La Trobe University vs RMIT University: Which Is Right for You in 2027?
La Trobe University vs RMIT University: Which Is Right for You in 2027?
Introduction
Here's a fun fact: La Trobe University and RMIT University both have a campus on Plenty Road in Bundoora. That's about where the similarity ends. RMIT's heart is its City campus in Melbourne's CBD, where it teaches TAFE courses and degrees with a big design, art and IT line-up. La Trobe's heart is a bushland campus at Bundoora, with four regional campuses and a deep bench of health and education degrees.
RMIT ranks higher (10th in Australia in the QS World University Rankings 2027, against La Trobe's 17th), but La Trobe has the higher graduate employment figure on QILT data. So it comes down to what you want to study and where you want to spend your days.
The short version
- Lean RMIT if you want to study in the CBD, with the city as your campus.
- Lean RMIT for design, fashion, art or IT, or if you'd like a TAFE diploma that leads into a degree.
- Lean La Trobe for health, allied health or teaching, especially at a regional campus close to home.
- Lean La Trobe if you'd like an early offer before exams (closed for 2027 entry, so Year 11s, plan ahead).
- Lean RMIT if you want to know your target: its Guaranteed ATAR promises an offer at a published score in 17 courses.
1. Overview and Reputation
RMIT sits higher in the 2027 rankings, 10th against 17th in Australia on QS. But they're shaped very differently. RMIT is a city uni with a TAFE arm and a design and tech bent. La Trobe is a bushland and regional uni with deep roots in health and education. Pick the shape that fits your course and your life.
La Trobe was founded in 1967 and belongs to the Innovative Research Universities (IRU) group. Its main campus is in Bundoora, 16 km from Melbourne's CBD, on 235 hectares of bushland, with regional campuses at Bendigo, Shepparton, Mildura and Albury-Wodonga.
Its 2025 Annual Report counts 39,648 students, including 7,360 domestic students from rural or remote areas. It came equal 241st in the QS World University Rankings 2027 (17th in Australia).
What that means for you: real regional reach, with health and education training across Victoria, not only in the city.
RMIT started life as the Working Men's College in 1887 and became a university in 1992. It's part of the Australian Technology Network (ATN), alongside Curtin, Deakin, UTS and the University of Newcastle. On its own 2024 figures it had 99,004 students across all sectors and countries, including TAFE-level and offshore students.
In Australia it has three campuses (City, Bundoora and Brunswick), and abroad it has campuses in Vietnam. It came equal 119th in the QS World University Rankings 2027 (10th in Australia).
What that means for you: a big, city-centred uni where a TAFE diploma and a degree can sit under one roof.
QS World University Rankings 2027: equal 241st (17th in Australia)
Times Higher Education World University Rankings 2027: 291st (17th in Australia)
Student experience: 77.6% of undergraduates rate their overall educational experience positively (national average 76.5%)
Graduate employment: 75.2% of undergraduate graduates looking for full-time work had found it (national average 76.2%)
Graduate median salary: $70,400 for undergraduate graduates in full-time work (national average $74,000)
QS World University Rankings 2027: equal 119th (10th in Australia)
Times Higher Education World University Rankings 2027: equal 239th (13th in Australia)
Student experience: 73.2% of undergraduates rate their overall educational experience positively (national average 76.5%)
Graduate employment: 64.7% of undergraduate graduates looking for full-time work had found it (national average 76.2%)
Graduate median salary: $69,800 for undergraduate graduates in full-time work (national average $74,000)
2. Academic Focus and Teaching Style
Both teach hands-on, but in different fields. La Trobe's strength is health and education, with placements and a regional network behind it. RMIT's is design, art and tech, with TAFE pathways that let you build up to a degree. Set on physio or teaching? La Trobe deserves a close look. Drawn to a studio or a coding lab? Start with RMIT.
La Trobe lets you start professional degrees like Physiotherapy (Honours), Occupational Therapy (Honours), Laws (Honours) and Nursing straight from school at Bundoora. Health and Education degrees include compulsory placements.
The regional network is the standout: every regional campus teaches Nursing, Education and Rural Health, and Bendigo adds physio, pharmacy, paramedicine, law and more. Dental Science (Honours) is taught only at Bendigo. The year runs on two 13-week semesters, plus shorter terms.
La Trobe suits you if you:
- want a health, allied health or teaching degree with placements
- want to study at a regional campus
- like the idea of a one-year La Trobe College Australia diploma that can lead into second year
RMIT is dual-sector: it teaches TAFE-level certificates and diplomas as well as degrees. Packaged Pathways let you apply once for a diploma and move on to a linked degree.
The creative and tech line-up is the draw: the Bachelor of Graphic Design, Digital Design, Fine Arts and Photography, plus Computer Science (accredited by the Australian Computer Society) and Software Engineering at the City campus. Many degrees take students in February and July.
RMIT suits you if you:
- want design, art, fashion or IT
- like the safety net of starting with a diploma
- want a mid-year start
3. Research and Global Impact
La Trobe University
La Trobe's pages name no uni-wide undergraduate research scheme, so ask at Open Day about honours projects or research placements in your course. It does say Aspire early offer students can get a $1,000 overseas study grant.
RMIT University
RMIT names none either, so ask the same questions. What it highlights is industry links: its design page names partners such as ACMI and the NGV, and design students can go on exchange to Parsons School of Design in New York.
4. Campus Life and Student Experience
A day in the life at...
