TCD falls nine places in world university rankings

news

Trinity College Dublin (TCD) fell nine places in the annual Times Higher Education World University Rankings 2014-5 released yesterday, dropping from 129th to 138th place. It is now the only Irish university in the world’s top 200 after UCD dropped from its 2013 position, falling from 161st position to the 226th-250th bracket.

College yesterday linked its decline in this year’s rankings to higher education cuts and a lack of funding. with dean of research,  Prof. Vinny Cahill, telling The Irish Times that “universities are sliding because we can’t compete on funding.” TCD’s annual budget is 45% lower than that of the average top 200 university, he said.

By contrast, NUI Galway fared well in the report and saw a rise to the 251st-275th bracket this year, placing it third among Irish universities.

There was no change in the top three universities in this year’s rankings, with the California Institute of Technology in first place, Harvard University in second place and the University of Oxford in third place.

The Times Higher Education World University Rankings is an annual report that analyses universities around the world in areas such as teaching, research, knowledge transfer and international outlook.

Tom Boland, chief executive of the Higher Education Authority, yesterday reacted to the findings by stating that Ireland “should take note of concerns that our universities are not in a position to compete.”