The top universities in Adelaide and South Australia for 2022

South Australian students are spoilt for choice, with a number of campuses in and around Adelaide’s city centre. There are also providers further afield in Whyalla on the upper Spencer Gulf and Mt Gambier, the state’s second-largest city.

Undergraduate degrees are available in all the general disciplines (humanities and science, for example) and the professions, including dentistry, law, medicine and engineering. There is plenty more on offer in the niche fields too.

There is no one university that is best for all students, since different things matter to different people. The Good Universities Guide ratings provide a series of insights on Australian universities, helping those in the process of deciding where to study.

Courses and institutions differ in many ways and only the student can decide which differences really matter to them. Check out the ratings for universities in South Australia and filter by study level (undergraduate or postgraduate). Some ratings are also available to filter further by field of study.

In the tables below, we’ve listed the university that ranked highest in each rating category for South Australia in the 2022 edition of The Good Universities Guide ratings.

Characteristics

Rating Type	Definition	Top university (undergraduate)
Social Equity	The proportion of domestic students enrolling at each university from low socioeconomic or disadvantaged backgrounds	CQUniversity – 39%
Staff Qualification	The proportion of staff who hold a masters or doctoral degree	University of South Australia — 78%
Student Demand	Where high-achieving students choose to study — compares the proportion of commencing students with high ATAR scores at each university	University of South Australia— Low: 0.2Medium: 0.65High: 0.15
Student – Teacher Ratio	The number of students per teaching staff member	The University of Adelaide — 21:1
First Generation	The proportion of domestic students commencing a bachelor degree whose parents’ education is known and did not exceed Year 12	CQUniversity—50%

The Student Experience

Rating Type	Definition	Top university (undergraduate)	Top university (postgraduate)
Learner Engagement	The proportion of students who felt they were engaged with learning in their institution	Australian Catholic University (ACU) — 59.8%	Torrens University Australia — 60.7%
Learning Resources	The proportion of students who were satisfied with the learning resources provided by their institution	University of South Australia — 85.8%	University of South Australia — 84.3%
Overall Experience	The proportion of students who were satisfied with the overall quality of their educational experience	CQUniversity — 76.5%	Torrens University Australia — 74.9%
Skills Development	The proportion of students who were satisfied with the skill development they experienced through their studies	Australian Catholic University (ACU) — 83.9%	Torrens University Australia — 83.5%
Student Support	The proportion of students who were satisfied with the support they received from their institution	Flinders University — 78.2%	University of South Australia — 78.5%
Teaching Quality	The proportion of students who were satisfied with the quality of teaching they experienced	CQUniversity — 81.8%	Torrens University Australia — 81.3%

Graduate Outcomes

Rating Type	Definition	Top university (undergraduate)	Top university (postgraduate)
Graduate Salary	The median salary of graduates from different universities	CQUniversity — $67,800	CQUniversity — $98,800
Full-time employment	The employment rates of graduates from different universities	CQUniversity — 77.7%	Australian Catholic University (ACU) — 91.8%

Head to the Ratings tab to view our most recent ratings for South Australian universities — filter by subject and level of study to find the one that suits.

Related Resources: