The result comes despite increasing global competition, with more than 8800 institutions now featuring in the QS World University Ranking.
La Trobe’s success in preparing its students for a rapidly evolving workforce was recognised, with an increase of 79 places in the Employer Reputation indicator. This improvement demonstrates the excellence of La Trobe graduates as rated by the diverse employers who hire them on a national and global level.
With the rapid growth of artificial intelligence (AI), La Trobe’s focus on AI-first education and training is also ensuring its graduates are prepared for an AI-shaped workforce.
La Trobe Vice-Chancellor Professor Theo Farrell said that La Trobe continues to be one of the world’s top universities to develop skills that employers are seeking, particularly in the rapidly evolving use of AI.
“As a leader in AI-enabled education, La Trobe is harnessing the potential of AI to prepare graduates for the future, strengthen collaboration with industry and accelerate innovation across teaching, research and university operations,” Professor Farrell said.
“La Trobe also recognises that innovation and solutions to global issues are often best done with international collaboration and I’m proud of the way our researchers are developing strong networks to deliver the best impact for everyone.”
Adam Smith, Director of Customer Success at Fujitsu in Oceania, said Fujitsu looked for graduates who could hit the ground running with both the technical skills and the commercial mindset to deliver outcomes for clients from day one.
"Through our partnership with La Trobe and working with their data analytics students, we know they can apply advanced modelling and visualisation skills to solve real-world challenges, including complex data projects across both the public and private sectors. Those we have recruited have thrived in our team.”
Coliban Water Managing Director Damian Wells said La Trobe graduates had a strong academic foundation, practical mindset and readiness to contribute from day one.
"Their exposure to industry-relevant learning, particularly in water management, sustainability and environmental stewardship aligns closely with the realities of operating in regional communities, where challenges such as drought resilience, climate variability and long-term resource planning are critical."
La Trobe also improved 73 places in the QS indicator for International Research Network, reflecting the University’s focus and success in building diverse, sustained, multi‑country research collaborations, as defined in La Trobe's Research and Innovation Strategy.
The result follows the University’s positive results in the 2026 QS World University Rankings by Subject, where sports-related subjects, archaeology and nursing now sit in the world’s top 50.
Media enquiries
Robyn Grace – r.grace@latrobe.edu.au, 0420 826 595
