The Australian National University has maintained its top ranking on the QS World University Rankings 2023 as Australian institutions took a hit because of COVID.
The ANU was ranked the highest among Australian universities and 30th in the world, down from 27th place in the 2022 rankings.
The University of Canberra slipped from 436th place to the 511-520 bracket.
University of Canberra vice-chancellor Paddy Nixon said he anticipated a fall in the QS rankings.
"While the fall is unfortunate many factors contribute to an overall rankings performance," he said.
"Staffing profiles and international student numbers contributed most to this particular dataset, which was to be expected as a result of the affects of lockdowns and access to face-to-face learning as a result of COVID-19 during the reporting period."
The Australian National University declined to comment on the rankings.
The Massachusetts Institute of Technology was ranked first in the world for the 11th consecutive year.
They were followed by the University of Cambridge, Stanford University, University of Oxford and Harvard University.
China now has two universities in the top 15, Peking University and Tsinghua University, while the National University of Singapore is the top Asian university.
The rankings take into account research output, class sizes, proportion of international faculty and students and surveys of academics and employers.
The majority of Australian universities had a drop in their scores relating to the proportion of international academics and students as the borders were closed for two years.
QS senior vice president Ben Sowter said the rankings tell a story of stagnation more than a decline, despite the drastic impact COVID isolation had on the higher education sector.
"There are as many universities rising as falling. Australia continues to shine for research excellence, but its recognition among the global academic community and employers has taken a hit, connected with the reduced international engagement during the pandemic," Mr Sowter said.
Australian institutions did well on the number of research citations per faculty.
The ANU produced 39,537 papers in five years, generating 726,892 citations, with 21.2 per cent of research from physics and astronomy.
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