Australian universities are the third-best in the world after the United States and Britain, based on a ranking of subject disciplines.
QS World University Rankings said the best result for an Australian institution is Monash University's rank of equal fourth in pharmacy and pharmacology. 
Australia is stronger in the social sciences than in technology, life sciences and natural sciences.
The Australian National University (ANU) ranks seventh in anthropology and eighth in archaeology, politics, and international studies and developmental studies. The University of Melbourne is ranked equal seventh in education and eighth in law.
All of the research-intensive Group of Eight universities feature strongly in the top-50 lists by subject, while all five of the technology universities are in the top-50 in at least one subject.
In computing science and information systems, the University of Melbourne is Australia's leading institution, ranked 13th in the world; in chemical engineering Monash is 24th; in medicine the University of Sydney is 17th; in earth and marine sciences ANU is 12th; in maths ANU is equal 21st; and in physics and astronomy the University of Melbourne is top in Australia at 44th.
The only universities outside the Group of Eight to top a discipline area within Australia were RMIT, which is 16th in the world in art and design, and the Queensland University of Technology, which is 21st in the world in communication and media studies.


Top of their game  
Australian universities in global top 10 by subject  
  
UNI  RANK SUBJECT
Monash  4* Pharmacy & pharmacology
ANU  7 Anthropology
Uni Melbourne 7* Education
ANU  8 Archeology
ANU  8 Politics & international studies
ANU  8 Development studies
Uni Melbourne 8 Law
Uni Sydney 9 Veterinary science
Uni Qld 1 0* Mining engineering

SOURCE: QS WORLD UNIVERSITY RANKINGS