Our outstanding research performance is recognised globally across several international university rankings. Along with achieving prominent external awards and honours, our PhD graduates have placed in leading research institutions within Australia and overseas. Our researchers frequently publish in the most prestigious and highly ranked journals. Together, these achievements acknowledge the rigorous, impactful research that is delivered by our UNSW Business School researchers. 

Our academics have considerable expertise across several business and economics disciplines, with a specific focus on seven research disciplines.

Research areas

We consistently rank in the top three in Australia in microeconomics, macroeconomics, labour, development and econometrics across a range of research performance criteria. We’ve also been awarded the top rating of 5 in all three main categories under the Excellence in Research for Australia rankings.

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Our Banking and Finance researchers are frequently awarded large Australian Research Council grants to undertake innovative, high-impact research. We are regarded as the leading finance school in Australia and one of the top five in the Asia-Pacific region, specialising in corporate finance, asset pricing, market, and institutional investors.

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We are recognised as a global centre of excellence in accounting research and the top publishing Accounting School internationally (Journal of Accounting review benchmarks). We have been awarded a maximum score of 5 by ERA for our research across auditing and assurance, management accounting and control, financial accounting and reporting, accounting and decision-making, international accounting and governance and taxation.

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We focus on applied research across human resource management, international business, organisational behavior, regulation and governance, and strategy and entrepreneurship, to improve the effectiveness of organisations and their staff. Our research in management is published in top international journals and presented at leading conferences such as the Academy of Management and the European Group for Organizational Studies.

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As one of the oldest information systems schools in the world, we are pioneers in using innovative digital technologies to transform organisations through impact-based research. Our Digital Enablement Research Network (DERN) utilises this incubator methodology to develop innovative solutions to real-world problems across behavioural operations management, business analytics and big data analysis, crowdsourcing and crowdfunding and IT/IS innovation, strategy and management.

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Our School is a global centre of excellence in marketing, recognised by the Australian Research Council and attracting leading marketing scholars from around the world. Our marketing academics are globally renowned experts in the areas of consumer behavior, marketing strategy, marketing analytics, and services and distribution research. They have published or hold editorial board positions in many Australian Business Deans Council A* journals, including the Journal of Marketing, the Journal of Marketing Research, the Journal of Consumer Research and Marketing Science.

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We’re home to leading researchers in a wide range of areas of insurance and actuarial science with a focus on modelling, measuring, and managing risks. Our School has won high international recognition for research excellence in risk theory, insurance analytics, quantitative risk management, health and mortality modelling, retirement risk management. Our academics conduct extensive research with the Centre of Excellence in Population Ageing and Research (CEPAR) where a number of faculty are associated.

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Our rankings

Our research performance is highly ranked on an international scale by world-leading organisations like the Times Higher Education World University Rankings and QS World University Rankings. We’re consistently placed within the top 50 universities worldwide and the Excellence in Research for Australia survey rates business subjects as “well above world standard”.

Student placements

Our PhD graduates are highly sought after and go on to successful careers at elite universities in Australia and across the globe.

Equipped with rigorous skills and experience, our research students are also placed in important government and industry roles.