Top Courses to Study in Australia for Indian Students: 10 Fields Ranked by Graduate Jobs

Best Courses to Study in Australia
Best Courses to Study in Australia

Among ten common fields, ranked by how often international master’s graduates land full-time jobs, the best courses to study in Australia for Indian students are nursing, teacher education, engineering, business and health services. IT, the second most popular field for international students, ties for last. In Australia’s 2025 graduate survey, only 44.4% of international master’s graduates in computing who wanted full-time work had found it about four to six months after finishing. If your family is borrowing for a two-year degree, the worry is simple: will it lead to a job? Below: each field’s job rate and salary, then 2026 or 2027 fees and English scores for five programmes.

Key Takeaways

  • Of the ten fields here, nursing has the best full-time job rate for international master’s graduates (62.4%); computing has 44.4%.
  • CS or B.Tech graduate: book IELTS 6.5, no band below 6.0; Melbourne’s IT master’s also needs one programming subject.
  • Nursing aspirant: book IELTS 7.0 in every band in one sitting, then apply for Melbourne’s Master of Nursing Science.
  • Class 12 student: UNSW engineering needs CBSE 81 or CISCE 90; its State Board route (96) covers only three states.
  • Want accounting without an accounting degree? UNSW’s accounting master’s is built for you and asks IELTS 7.0.
  • Over 30? Apply for the post-study work visa while you’re 35 or under. A qualifying master’s gives Indian graduates 3 years, whatever the field.
Table of Contents
Graduate jobs and starting salary by course in Australia Scroll here ↓ Top course picks for Indian graduates: fees, English scores and job odds Scroll here ↓ Course entry rules for IT, nursing, engineering and accounting Scroll here ↓ Courses after 12th in Australia: bachelor’s picks with the best job rates Scroll here ↓ Which course leads to PR in Australia: the 485 stay and skills assessment Scroll here ↓ Frequently Asked Questions Scroll here ↓ Choosing your course in Australia Scroll here ↓

Graduate jobs and starting salary by course in Australia

Nursing leads these ten fields. In the 2025 Graduate Outcomes Survey, 62.4% of international master’s graduates in nursing who wanted full-time work had found it about four to six months after finishing, against 52.2% across all fields. Pick by job rate, not popularity: a degree only pays back the loan once you’re working full time.

Course field (master’s level) In full-time work Employed overall Typical full-time starting salary (median)
Nursing 62.4% 84.9% AUD 75,100 (INR 50.5 lakh)
Teacher education 59.8% 81.9% AUD 73,400 (INR 49.4 lakh)
Engineering 56.9% 76.2% AUD 73,100 (INR 49.2 lakh)
Business and management 53.3% 73.0% AUD 65,000 (INR 43.7 lakh)
Health services and support 52.8% 76.3% AUD 71,000 (INR 47.8 lakh)
Social work 49.8% 78.3% AUD 79,300 (INR 53.3 lakh)
Science and mathematics 49.7% 71.0% AUD 64,400 (INR 43.3 lakh)
Agriculture and environmental studies 45.2% 71.1% AUD 68,000 (INR 45.7 lakh)
Computing and information systems 44.4% 70.4% AUD 65,200 (INR 43.9 lakh)
Architecture and built environment 44.4% 67.7% AUD 65,200 (INR 43.9 lakh)
All fields (benchmark) 52.2% 73.7% AUD 69,400 (INR 46.7 lakh)

“In full-time work” means: of graduates who wanted a full-time job, the share who had one. So 44.4% in computing does not mean the rest are jobless. “Employed overall” counts any job, not just full-time ones.

Five fields place even more graduates than nursing: medicine (89.4%), rehabilitation (81.7%), veterinary science (78.6%), pharmacy (66.7%), and law (62.9%). If your first degree already points to one of them, look there first. Psychology (54.5%) and tourism and hospitality (50.0%) sit outside the table because no salary is published for them at this level.

Indian master’s graduates did worse than the average: 45.1% in full-time work and a median salary of AUD 65,000, against 52.2% and AUD 69,400 for all international graduates. So don’t pick IT because your friends did. Pick it if you’d still choose it at a 44.4% job rate, and go in with an internship plan. See in-demand courses in Australia for Indian students for field-by-field demand.

From our counselling desk: Before you compare two courses, set each total fee beside its field's full-time job rate. A cheaper course in a field that places more graduates can be the safer loan, even when the more expensive one is from a better-known university.

