Released in London on 4 July, the QS World University Rankings evaluate graduate education and are the first to rank universities at individual subject level in the world.

Melbourne Law School's top status follows its ranking as "well above world standard" earlier this year by the Australian Research Council, which saw it become one of only two universities in Australia to receive the highest rankest ranking for law.

"The rankings demonstrate that Melbourne Law School is performing at the highest international level and can justifiably claim to be one of the world's leading law schools," said Melbourne Law School dean professor Carolyn Evans.

"To see Melbourne ranked in the top ten law schools in the world, alongside institutions such as Harvard, Oxford and Yale is a wonderful recognition of our international standing."

The QS Rankings use a methodology tailored to fit each subject, with rankings based on academic reputation, employer reputation and citations per paper.