La Trobe University
RMIT University
La Trobe University
Bundoora is a bushland campus 16 km from the CBD, with tram and bus stops a five-minute walk from the residences. The La Trobe Student Union (LTSU) runs student life at Bundoora. La Trobe says its clubs are moving to a new approach, with details due by the end of October 2026, so there's no club count for now.
The feel: green, spacious and relaxed, a campus where you can find a quiet spot between classes.
RMIT University
RMIT's City campus sits in the CBD; VTAC lists its address as 124 La Trobe Street (yes, really). Landmarks include the Swanston Academic Building and the Design Hub. Brunswick is home to fashion and textiles, and Bundoora gives you a quieter setting. RUSU, RMIT's student union, says it has over 90 clubs.
The feel: busy, creative and very urban, with the city's cafes and galleries on your doorstep.
5. Student Support and Wellbeing
On QILT's student survey data (via ComparED), 70.9 per cent of La Trobe undergraduates rated their student support positively, about the national average of 71.2 per cent, against 68.2 per cent at RMIT. Either way, book in early.
La Trobe University
- Counselling: free, face to face, by phone or on Zoom.
- Disability: Accessibility advisors.
- First Nations: an Indigenous Student Learning Centre on each campus, plus guaranteed La Trobe accommodation (conditions apply).
- Study help: Peer Learning Advisors.
RMIT University
- Counselling: free, confidential, short-term sessions.
- Disability: Equitable Learning Services.
- First Nations: the Ngarara Willim Centre.
- Study help: Academic Skills Advisors and Peer Mentoring.
6. Employability and Industry Connections
On QILT graduate survey data (via ComparED), 75.2 per cent of La Trobe's undergraduates looking for full-time work had found it, close to the national 76.2 per cent. At RMIT it was 64.7 per cent. Median salaries were about the same ($70,400 and $69,800). A ten-point gap is worth asking each uni about for your course.
La Trobe University
La Trobe's Career Ready service runs the CareerHub jobs portal, workshops and free LinkedIn Learning, and the Career Ready Advantage Award recognises the experience you build. Health and Education degrees include compulsory placements.
RMIT University
RMIT says many courses offer internships or work experience, though not all. Its IT page says you can add a year of work experience to a three-year degree, and there's a startup accelerator for student ventures. Neither uni promises an internship.
Watch our unbiased, independent reviews for La Trobe University and RMIT University
7. Cost, Entry and Lifestyle
Getting in
You apply to both through VTAC, Victoria's admissions centre; late applications for 2027 close on 30 October 2026. Your selection rank is your ATAR plus any adjustment factors: bonus points for things like your school or circumstances.
La Trobe's Aspire Early Offer Program gives Year 12s a conditional offer before exams; 2027 applications closed on 4 September 2026. The Regional Benefits Program guarantees regional students with an ATAR of 80 or more a place at a regional campus, subject to prerequisites; check the 2027 terms with the uni. In VTAC's December 2025 round (2026 entry), La Trobe's lowest selection rank at Bundoora was 90.25 for Laws (Honours), and La Trobe's own page gives 60.80 for Civil Engineering (Honours) there.
RMIT lists no early offer scheme. Its Guaranteed ATAR promises a Semester 1 2027 offer if your ATAR alone reaches the course figure and you list it as your highest eligible preference, while places remain: 75 for Engineering (Honours) and 88 for Laws. For the Semester 1 2026 intake, its lowest selection ranks were 73.00 for Engineering (Honours) and 86.00 for Laws. At one of more than 200 SNAP partner schools? You're considered for up to 20 adjustment points automatically.
What it costs
In a Commonwealth supported place (CSP), the government pays part of your fees and you pay a capped amount, the same at both: in 2026, $4,738 a year for nursing or education, $9,537 for engineering and $17,399 for law. HECS-HELP, a government loan, means you don't pay upfront.
- La Trobe: the Vice-Chancellor's Excellence Scholarship (Aspire) pays $5,000 a year to the top Aspire student in each course, with an ATAR of 80 or more (2027 round closed 4 September 2026).
- RMIT: the Accommodation Scholarship (up to $6,000 if you're moving to Melbourne or Bendigo) and the Baidam Indigenous Scholarship (up to $50,000 for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander students in IT and related degrees); check with the uni for 2027.
Where you'll live
- La Trobe: the 2027 Bundoora rate card has college single rooms from $245 a week (Chisholm) to $300 (Menzies), utilities and internet included.
- RMIT: its only affiliated residence is UniLodge @ RMIT Bundoora, where UniLodge lists a room in a four-bedroom apartment at $285 a week (its Full Year 2026 rate, bills and Wi-Fi included) on UniLodge's RMIT Bundoora page. As a guide, RMIT quotes a median rent of $500 a week for a one-bedroom flat in Melbourne (Victorian Government, September 2025).
International students: RMIT shows 2027 fees on each course page; ask La Trobe for its fees.
8. Which One’s Right for You?
You might feel at home at La Trobe University if you:
- want a health, allied health or teaching degree with placements
- live in regional Victoria or near Albury-Wodonga and want to study close to home
- are in Year 11 and like the idea of an early offer through Aspire
- want a green campus with uni-run housing
You might feel at home at RMIT University if you:
- want design, art, fashion or IT
- want to study in the CBD
- like knowing your target through a published Guaranteed ATAR
- want a TAFE diploma that leads into a degree
Neither is the better uni. Compare your course's entry score and placements at each, then visit both. Walk the RMIT City campus at lunchtime and the Bundoora bushland on a weekday morning, and you'll feel the difference.
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