The University of Newcastle has risen 10 places in the QS World University Rankings® for 2010.

Published today, the annual list of the worlds top 500 universities ranked the University of Newcastle 256th.

The QS World University Rankings® is on the back of the recently released Shanghai Jiao Tong Academic Ranking of World Universities that placed Newcastle at 352*, 12 places higher than the previous year.

The QS rankings measure research quality, graduate employability, teaching commitment and international commitment through global surveys and audited data.

Vice-Chancellor, Professor Nicholas Saunders, said the ranking demonstrated Newcastle's increasingly competitive national and international position.

"Over recent years, the University of Newcastle has cemented its position as the ninth ranked university for research in Australia. We have achieved and maintained this impressive position through strong investment in our researchers and their important work.

"The University is continuing to implement innovative approaches to teaching and learning to offer the best student experience possible.

"These rankings are evidence that our efforts across research and teaching and learning are delivering results for our students and the communities we serve."

The recently released 2009 Graduate Careers Australia survey included strong results for the employability of Newcastle graduates with 75.3 per cent of Bachelor graduates finding full-time work in 2009.

The survey also found that the medium starting salary of Newcastle graduates was $50,000, a $3,000 increase on 2008 figures and $2,000 more than the national average of $48,000 for graduates from other Australian universities.

The top 200 QS World University Rankings® are available on www.topuniversities.com.

* Based on University of Newcastle calculations using Shanghai Jiao Tong Academic Ranking of World Universities methodology.