Higher education courses can be taken to earn an advanced degree and continue your studies in Australia. There are three main types of higher education which lead to Bachelor, Master and Doctoral Degrees.

In Australia it is quite common for students to enroll in a double or combined Bachelor Degree program which leads to the award of two Bachelor Degrees. This is most common in the fields of arts, commerce, law and science.

Australian institutions offer a wide range of courses – from science to management and commerce, humanities to engineering, and law to health sciences. Australian institutions rank among the world’s best by discipline, particularly in engineering and technology, medicine, environmental science, and accounting and finance.

There are 43 universities in Australia [40 Australian universities, two international universities, and one private specialty university]. Along with our universities, many other institutions offer higher education courses. You can search for institutions and courses using the Institution and Course Search on this website.

Our quality assurance

Australia has a national regulatory and quality agency for higher education – the Tertiary Education Quality and Standards Agency [TEQSA]. It was established by the Australian Government to monitor quality, and regulate university and non-university higher education providers against a set of standards developed by the independent Higher Education Standards Panel.

In addition, the following student rights are protected by law under the Education Services for Overseas Students [ESOS]:

• The wellbeing of all international students.
• The quality of students' education experience.
• The provision of up-to-date and accurate information.

The qualifications you can attain at a university or higher education institution are shown below.

Associate degree
Duration - Two years
Completed following - Year 12 or equivalent, Certificate III or Certificate IV
Details - The Associate Degree is a short-cycle Degree program that can help with career development if you're already working and don't have time to complete a full Bachelor Degree. It can be a pathway to a Bachelor Degree or prepare you for an Advanced Diploma in specialist industry training. An Associate Degree will be about the basics or foundations of your field. It will cover the broad theory and enable you to develop the basic employment-related skills.

Bachelor Degree
Duration - Three years
Completed following - Year 12 or equivalent, Certificate III or Certificate IV
Details - A Bachelor Degree is the basic qualification for entry to a field. It will give you a systematic body of knowledge, the underlying principles and the problem-solving techniques you'll need to work in the discipline. With deeper content than an Associate Degree, your Bachelor Degree will develop your skills and knowledge to the point where you can pursue postgraduate studies if you want to.

Bachelor Degree [Honours]
Duration - Four years
Completed following - Bachelor Degree
Details - If you do particularly well in your Bachelor Degree, your institution might grant entry to an additional year of study to enable you to graduate with honours.

Graduate Certificate
Duration - 6 months
Completed following - Bachelor Degree
Details - Your Graduate Certificate will broaden individual skills you already have from an undergraduate program, or develop your knowledge in a new area.

Graduate Diploma
Duration - One year
Completed following - Bachelor Degree
Details - A Graduate Diploma will apply a body of knowledge in a range of contexts for you to undertake professional or highly skilled work and as a pathway for further learning.

Master Degree
Duration - 1 to 2 years
Completed following - Bachelor Degree [Honours] or Bachelor Degree
Details - A Master Degree is a course of independent research, traditional coursework or a combination of the two, and will make you a leader in your field. A Master Degree takes either one year after a Bachelor Degree with honours, or two years after a Bachelor Degree.

Doctoral Degree
Duration - Typically 3 years
Completed following - Masters Degree
Details - The highest award offered by Australian universities, the Doctoral Degree is a research program, although it can have some coursework. The three components of your Doctoral Degree are:

A review of literature, experimentation or other methodical approach to a body of knowledge.
An original research project that makes a contribution to understanding and knowledge in your field.
A substantial, well-ordered thesis that shows a relationship between the research and the field of study.

When it comes to world university rankings, Australia has a strong, proven track record. Across all global ranking systems, criteria and fields of study, Australia ranks highly for quality of education, student satisfaction, and global reputation.

There are a number of university ranking systems in use around the world, three commonly used rankings are:

• Academic Ranking of World Universities.
• QS World University Rankings.
• Times Higher Education [THE] World University Rankings.

In fact, seven of Australia’s universities feature in the top 100 ranked universities in the world in the latest QS ranking [2012]. And if you have a specific study area of interest, there is every chance Australia has you covered, with at least one Australian university in the top 50 worldwide across the study areas of Natural Sciences & Mathematics, Life & Agricultural Sciences, Clinical Medicine & Pharmacy, and Physics.

Australia also has 15 universities ranked in the top 100 'under 50' in the lastest Times Higher Education ranking results [2012].

We are proud of the high university rankings Australian has earned, but more importantly, it’s about what you will receive when you study in Australia - a world-class education and opportunities for an unlimited future.