CANBERRA - The Australian National University announced in a press release that it has been ranked 25 in the world and the highest ranked Australian university by the QS Top Universities rankings.

ANU Acting Vice-Chancellor, Professor Margaret Harding, said the ranking reflected the quality of the University’s staff, and their commitment to excellence in teaching and research.

“Rankings are imperfect measures, and move around year to year, but they do tell you the company you are keeping. It is great to be alongside other great universities of the world like the National University of Singapore (22), Ecole normale supérieure, Paris (24), Duke University (equal 25) the University of California, Berkeley (27),” Professor Harding said.

“It is the energy and quality of ANU staff and students that is reflected in our international reputation for excellence. Every day at ANU, people do extraordinary things that change the world for the better.

“In the past week, Dr Steve Lee from our Research School of Engineering won a Eureka Prize for science for inventing a cheap lens that can convert a smart phone into a microscope. Costing less than a cent each, the lenses will potentially revolutionize science and medicine in developing countries and remote areas.”

Professor Harding said the international nature of the University was a fundamental element in its global reputation.

“ANU brings Canberra to the world and the world to Canberra.

“That global nature carries across our teaching and research, from Nobel Prize winning research in astronomy and medical science, to hosting world leaders, including most recently the Prime Minister of Japan, Shinzo Abe.

“This week, the ANU School of Music is hosting 11 of the world’s most talented young pianists at the Australian International Chopin Piano Competition.

“ANU remains committed to attracting outstanding staff and students and producing graduates who become leaders in their field.”

QS also ranks fourteen subject areas at ANU in the top 20 in the world, including Politics (7), Geography (11), Linguistics (11), Environmental Studies (=12), Earth and Marine Sciences (=12), Philosophy (13), Modern Languages (=14), Sociology (=14), History and Archaeology (15), Law and Legal Studies (15), Computer Science and Information Systems (17), Economics and Econometrics (18), Agriculture and Forestry (20), and Mathematics (20).