Highest starting salaries
University of Southern Queensland and Charles Darwin University are tied in top spot for having the highest graduate starting salaries at AUS$65,200. Source: Shutterstock

Australian universities are some of the world’s top institutions, but which ones produce graduates with the highest starting salaries?

According to the Good Universities Guide 2019/2020, graduates of the University of Southern Queensland and Charles Darwin University are tied for the top spot for the highest graduate starting salaries in Australia, at AUS$65,200. 

The median salary of undergraduates employed full-time in 2018 was AUS$61,000 per year, according to the 2018 Graduate Outcomes Survey

This marks the third consecutive year USQ has achieved the highest starting salary in the country, the university website notes.

The university’s Vice-Chancellor, Professor Geraldine Mackenzie, said the results reflect the institution’s continued focus on high quality education and producing job-ready graduates.

“We have partnered with industry and listened to students and these results are reflective of this focus. At USQ we strive to create a learning environment that is exciting and innovative using the latest in digital learning technology and research,” she said. 

Meanwhile, some 83 percent of CDU graduates were in full-time work after graduation. 

CDU Vice-Chancellor, Professor Simon Maddocks, said: “With 70 percent of our higher education students studying with us online throughout Australia, CDU is serving a vital role well beyond the (Northern) Territory.”

Apart from being adept at delivering education to people who can’t attend classes on campus, he said that graduates are well placed after completing their studies, and quickly make vital contributions to their local economies.

Top 10 universities producing Australia’s richest graduates

2019/2020 rank University  Median salary of graduates (AUS)
1 Charles Darwin University $65,200
1 University of Southern Queensland $65,200
2 University of Tasmania $65,000
3 University of New England $64,700
4 CQUniversity $64,600
5 The University of Notre Dame Australia $64,000
6 Charles Sturt University $63,400
7 Edith Cowan University $62,600
8 Federation University Australia $62,600
9 Curtin University $62,600
10 Southern Cross University $62,400
 Source: The Good Universities Guide

Yahoo! Finance reported: “A Good Education spokesperson told Courier Mail student demographics and local economies impacted graduate outcomes.

“He said USQ and Charles Darwin were both regional universities, and both had a comparatively low proportion of student commencing directly from high school, which could have contributed to their top spot.”

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