Curtin in top 50 under 50 and top 100 under 50 in the world, among the top in nine subject categories

Miri – 24 September 2012 – Western Australia’s Curtin University has been named as one of the world’s top 50 young universities, in addition to featuring among the top 200 universities in the world across nine subject categories in the latest Quacquarelli Symonds (QS) World University Ranking.

It was named in the QS ‘Top 50 Under 50’, which ranks universities that have been established since 1962 according to their position in the QS World University Ranking. Curtin was listed at number 24 and is the only Western Australian university to be listed.

Curtin was also recently listed in the top 100 under 50 in the world in the Times Higher Education ranking.

According to Curtin University Vice-Chancellor Professor Jeanette Hacket, these are great achievements and recognise Curtin’s commitment to innovation and excellence in teaching and research.

“It also keeps us on track to meeting our vision of being an international leader shaping the future through our graduates and research, and positioned among the top 20 universities in Asia by 2020,” she said.

Meanwhile, Professor Ian Kerr, Pro Vice-Chancellor at Curtin University, Sarawak Malaysia (Curtin Sarawak), Curtin’s largest offshore campus located in Miri, Malaysia, said the latest achievements also reflect well on Curtin’s offshore campuses in Sarawak and Singapore, given that they offer programmes that are identical to those of the main campus.

According to Professor Kerr, the field of global rankings for universities is intensely competitive and they are becoming an increasingly important consideration for students who are planning to enroll in an offshore campus, particularly if the offshore campus offers the same standard and quality of education offered as its parent campus.

Curtin University is currently ranked twelfth among Australian universities making it into the top 300 universities globally, according to the latest QS ranking.

Curtin also featured among the top 200 universities in the world across nine categories, up from five in 2011, in the QS World University Ranking by Subject 2012 which rank universities at individual subject levels and are based on academic reputation, employer reputation and research citations per paper.

The QS Rankings were developed to enable a subject-based comparison of institutions as, according to the QS, many prospective international students know what subject they would like to study before they have decided on a location.

The latest rankings also placed Curtin among the top 100 institutions in Chemical Engineering and Accounting and Finance, in the top 150 institutions for Civil Engineering, and among the top 200 institutions in Communications and Media Studies, which should be of particular interest to students keen to pursue engineering, business and mass communication courses at Curtin Sarawak.

The QS World University Rankings are regarded as among the most trusted world university rankings available. To view the rankings, visit www.topuniversities.com/university-rankings/world-university-rankings/2012.

Curtin University is Western Australia’s largest university with over 40,000 students, around 16,000 of those offshore and onshore international students and nearly 1,700 research students.

A culturally diverse university, it fosters tolerance and encourages the development of the individual, and its programmes centre around the provision of knowledge and skills to meet industry and workplace standards.

Its main campus is situated in Bentley, six kilometres south of the centre of Perth, Western Australia’s capital city. Curtin has two additional metropolitan campuses and a regional campus in Kalgoorlie, a branch campus in the Sydney Central Business District, as well as offshore campuses in Sarawak and Singapore.

Curtin Sarawak was established as Curtin’s first offshore campus in 1999 in partnership with the Sarawak State Government. In the years since, it has grown into one of the leading tertiary institutions in Malaysia. As a testimony to its success, it was one of only eight universities in Malaysia granted self-accreditation status by the Malaysian Qualifications Agency (MQA). It also achieved a ‘Tier 5:Excellent’ rating in the MQA’s SETARA rating system for institutions of higher learning, which placed it among the top 18 universities in the country.

Curtin’s latest achievements also reflect well on Curtin’s offshore campuses in Sarawak and Singapore.