are:

1. University of Melbourne (ranked 12 in the world)
2. University of New South Wales (UNSW Sydney) (ranked 14 in the world)
3. University of Sydney (ranked 16 in the world)
4. Australian National University (ranked 23 in the world)
5. Monash University (ranked =43 in the world)
6. University of Queensland (ranked =55 in the world)
7. University of Technology Sydney (UTS) (ranked 72 in the world)
8. University of Western Australia (UWA) (ranked 92 in the world)
9. University of Adelaide (ranked 106 in the world)
10. University of Wollongong (ranked 196 in the world)

Top 10 Universities in the World

The following are the world’s top 10 universities in 2022 are:

1. Massachusetts Institutes of Technology (MIT), United States
2. Stanford University, United States
3. Harvard University, United States
4. California Institute of Technology (Caltech), United States
5. University of Oxford, United Kingdom
6. ETH Zurich- Swiss Federal Institute of Technology, Switzerland
7. University of Cambridge, United Kingdom
8. Imperial College London, United Kingdom
9. University of Chicago, United States
10. UCL, United Kingdom

How are University Rankings Calculated?

The top University rankings are based on a number of distinct factors including academic reputation, employer reputation, research impact, faculty/student ratio, international student ratio/international faculty ratio and citations per faculty.

These factors are assessed based on a weighted average of the rankings of ‘QS World University Rankings’, ‘Times Higher Education Rankings’ and the ‘CWUR Top Universities List’ to arrive at the above figures.

Academic reputation refers to various academic surveys that are conducted by organisations that rank universities and law schools. In total, over 100,000 responses are considered from those in the tertiary education space.

Employer reputation is based on which universities a manager or boss regards as most conducive to creating a successful employee. Historically, this factor has been given little weight (eg. It only accounts for 10% of the QS University rankings). Close to 50,000 hiring managers and employers respond to the survey. Employees are judged on their level of competence, creativity and efficiency.  

Faculty/student ratio is a simple calculation of the number of students per teacher. The higher the number of teachers per student, the higher the ranking. This reflects the idea that a lecturer or tutor will have more time for individual students.

Citations per faculty measures the quality of research conducted by the university. Common factors in this assessment are citations received by research papers a university produces over a given timeframe (generally 5 years).

International student ratio and international faculty ratio each accounts for the smallest fraction of the assessment. A high number of international faculty and students indicates that the university or law school is well-respected internationally.

Does the Law School You Go to Matter?

The law school you go to does matter to employers but it is not the sole, or even the most important factor.

If you have graduated from a leading university or law school, you may be more likely to be selected for an interview. However, employers will place more weight on communication skills, ability to take initiative, problem solving skills, work ethic and passion for a particular area of law.

Often the most important factor will be what real world experience a candidate possesses. If they have already worked in the same area of law, this is likely to significantly increase their chances of securing the role.  

For example, if you are applying for a role as a criminal lawyer in Sydney, there will be more emphasis placed on your court advocacy skills and ability to maintain client relationships than where you studied.

How to Choose the Right Law School or University?

When deciding the right law school or university to study at, you should consider the following factors:

• How prestigious the faculty is in the eyes of employers;
• What combined degrees are offered;
• Location (ie. Is it close to you or will you have to move);
• How long it will take to complete the degree.

You may also want to go into the academic field. In this case, you would place less weight on the views of employers and more weight on the views of those in academia. Whichever university you choose it is important to remember that it will usually be your work ethic and drive to succeed that will make you stand out from the crowd.