Top course picks for Indian graduates: fees, English scores and job odds

IELTS 6.5 with no band below 6.0 meets three of these five; Melbourne nursing and UNSW accounting need 7.0.

Programme Fee year First-year fee Total fee Length English Academic entry
Master of Information Technology, Melbourne 2027 AUD 68,480 (INR 46.1 lakh) AUD 143,808 (INR 96.7 lakh) 2 years (1-1.5 if related) IELTS 6.5, 6.0 each band Any bachelor’s, 65% average, one programming subject
Master of Data Science, Melbourne 2027 AUD 61,440 (INR 41.3 lakh) AUD 129,024 (INR 86.8 lakh) 2 years IELTS 6.5, 6.0 each band Any bachelor’s, 65% average, programming, Calculus 2, Linear Algebra
Master of Nursing Science, Melbourne 2027 AUD 46,624 (INR 31.4 lakh) AUD 97,911 (INR 65.9 lakh) 2 years IELTS 7.0, 7.0 each band Any bachelor’s within 10 years, or an older one plus a graduate certificate, or 5 years’ relevant health-sector experience
Master of Information Technology, UNSW 2026 AUD 63,000 (INR 42.4 lakh) AUD 130,500 (INR 87.8 lakh) 2 years IELTS 6.5, 6.0 each band Related bachelor’s at 65%, or any 3-year bachelor’s at 65% via a graduate certificate
Master of Professional Accounting, UNSW 2026 AUD 62,000 (INR 41.7 lakh) AUD 96,000 (INR 64.6 lakh) 1.7 years IELTS 7.0, 6.0 each band Bachelor’s at UNSW’s minimum average mark; not for accounting majors

Add the AUD 29,710 a year Home Affairs asks you to show for living costs. Year one of Melbourne’s IT master’s then comes to about AUD 98,190 before health cover and the visa fee. Its nursing master’s comes to about AUD 76,334. Compare more universities in our guide to the cost of studying in Australia.

Your student visa (Subclass 500) work conditions allow up to 48 hours a fortnight while your course is in session and unlimited hours when it is not. You cannot work before it starts.

Course entry rules for IT, nursing, engineering and accounting

IT and data science

Melbourne’s IT master’s takes graduates from any discipline, but its 65% average is on its own marking scale, so ask Melbourne to check your Indian marks first. No calculus? Choose Melbourne’s IT master’s over its data science one, which needs Calculus 2 and Linear Algebra.

Nursing

Melbourne’s nursing master’s sets the highest English bar of these five courses. Before the course starts, you must also meet the Nursing and Midwifery Board’s English standard in one sitting, so book the test before you shortlist. Melbourne’s Master of Nursing Science is board-accredited and prepares you to apply for Ahpra registration (the national licence to work as a nurse).

Engineering

Engineers Australia assesses a B.Tech for migration by two routes:

  • Washington Accord (an agreement on recognising engineering degrees): your B.Tech counts directly if it is listed as fully accredited and you finished in or after the year India became a full member. Check it on the International Engineering Alliance’s checker.
  • Competency demonstration report (CDR): if not, a report showing your engineering skills.

Monash University’s Master of Professional Engineering is fully accredited by Engineers Australia, and every applicant is considered for its Master of Professional Engineering International Scholarship. It pays AUD 10,000 a year of full-time study for two years on merit, AUD 20,000 in total. More awards are in our scholarships in Australia guide.

Accounting and business

The UNSW Master of Professional Accounting is recognised by CPA Australia, Chartered Accountants Australia and New Zealand, and IPA. It is built for graduates with little or no accounting study. If you studied a Bachelor of Accounting or an accounting major, UNSW advises you not to apply. Check your Indian marks against UNSW’s minimum average mark with its Postgraduate Coursework Entry Score Calculator.

Courses after 12th in Australia: bachelor’s picks with the best job rates

At bachelor’s level, medicine (95.6%) and pharmacy (89.7%) place the most international graduates in full-time work. Rehabilitation (81.1%), dentistry (80.8%), and veterinary science (76.9%) come next. Of the fields Class 12 students usually consider, three stand out:

  • Teacher education: 68.8% in full-time work
  • Tourism and hospitality: 64.1%
  • Nursing: 63.0%

Indian bachelor’s graduates also did better than Indian master’s graduates: 54.1% of those who wanted full-time work had it, and their median salary was AUD 73,000. If you’re in Class 12 and sure of the field, a bachelor’s gives you more years in Australia to build work experience before the job hunt.

