James Cook University
www.jcu.edu.au (official website)
About James Cook University
James Cook University is a public university based in tropical northern Queensland. It began as the University College of Townsville, which opened in 1961 as a college of the University of Queensland. It became an independent university in 1970 and took the name James Cook University in 1998.
Its largest campus is at Douglas in Townsville, with a second main campus in Cairns and city sites in both places. It also has a campus in Singapore, a Brisbane site for international students, and study centres in Mackay, Mount Isa, Thursday Island and Rockhampton. The university has a tropical and regional focus, with research strengths in marine and environmental science, tropical health and medicine, veterinary and agricultural science, and engineering, including a cyclone testing station set up in 1977. It is a member of the Innovative Research Universities network.
- Founded
- 1961
- Campuses
- Townsville (QLD), Cairns (QLD), Brisbane (QLD), Singapore
- Network
- Innovative Research Universities
- Known for
- Tropical and marine scienceRegional northern Queensland focusTropical health and medicineCyclone Testing Station
Written by us from the university's own website and public sources; check details with the university. As at October 2026. Sources: en.wikipedia.org. Report an inaccuracy.
World ranking history
| Ranking | Edition | World rank | In Australia | Source |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| THE | 2027 | 326–350 | 23 | THE profile |
| 2026 | 351–400 | 23 | THE profile | |
| ARWU | 2026 | 301–400 | 13 | ARWU profile |
| 2025 | 401–500 | 21 | ARWU profile | |
| QS | 2027 | Not in top 300* | – | QS 2027 table |
| 2026 | =440 | 25 | 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).