Trinity rises in global university rankings
Trinity College Dublin has moved up from 131st to 117th and remains the highest-placed Irish institution in the 2018 Times Higher Education (THE) World University Rankings.
Other than a fall for Maynooth University out of the top 400 — linked to declining proportions of academic staff with PhDs, and falling research citations — six other Irish colleges hold their positions since last year.
Oxford retains top spot in this year’s THE ranking, followed by Cambridge. While this makes it the first time in 13 years that two European universities are ranked one and two, the number of institutions from Europe in the top 30 is down from 10 a year ago to seven, with US colleges continuing to dominate.
The other Irish universities included, and all in the same bandings as last year, are:
NUI Galway, Royal College of Surgeons Ireland, and University College Dublin, all ranked between 201 and 250. University College Cork ranked between 351 and 400, Dublin City University (401-500), University of Limerick (501-600), and Dublin Institute of Technology (601-800).
Phil Baty, THE global rankings editorial director, said Trinity’s improvement and the steady position of most others is impressive in the context of funding pressures and the rise of Asian universities.
“Ireland’s global standing is likely to decline if funding does not increase and institutions are not given greater autonomy,” he said.
On the other hand, he said, Brexit provides great opportunities for Ireland.
“The country could be well placed to attract researchers from the UK and elsewhere who want to retain access to EU research funding and remain in the EU,” said Mr Baty.
“Ireland must ensure that it invests in its universities to take advantage of its position and remain a key global player in higher education.”
Trinity said its highest score under the different ranking criteria was in international outlook, which is especially relevant in the context of Brexit.
John Boland, dean of research, said: “We have achieved this result despite so many challenging factors, including the rise of Asia-Pacific countries due to much greater investment, intense global competition, but also the continued chronic underfunding of higher education in Ireland.
“In a post-Brexit climate, it is important that we maintain these high standards and build on this reputation for our students, for the further development of leading research, and for the overall development of the Irish economy,” said Prof Boland.
Education Minister Richard Bruton’s hopes to bring a consensus political position on higher education funding, including the question of whether to introduce a loan scheme to support higher student fees, look unlikely to materialise before next month’s budget.
The Oireachtas education committee has been divided on which, if any, of the policy proposals in last year’s Cassells report on the question to recommend.
This year’s THE World University Rankings top five is completed by three US colleges: California Institute of Technology, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, and Harvard University.
