The University of Sydney has overtaken the University of NSW on a list of the top 200 universities in the world.
Seventeen local universities made the Times Higher 2005 World University Rankings, putting Australia third behind the US, with 54, and Britain, with 24.
Last year the University of NSW was ranked 36th and its older rival, the University of Sydney, 40th. This year the University of NSW slipped to 40th and Sydney moved up to equal 38th.
The top university was Harvard, in the US, followed by the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and Cambridge University in Britain.
The rankings are based on a survey of more than 2000 academics, taking into account research papers, staff-to-student ratios and the number of international students and staff.
The University of Melbourne's Vice-Chancellor, Professor Glyn Davis, said the results showed the challenges for Australian universities. "They make one thing very clear - the … resources available to American and British institutions … ensure they will consistently top the international rankings."
