DCU has risen in the latest QS World University Rankings from 366 to 353 from last year, the highest increase of any Irish university.
The rankings rate nearly 900 universities globally and are based on academic reputation, faculty/ student ratio, citations from research, and employer reputation.
Since 2010, the number of DCU research publications captured within the ranking increased by 58%.
DCU President Brian MacCraith welcomed the news: “This significant rise in position for DCU is driven primarily by an improvement in our scores in research output.
“The volume of publications and citations captured under the QS ranking has increased significantly highlighting the success of our strategy to become one of the world’s leading research-intensive universities.”
QS Head of Research, Ben Sowter, praised Ireland’s performance: “Considering the strong representation of Irish universities per capita, Irish universities are akin to the Irish rugby team – remarkably competitive given their population, funding and resources.”
It wasn’t good news for the leading Irish universities with Trinity falling from 78th to 71st, UCD losing 15 places at 154th. UCC also lost ground, down 3 places to 233rd.
However NUI Galway, University of Limerick and NUIG Maynooth also saw increases.
Cuts in funding for colleges, increased competition from abroad and a fall in the student-staff ratio have been cited as reasons.
DCU’s positive performance comes after it rose from 92nd to 75th in the Times Higher Education (THE) rankings of the world’s young universities earlier this year. This aims to recognise the top universities under 50 years old, and which are tipped to become the future’s most outstanding institutions.
The THE annual young universities summit was also held in DCU in April. Hosting the flagship event was believed to have helped the university’s networking and reputation.
Stephen Murphy
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