ERA Overview

The Excellence in Research for Australia (ERA) initiative is developed and managed by the Australian Research Council (ARC) as a major funder of public sector research. It assesses research quality within Australia's Higher education institutions using a combination of indicators and expert review by committees comprising experienced, internationally recognised experts. The ERA research quality and evaluation framework initiative has been operating triennially since 2008.

CQUniversity achieved its best-ever ratings in the Commonwealth Government’s periodic assessment of Australian research. The 2018 Excellence in Research for Australia results demonstrated CQUniversity is conducting research rated as at/above/well above world standard in many areas including Mathematics, Psychology, Nursing, Agriculture & VET Science, Horticultural Production, Environmental Science, Biological Science, Zoology, Engineering, Medical & Health Science, Human Movement and Sports Science, Information and Computing Sciences, Artificial Intelligence, Public Health & Health Services and Specialist Studies in Education. CQUniversity’s dramatic leap in research performance has been underpinned by record investment in research facilities and personnel, innovative and engaged research strategy, and tremendous success in securing highly competitive national research grants.

The ratings are determined and moderated by committees of distinguished researchers, drawn from Australia and overseas. Ratings are administered along a scale of one to five, with five being classified as 'well above world standard'.

Selected CQUniversity 2018 ERA results:

5 in Mathematical Sciences (01)
5 in Applied Mathematics (0102)
3 in Environmental Sciences (05)
3 in Environmental Science & Management (0502)
3 in Biological Sciences (06)
3 in Zoology (0608)
4 in Agriculture & Veterinary Sciences (07)
4 in Agriculture, Land and Farm Management (0701)
5 in Horticultural Production (0706)
3 in Information and Computing Sciences (08)
3 in Artificial Intelligence & Image Processing (0801)
4 in Engineering (09)
5 in Electrical Engineering (0906)
5 in Mechanical Engineering (0913)
3 in Medical & Health Sciences (11)
3 in Human Movement and Sports Science (1106)
4 in Nursing (1110)
4 in Public Health and Health Services (1117)
3 in Specialist Studies in Education (1303)
5 in Psychology and Cognitive Sciences (17)
4 in Psychology (1701)
5 in Other Psychology and Cognitive Sciences (1799)

ERA Rankings Explained

5 = Research is rated well above world standard
4 = Research is rated above world standard
3 = Research is rated at world standard
2 = Research is rated below world standard
1 = Research is rated well below world standard

The Excellence in Research for Australia website contains relevant and up-to-date information about the ERA Initiative including the Australian and New Zealand Standard Research Classifications (ANZSRC) Field of Research (FoR) codes.

The ERA research disciplines are categorised into the following clusters:

1. Cluster One:  Mathematics, Information and Computing Sciences (MIC)
2. Cluster Two:  Physical, Chemical and Earth Sciences (PCE)
3. Cluster Three:  Engineering and Environmental Sciences (EE)
4. Cluster Four:  Biological and Biotechnological Sciences (BB)
5. Cluster Five:  Medical and Health Sciences (MHS)
6. Cluster Six:  Humanities and Creative Arts (HCA)
7. Cluster Seven:  Education and Human Society (EHS)
8. Cluster Eight:  Economics and Commerce (EC)