UNSW has topped the bill in the 2008 Good Universities Guide.

The Guide gives UNSW the maximum five-star rating for nine key performance indicators, well above any other GO8 University. In total points across all categories, UNSW is the national leader, outrating all other universities.

The Guide describes UNSW as "one of the heavyweights of Australian higher education...offering an intense, rich tertiary experience".

The Good Universities Guide, released annually, is a comprehensive handbook for anyone choosing a university course or campus. It features detailed profiles of every Australian university, as well as other institutions offering tertiary courses. The institutions are ranked against a number of criteria in key performance areas. Individual courses at different tertiary institutions are also compared.

UNSW achieved a top score in the following categories: research grants, research intensivity, student-staff ratio, staff qualifications, graduate starting salary, student success in gaining employment, gender balance, cultural diversity and proportion of entrants who are school leavers.

"These are outstanding results for UNSW," Vice-Chancellor Professor Fred Hilmer said.

"They reflect the intensity of research at UNSW and our commitment to teaching excellence and the quality of the student experience.

"UNSW graduates are known to achieve the highest starting salaries and to be highly sought after by employers. It's pleasing to see this confirmed, yet again, in the 2008 Guide."