About Charles Darwin University
Research is a major strength of Charles Darwin University, focused on environment, human health and well-being, Indigenous knowledges and social and public policy. Research by both staff and postgraduate students is mostly applied and targeted at significant real-world problems in northern Australia and Asia. Research results provide input to public policy formulation, private sector decision-making, and the work of Non-Government Organisations. Publications from this research contribute to the development of academic disciplines both in Australia and internationally. The quality of research at CDU has been recognised in the 2010 SciMago World Report which ranks CDU at the top of the Australian University sector on the quality of publications, with 63% of CDU’s outputs (2004-2008) appearing in the top quartile of ranked journals. On the measure of normalised citations, the 2010 SciMago World Report ranks CDU 13th in the Australian University sector. Most recently (Oct 2011) Times Higher Education has also placed CDU at number 13 in the rankings of Australian universities. The Commonwealth Government’s Excellence in Research for Australia (ERA) initiative saw CDU receive scores of four out of a maximum of five in several research areas: Environmental Science and Management, Zoology, Agriculture and Veterinary Sciences, Medical Microbiology and Clinical Sciences. Times Higher Education ranked research institutions globally on research quality by citation impact for journal articles listed by Thomson Reuters over the period January 2000 through December 2010. On this measure, CDU ranked fourth in Australia for environmental science and ecology, ahead of CSIRO and seven of the ‘Group of Eight’ Australian universities.