Charles Darwin University
www.cdu.edu.au (official website)
About Charles Darwin University
Charles Darwin University is a public university serving the Northern Territory. It was created in 2003 by merging the Northern Territory University, the Menzies School of Health Research and Centralian College, and the merger took effect from 2004. Its earliest predecessor college dates to 1974.
It calls itself a dual-sector institution, teaching both university degrees and vocational education and training. The main campus is at Casuarina in Darwin, with a newer Darwin city precinct campus and sites at Palmerston, Katherine, Nhulunbuy and Alice Springs, plus a campus in Sydney. Its work has a strong Territory focus, including First Nations education and research, tropical and savanna environments, health, and Northern Australia development. The Menzies School of Health Research, now part of the university group, is a long-standing Indigenous and tropical health research centre.
- Founded
- 2003
- Campuses
- Casuarina, Darwin (NT), Palmerston (NT), Katherine (NT), Alice Springs (NT), Nhulunbuy (NT), Sydney (NSW)
- Network
- Innovative Research Universities
- Known for
- Dual-sector university and TAFENorthern Territory regional focusFirst Nations education and researchTropical and savanna research
Written by us from the university's own website and public sources; check details with the university. As at October 2026. Sources: cdu.edu.au, en.wikipedia.org. Report an inaccuracy.
World ranking history
| Ranking | Edition | World rank | In Australia | Source |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| THE | 2027 | 451–500 | 30 | THE profile |
| 2026 | 401–500 | 26 | THE profile | |
| ARWU | 2026 | Not ranked | – | ARWU 2026 table |
| 2025 | Not ranked | – | ARWU 2025 table | |
| QS | 2027 | Not in top 300* | – | QS 2027 table |
| 2026 | =584 | 29 | QS profile |
Ranks as published; bands such as 301–350 are not exact places, and "=" marks a tie. "In Australia" is the position among Australian universities in the same edition; universities sharing a band or a tie share a position. Each ranking measures different things, mostly research, and none of them is combined here. *Our copy of QS 2027 covers ranks 1–300 only.
Source: Times Higher Education World University Rankings (timeshighereducation.com). Source: Academic Ranking of World Universities, ShanghaiRanking Consultancy (shanghairanking.com). Source: QS Quacquarelli Symonds (www.qs.com). Copyright © QS Quacquarelli Symonds Ltd. Rank figures are reproduced as single facts with attribution; copyright stays with each publisher and we will remove them on request. See data sources.
About this profile
University category: TEQSA National Register (Australian University). State and public/private status: Department of Education list of higher education institutions. Students: total enrolled students, all levels of course, 2024, Department of Education Higher Education Statistics (© Commonwealth of Australia, CC BY 4.0).