On 25 September 2025, the Australian Financial Review (AFR) released its highly anticipated BOSS Best Business Schools for 2025 rankings. First introduced in 2022, this annual list evaluates universities nationwide based on their overall performance in postgraduate business and management education.
Similar to 2024, this year’s list is built around four key pillars, including teaching, research, university reputation and career impact, to offer a comprehensive and balanced assessment. To calculate the overall ranking, each pillar carries its own weight, with research, career impact and university reputation contributing 20 per cent each and teaching at 40 per cent.
The AFR uses local data in various areas, including student satisfaction, research excellence and impact, salaries on graduation and full-time employment. The rankings also source international data from respected global university rankings like the Times Higher Education (THE), Academic Ranking of World Universities (ARWU) and Quacquarelli Symonds (QS).
This year’s AFR rankings have been refined to eliminate outdated measures of business schools and acknowledge those that hold both accreditations from the Association to Advance Collegiate Schools of Business (AACSB) and the European Quality Improvement System (EQUIS).
By measuring universities across multiple metrics, the list acts as a reliable guide for prospective postgraduate students to make well-informed decisions about where to pursue their advanced business studies. Some potential students may focus on the reputation of the university, while others may place greater importance on the institution’s research excellence.
As a partner of StudyNext, the AFR provides value for students and the wider community with its annual business schools rankings. Employers can identify top universities based on the career impact ranking to get insights into the quality of their graduates and make recruitment decisions. Universities can also use this list to compare their performance in different areas with other institutions and measure their competitiveness in the higher education space.
The University of Melbourne claims the top spot in 2025, maintaining a consistent ranking of 1st, 2nd or 3rd across all pillars.
The Victorian-based university moved up a rank after coming in second to the University of New South Wales for three consecutive years. The University of Queensland held onto its third position from the previous year.
Explore the top ten business schools according to the AFR in 2025 below:
Top 10 business schools: The AFR BOSS Best Business Schools rankings
| University | Overall rank | Overall score | Teaching rank | Research rank | Reputation rank | Career impact rank |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| University of Melbourne | 1 | 88 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 3 |
| University of New South Wales | 2 | 83 | 5 | 5 | 5 | 2 |
| University of Queensland | 3 | 82 | 6 | =2 | =3 | =6 |
| Monash University | 4 | 80 | 7 | =2 | =3 | =10 |
| University of Western Australia | 5 | 79 | 3 | 17 | 7 | =6 |
| University of Sydney | 6 | 78 | 12 | 4 | 2 | =4 |
| Deakin University | =7 | 75 | 9 | =10 | =13 | =4 |
| Macquarie University | =7 | 75 | 17 | =10 | 10 | 1 |
| University of South Australia | =7 | 75 | 7 | 13 | =13 | =10 |
| Queensland University of Technology | 10 | 73 | 10 | 16 | 15 | 9 |
Compare top business courses for your postgraduate study
If you’re contemplating your next move in postgraduate business education, you can refer to the AFR Best BOSS Business Schools for great insights. The AFR also provides a platform for you to explore a diverse range of business courses available in Australia.
Discover postgraduate business courses from the top 10 business schools in 2025.