Diplomas and other vocational education and training (VET) courses are often among the most affordable ways to study in Australia, though fees vary by provider. A diploma can give you 18 months on the post-study work visa’s Post-Vocational Education Work stream. To qualify, it must be relevant to an occupation on the skilled occupation list and awarded in the 6 months before you apply. You must also be 35 or under, have applied for a skills assessment in that occupation, and have studied 2 academic years in Australia.

Check that the university accepts your board before you shortlist it. UNSW’s Bachelor of Engineering (Honours) accepts a State Board score of 96 only from the Maharashtra, Karnataka and Tamil Nadu boards. A Telangana or Andhra Pradesh board student has no direct State Board route there. CBSE students need 81 and CISCE students 90, and the degree costs AUD 265,500 over four years at 2026 fees. Our guide to study in Australia after 12th lists the routes that do accept your board.

Which course leads to PR in Australia: the 485 stay and skills assessment

No course earns permanent residence (PR, the right to settle in Australia for good) on its own. After a master’s, Indian graduates get 3 years to stay and work on the post-study work visa (Subclass 485), whatever they studied. Staying for good is a separate application, and there your field matters.

Three points decide what happens after your course:

  • How long you can stay: 3 years after a master’s, 2 after a bachelor’s, 3 after a bachelor’s with first-class honours in science, technology, engineering or maths (including ICT), and 4 after a PhD. Each needs at least 2 academic years of study in Australia, so check before you enrol.
  • The age limit: you must be 35 or under when you apply (under 50 for a research master’s or PhD), and the visa costs from AUD 5,750.
  • What decides PR: your job must be on the Home Affairs skilled occupation list for the visa you apply for. Registered Nurse (Aged Care), Software Engineer, Civil Engineer and Secondary School Teacher are each on both the Core Skills Occupation List (CSOL) and the Medium and Long-term Strategic Skills List (MLTSSL). Each is listed for the 189 and 190 skilled visas. An approved body must also check that your skills meet Australian standards for that job: the Australian Computer Society (ACS) for IT, Engineers Australia for engineering, the Australian Institute for Teaching and School Leadership (AITSL) for teachers, and ANMAC, the nursing assessment body, for nurses already registered with Ahpra.

Our post study work visa in Australia guide covers the points test and employer-sponsored routes.

Check that the course is full time and on CRICOS, the government register of courses open to international students. Only those courses can get you a student visa. For intakes, visas and the rest of the move, start from our study in Australia hub.

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Frequently Asked Questions

Management and Commerce is the most popular field for international students in Australian higher education, followed by Information Technology. Nursing and teacher education place more international graduates in full-time work than either, so weigh the job rate before you follow the crowd.

Of these ten common fields, ranked by job rate: nursing, teacher education, engineering, business and management, health services, social work, science and mathematics, agriculture and environmental studies, computing, and architecture. Medicine, rehabilitation, pharmacy and law place more graduates still if your first degree fits them.

Not directly. Two years of study can lead to a temporary Subclass 485 visa, not PR. Permanent residence needs a skilled visa, an occupation on the right list and a positive skills assessment. A nurse already registered in Australia, for example, pays ANMAC, the nursing assessment body, AUD 395 (about INR 26,600) for that assessment.

Medicine pays the most: a median AUD 89,900 (about INR 60.5 lakh) for international master’s graduates and AUD 83,300 (about INR 56.0 lakh) at bachelor’s level. Of the ten fields above, social work leads at AUD 79,300 (about INR 53.3 lakh). These are first-job medians, not career earnings.

For jobs, the data favours a bachelor’s: 54.1% of Indian bachelor’s graduates seeking full-time work found it, against 45.1% of Indian master’s graduates. If you already hold an Indian degree, a two-year master’s is the practical route and gives you a 3-year post-study work visa, one year more than a standard bachelor’s.

Choosing your course in Australia

The best courses to study in Australia for Indian students are the ones where the job rate, the English bar and the fee all fit your profile. Your next three steps:

  1. Book IELTS or PTE at the band your programme asks for.
  2. Shortlist from our top universities in Australia guide, then send your transcript for an entry check.
  3. Pick a start date from the Australia intakes calendar and work back from it.

Ardent Overseas has counselled Indian students for 10+ years from offices in Hyderabad and Tirupati. For an Australia course shortlist, our study in Australia consultants in Hyderabad match your degree and English score to each programme’s entry rules, then price the whole course in rupees before you apply.

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