UNSW vs USYD vs UTS

Manoj Arachige -

As graduation looms closer, the age-old question is floating across many young minds - which university is the right one for me? Well hopefully reading this blog will help you get one step closer to making your decision.

There are three main universities in New South Wales Australia; the University of New South Wales (UNSW), the University of Sydney (USYD) and the University of Technology Sydney (UTS).

  • In 2024, all three universities are ranked in the top 100 in the QS World University Rankings for 2024.
  • USYD and UNSW are tied at rank 19th in the world.

However, it is important to realise that rankings matter quite little in the grand scheme of things. In fact, these rankings actually tell you very little about how these degrees are revered in industry so it is more important you choose the course and educational institute that fits your goals and needs. Make sure you research into the degree or faculty in which you are interested in and pick the one that will best suit your ambitions.

To help, we have evaluated each university under these categories to assist you in making your final decision.

Location

  • UTS 10/10 - Ten minute walk from Central Station, very convenient.
  • USYD 8/10 - Ten minute walk from Redfern but if you have class on the other side of campus this walk will be longer. They do however have a shuttle bus running between Fisher Library (Camperdown campus) and Redfern train station from 4pm–10.30pm.
  • UNSW 7/10 - From Central Station, it is a 15-minute light rail ride to campus, a little less convenient than the other two. The light rail however stops at both upper and lower campus. Also, because it is a little further away from CBD, there is street parking available if you want to drive (which is an option pretty impossible for USYD and UTS). Unless you get to campus early though you will probably get unlucky and will have to park a 10-15 minute walk away.

Culture & Social Life

  • UNSW 10/10 - UNSW is famous for having the best social life out of all universities. They have a huge number of clubs and societies for you to join and the university proactively funds these societies to host an abundance of events for its students. A good impression of a university's social life is how they do orientation week, in which UNSW always takes the cake with a bustling assortment of stalls handing out free food to draw students in.
  • USYD 9/10 - USYD however isn't that far behind. Although having less variety or obscure interest-based societies to UNSW, societies for major degrees such as Law, Engineering, Business etc are just as lively. Furthermore, while much of UNSW's activities happen on campus since USYD is located near Newtown and Redfern students have access to a wide range of outside bars, restaurants & live music to socialise in. USYD students, known to host more of Sydney's private school kids, tend to have a more preppy vibe to them.
  • UTS 7/10 - Like USYD, the presence of society culture is still there but less obvious and extravagant to UNSW. Students will have to look a little further to get involved in a society and mix with peers outside of the classroom. Some equate this to the layout of the campus. Unlike UNSW and USYD which has a traditional campus feel, UTS is a group of high-rise buildings scattered around the CBD. Hence you lose the 'movie-like' experience of walking across an open campus football field to get to your classroom. Subsequently, most students would go to class and then go straight home without making many social pit stops along the way. But in saying this, there is no reason a UTS student can't have a vibrant social life as long as they go looking.
UTS Campus Map
UNSW Campus Map

Food

Rather than rank the lunch choices on campus myself, I figured I'd list them and let you be the judge.

  • UTS - Since it's smack in the middle of central you basically have access to anything you want at the tip of your fingers. They had also recently renovated their food court in 2019 giving students a whole new lineup; Chatime, MadMex, UniBros, Sushi World, PappaRich... the list goes on.
UTS Campus Food Court
  • USYD - still covers your basic set of fast food necessities with Subway and UniBros but with its location in Newtown, hosts a lot more rustic boho coffee shops and bars that are to die for. You can check out their campus food options here.
  • UNSW has a food court on the upper and lower campus. Down on the lower campus has their old food court featuring GYG, Yallah Eats and Sharetea. The space however is nowhere near as aesthetic as UTS's food court and doesn't really have a nice space for students to sit down. The upper campus was newly renovated but its space is underwhelmingly small and only features three stores; Nene Chicken, Soul Origin and PapaRich.

In this category, UTS is probably the winner.

Semesters vs Trimesters

Probably the biggest factor that deters students away from UNSW is trimesters.

USYD and UTS have semesters; that is they have two terms a year, one running from February to June with a 6-week winter break before heading into their second semester from July to October.

Since 2019, UNSW has adopted trimesters; a three-term structure with terms running for 10 weeks and a two-week holiday in between.

The pro of trimesters is that it makes it easier to overload your courses. While with semesters, students can take a maximum of four courses per semester, 8 per year, with trimesters, students typically take three per trimester, 9 per year. Another added benefit is that it aligns with international schooling periods making exchange easier. However, the benefits stop there and the main reason trimesters were actually implemented was to help transition more international students into the university not to benefit domestic students.

Cons of trimesters are;

  • The structure actually gives UNSW almost a whole extra month of uni. You'll be jealous of all the extra holiday time your USYD or UTS friends have.
  • Your holidays will never match up with family or friends not at UNSW.
  • Sometimes the courses feel a bit more rushed as you try to cram things into a tight 10 weeks leaving UNSW students generally getting burnt out quicker.
  • It is difficult to travel or take internships in your short 2-week break.

Teaching

While teaching strategy and quality will depend upon the faculty, I will discuss some common and broad trends that may apply to you.

UTS and USYD use Canvas as a teaching platform for all its courses while UNSW uses Moodle. You may be familiar with these platforms from high school and have your preference but as someone who has tried both - Canvas is by fair the superior learning platform. It has a simple and more sleek design and it better integrates other learning platforms making it easier to review past lectures and learning material.

Other points to note: UTS has developed the best digitally and with the best online presence. That is, you will find many exams to be conducted online and all your classwork seamlessly digitalized as well.

Some lectures at UNSW and USYD have tried to make the switch but you will find some of the teaching methods to still be old school with typical in-hall final exams (but again this will depend on the degree you choose).

UTS is also known for having a more friendly and laid-back learning environment with subjects being subjects more project-based and practical.

UNSW, in particular with its STEM subjects, have a better overall teaching quality and its degrees are highly regarded by top tech and engineering firms in Australia. The courses however are subsequently more intense and the students more competitive.

USYD will host a competitive learning environment similar to that of UNSW but you will be given a longer term length to process the learning material making it feel slightly less intense. Courses are known to be grounded in theory, ideal if you wish to go into research or become an academic.

I highly recommend you visit each of the schools on their open day to get a personalised opinion on their atmosphere and learning environment. Don't be shy about talking to the people you meet and asking them about their experiences. Each uni experience will be unique to the course you are taking so ensure you find people doing the same degree for a more accurate representation of what you'll be in for.

All these universities are highly reputable so there really shouldn't be much stress in picking. They will all give you a high-quality and well-rounded tertiary education that will help kick-start your career. And like I said at the start, most places don't actually care what university you go to, only what impact you make during your time there.

Want more personalized study guidance to help drastically improve your marks? A private tutor can make the biggest difference!