TRINITY College Dublin (TCD) is still Ireland’s highest-ranking institution despite slipping 22 places, a new global guide has revealed.
The prestigious university dropped to 160th in the Times Higher Education (THE) World University Rankings, released on Wednesday, September 30.
Meanwhile, the gap between TCD and University College Dublin (UCD) is now the closest it’s been since the rankings began, with just 16 places between them.
The list welcomed UCD back into the top 200, with the university rising more than 50 places to 176th.
NUI Galway remains in the 251-300 band, while the Royal College of Surgeons in Ireland joined this bracket from 351-400 in 2014.
Whilst University College Cork (UCC) slipped down the ranking from 276-300 to 351-400, Maynooth University enjoyed a positive first listing in the 351-400 bracket, ahead of Ulster University (401-500), University of Limerick (501-600), and Dublin Institute of Technology (601-800).
Queen’s University in Belfast rose 75 places to make its first appearance in the top 200.
The rankings rate higher-education institutions on a range of measures including teaching, research and international outlook, including numbers of overseas students.
This year, the list has been expanded to include the top 800 colleges instead of the top 400 featured in previous rankings.
The Higher Education Authority chief executive Tom Boland said decreased funding for some institutions has affected their position in the worldwide table.
“It is welcome that this study finds that, out of 18,000 higher education institutions globally, Ireland’s universities, and RCSI and DIT feature in the top 5% in the world and that UCD and Trinity are in the top 1%.
“But the deterioration in funding is a cause for serious concern and, as we see, it is now being highlighted internationally.”
Britain boasts 34 universities in the top 200.
The highest ranked university was the California Institute of Technology in the USA, whilst the University of Oxford placed 2nd, and Stanford University ranked 3rd.
