Five-star success

UNSW has scored the maximum five-star rating for seven key performance indicators in the 2010 Good Universities Guide.

The Guide describes UNSW as "one of the heavyweights of Australian higher education ... it's big, tough to get into ... offering an intense, rich tertiary experience".

UNSW achieved a top score in the following categories: research grants, research intensivity, student-staff ratio, staff qualifications, cultural diversity, graduate starting salary and positive graduate outcomes.

Vice-Chancellor Professor Fred Hilmer said this was a great result.

"These rankings reflect the fact that, as well as being one of Australia's leading research universities, we provide an outstanding student experience. Our graduates are highly sought after by employers," he said.

According to the Graduate Destination Survey, UNSW maintained its leading position in graduate salaries with median starting salaries of more than $50,000 across all major disciplines.

The Good Universities Guide, published annually, is a comprehensive handbook for potential students with detailed profiles of every Australian university, as well as other institutions offering tertiary courses. The institutions are ranked against a number of criteria in key performance areas. Individual courses at different tertiary institutions are also compared.

Media contact: Judy Brookman | +61 2 9385 3249 | 0421 061 251 | j.brookman@unsw.edu.au