THE WORLD UNIVERSITY rankings are out. So where’s the best university get your edumacashion in Ireland?
According to the Times Higher Education rankings, Trinity College Dublin is ranked at 138, UCD ranks within the 226- 250 range, NUI Galway now ranks at 261, UCC ranks in the 276-300 range, and the Royal College of Surgeons ranks in the 351-400 range.
TCD dropped nine places from 129th last year, while UCD dropped from 161st position.
NUI Galway is the only Irish university to move up the THE rankings this year.
This is an increase of 53 places on last year’s position, and NUI Galway is the only Irish university to increase its position in the two main international rankings, having recently increased to 280th in the world in the QS World University Rankings 2014/2015.
The rise has been attributed to “a concerted approach by the University in developing world-class research in specific fields including data analytics, biomedical science, marine and energy research, and digital humanities”, NUI Galway said.
NUI Galway President Dr Jim Browne said:
Despite significant cuts in overall funding at third-level in Ireland and increased student numbers, our University has gone against the tide to secure a consistent improvement in these very competitive rankings.
President Browne added: “Support on a national level must be maintained for universities such as NUI Galway to continue with their success.”
University College Cork (UCC) maintained its position in the THE rankings 2014-2015, remaining within the 276-300 range and improving on its previous scores across a number of categories.
Its research and international outlook scores saw particular gains.
UCC was runner-up University of the Year in The Sunday Times Good University Guide 2015.
The Higher Education Authority said that its recent report on the performance of the Irish higher education system “showed that our institutions are doing well while under significant pressure”.
But it warned that to remain competitive, “we run serious risks to the quality of our system if current funding arrangements are not addressed”.
There should be no doubt that we are now at a tipping point. The global university rankings, for all their flaws, reflect international perceptions and we should take note of concerns that our universities are not in a position to compete.
The world’s top ranked university is California Institute of Technology, followed in second place by Harvard and third place by University of Oxford.
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