We often hear from engineering students who think they can’t study abroad and immediately discount it as an option…but that’s not true! With a strong history of innovation, Australia is an ideal destination to study abroad as an engineering major.
Australia has been the birthplace of some of the world’s most game-changing creations – such as the bionic ear, pacemaker, black box flight recorder, ultrasound scanner – and caters to all engineering specializations including electrical engineering, civil engineering, biomedical engineering, computer engineering, aerospace engineering, mechanical engineering and more.
With a common language helping provide a seamless integration into Australian university life and highly ranked engineering schools, you’ll set yourself apart in a competitive job marketing by studying abroad in Australia.
RMIT University’s Design Hub provides collaborative spaces for design and engineering – the building itself is covered by thousands of sandblasted glass disks, some of which can be tilted to provide shade from the sun as it moves throughout the day. In preparation for future innovations, the disks have been designed so they can be retrofitted with solar energy-gathering capacity. | Photo courtesy of RMITWhy study abroad in Australia as an engineering major
Australian universities have a strong research focus while also ensuring that graduates are ready for the real world by developing university programs in close connection to the industry.
Six Australian schools rank in the top 100 globally for engineering (see below for more details on rankings) and available courses are very similar to those in the U.S. so finding classes you need to stay on track for graduation is not difficult. The University of Queensland, for instance, ranked 18th in the world for aerospace engineering, hosts the Boeing Research and Technology Australia Centre on its campus, while the University of Sydney has the largest biomedical engineering program of its kind in the southern hemisphere. See all available schools in Australia with engineering programs here.
In addition to awesome courses, you’ll have the opportunity to study within a multicultural environment with both local students and international students from across the globe leading to a worldwide network of future professional contacts. You can also have the opportunity to do a work internship when you study abroad for a semester helping your resume stand out even more after graduation.
Monash University’s Green Chemical Futures Building is home to the university’s chemical engineering department – ranked #1 in Australia by QS World University Rankings 2019. | Photo by Zoe Shwidock, TEAN staffSCHOLARSHIPS FOR ENGINEERING MAJORS
Planning to study abroad next year? The University of New South Wales (UNSW) in Sydney (the #1 ranked engineering school in Australia) is offering three $1,000 engineering scholarships for Spring 2020. If you’re an engineering major and want to study abroad at UNSW, simply apply for TEAN’s regular scholarships by October 15, 2019 and you’ll automatically bee considered for the UNSW award. TEAN also offers merit, need and diversity scholarships as well as an annual full ride scholarship. All details can be found on our scholarships page.
Top Engineering Schools in Australia
There are a number of respected organizations that publish world university rankings annually. Below is where the Australian universities sit in the rankings for their engineering departments.
QS World University Rankings 2019 for Engineering
#38 University of New South Wales (UNSW)
#40 University of Melbourne
#50 Monash University
#56 University of Sydney
#61 Australian National University
#75 University of Queensland
#118 University of Technology, Sydney (UTS)
#125 RMIT University
#135 University of Western Australia
The QS World University Ranking drills down further for certain specializations:
Chemical Engineering
#29 Monash University
#32 University of Melbourne
#33 University of Queensland
#42 University of New South Wales
Civil Engineering
#12 University of New South Wales
#20 University of Sydney
#22 University of Melbourne
#30 Monash University
#33 University of Western Australia
#36 University of Queensland
Electrical Engineering
#35 University of Melbourne
#36 University of New South Wales
Mechanical Engineering
#29 Monash University
#32 University of Melbourne
#33 University of Queensland
#42 University of New South Wales
Ranked in the top 100 universities in the world for engineering, the University of Queensland provides a modern and multi-cultural environment to study abroad.The well regarded Academic Ranking of World Universities drill down even further into more engineering specializations:
Aerospace Engineering
#18 University of Queensland
#41 University of New South Wales
Automation and Control
#8 University of Newcastle
#13 Australian National University
#25 The University of Adelaide
#43 University of Melbourne
Biomedical Engineering
#42 University of Melbourne
Energy science & Engineering
#30 Monash University
#39 University of New South Wales
#44 University of Wollongong
Environmental Engineering
#18 University of Western Australia
#21 University of Queensland
Marine/Ocean Engineering
#12 University of Western Australia
#16 University of New South Wales
Materials science & engineering
#30 Monash University
#39 University of New South Wales
#44 University of Wollongong
Metallurgical engineering
#7 Monash University
#19 University of Queensland
#34 Deakin University
#39 University of Sydney
Transportation Science & Technology
#6 University of Sydney
#13 Monash University
#16 Queensland University of Technology (QUT)
#34 University of New South Wales
Keep in mind that rankings can help guide which schools you may want to consider, however they should not be your only consideration. All Australian universities offer a high standard of education and considerations such as the living environment you want should also be factored into your decision. The University of Wollongong and University of Newcastle, for example, also offer excellent engineering programs, but are located in less populous areas and are smaller schools than most of the above, which are mainly large schools in the big cities.
TEAN has 19 semester abroad programs in Australia offering engineering courses so can help you find the program that is best suited to you.
See all available schools in Australia with engineering programs here. Have any questions? Ask us here!
