Well, where do we start comparing? First of all, the education system is different for these countries. In the UK, students will be completing a Bachelor’s Degree with honours once they finish three years of studies in general subjects. Whereas in New Zealand and Australia, students would complete the Bachelor’s Degree in three years, and they have to complete an additional one year research-based study to gain the honours title.
The difference between degrees and honours degrees: the honours degree implies a higher level of achievement than a non-honours degree, because only academically excellent students are invited to go for the additional one-year honours degree in Australia and New Zealand.
As for the ranking of Australia and New Zealand universities, here are some benchmarks:
- All the Go8 universities in Australia are ranked in the top 150 universities worldwide.
- The University of Auckland in New Zealand is ranked 83rd in the world, according to the QS World University Rankings 2020.
Another way to compare these countries can be their tuition fees and living expenses. The cheaper options can be New Zealand or the UK, but this still depends on which universities you end up choosing. For example, using London as a benchmark cost for living in the UK would not be a good representative of other parts of the UK where the cost of living is much lower. The most expensive option among Australia, New Zealand and the UK would be Australia. The following table displays some estimates:
| Tuition fees (per year) | Living expenses (per year) | Total | Total in RM (per year) | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| UK | GBP£15K – 25K | GBP£7K – 9K | GBP£20K – 27K | RM111K – 150K |
| NZ | NZ$22K – 36K | NZ$20K – 25K | NZ$42K – 61K | RM115K – 164K |
| AUS | AUD$25K – 38K | AUD$17K – 21K | AUD$42K – 59K | RM120K – 169K |
