La Trobe University’s focus on research, innovation, internationalisation and industry connection has been recognised with improvements in the latest Times Higher Education (THE) World University Rankings (WUR) 2026.
The University’s overall ranking remained within the 250-300 band for the fourth consecutive year, despite increased competition from a record 2,191 universities featured in the global ranking – more than double the number ranked a decade ago.
Importantly, the ranking for the International Outlook pillar jumped 19 places to 145, which recognises the ability of a university to attract undergraduates, postgraduates, academics and researchers from across the world.
The University rose 14 places to 321 in the Research Environment pillar, which acknowledges research reputation, productivity and income, which is considered crucial to the development of world-class research.
It also improved 11 places to 342 in the Industry pillar, which reflects a university’s ability to help industry with innovations, inventions and consultancy.
Across Australia, La Trobe retained its rank of 14th out of 37 universities.
Acting Vice Chancellor Professor Robert Pike said the result reflected the environment of innovation the University provided for leading academics to undertake research and advancement in areas of global impact including health and wellbeing, AI and sustainable agriculture and food.
Professor Pike said it also showed the positive results of the University’s focus on industry engagement and collaboration, including world-leading partnerships with BioNTech, Fujitsu, The Australian Ballet and Cisco.
La Trobe has recently expanded its education and research opportunities in India, and has a goal to expand its offshore presence by increasing education and research collaborations with key overseas partners.
“La Trobe has a strategic focus on maximising our impact through research excellence and industry engagement, and accelerating our growth through international development,” Professor Pike said.
“The improvements in Research Environment, Industry Engagement and International Outlook are clear indicators that the University is delivering on its vision to be a place where inclusion and innovation produce real-world impact.”
Professor Pike said embracing new technology such as AI to create innovative research and development environments indirectly supported the rankings pillars by enhancing infrastructure, research translation and global competitiveness.
“These ranking results indicate we are on the right track and making great gains towards our vision of becoming a university where inclusion and innovation produce real-world impact through world-class research, strong industry partnerships, expanded access to higher education and focussing on student success and career outcomes.”
The WUR outcome is based on five pillars, including Teaching (29.5%), Research Environment (29%), Research Quality (30%), Industry (4%) and International Outlook (7.5%).
Contact details:
Robyn Grace, (0420) 826 595 or [email protected]
