University of New South Wales

Sydney, Australia · founded 1949 · 64,000 students · public research university

Known for: UNSW Sydney is a leading research university particularly celebrated for its strengths in engineering, business, and science, with a strong focus on innovation, entrepreneurship, and industry partnerships.

Rankings

QS World: #19
Times Higher Education: #84
ARWU Shanghai: #74

Top programmes

Engineering
Business
Science
Law
Art and Design
Medicine

Notable alumni

Scott Morrison — Former Prime Minister of Australia
Mike Cannon-Brookes — Co-founder of Atlassian
Toni Collette — Academy Award-nominated actress
John Howard — Former Prime Minister of Australia (attended)
Rodney Brooks — Roboticist and co-founder of iRobot
Hugh Jackman — Actor and producer (attended)

Traditions

O-Week festival
Roundhouse venue concerts and events
Blitz Week (charity fundraiser)
UNSW Founders program for startups

If University of New South Wales were…

As a food: Omakase at a Michelin-starred Tokyo sushi counter — Precise, technically excellent, innovative within tradition, expensive, and designed to maximize value and career advancement. UNSW is the pragmatist's prestige choice—you're here for results and ROI, not sandstone nosta
As an athlete: Novak Djokovic — Technically superior, relentlessly focused on winning, newer to the elite tier than the establishment favorites, produces results through discipline and innovation rather than inherited prestige. UNSW is the scrappy meri
As a person alive today: Satya Nadella — Engineering background, transformed an institution through innovation and strategic thinking, focused on practical impact over legacy. UNSW produces the kind of technically skilled, commercially minded graduates who run
As a historical figure: Andrew Carnegie — Self-made through technical skill and industry focus, built an empire on steel and engineering, philanthropic but unapologetically capitalist. UNSW was founded to produce the engineers and technologists who would build m
As a movie or TV show: The Social Network — Smart, ambitious, technically brilliant people building things that will make them rich and change the world, with less concern for tradition than results. UNSW has that same Silicon Valley energy transplanted to Sydney'
As a US president: Dwight D. Eisenhower — Military precision, engineering mindset, built the interstate highway system, focused on infrastructure and practical results over ideology. UNSW was literally founded to serve national development needs, and it still pr
As a city: Shenzhen — Young, tech-focused, rapidly ascended to global prominence, engineering-driven, produces millionaires through innovation rather than inherited wealth. Both are the new-money pragmatist's choice in their respective countr
As an element: Silicon — Foundation of modern technology, semiconductor industry, enables computation and innovation, abundant but requires precise engineering to unlock value. UNSW is Australia's silicon—technically focused, commercially valuab
As a car: 2023 Tesla Model Y — Australian-built engineering prowess meets international export ambitions, tech-forward and career-optimized for Sydney's competitive harbor-side innovation economy. Practical, globally competitive, and designed to get y

Campus life

UNSW has a modern, energetic campus culture with a strong emphasis on career development and student clubs. Located near Coogee Beach, it blends academic rigor with an active social scene, attracting a large international student community.