UCD among top 100 universities in the world!

Mr.Nice Guy

Surprised there's not a thread on this. For the first time ever UCD has broken into the top 100 universities as ranked by the Times Higher Education-QS World University Rankings.

Still behind Trinity though...

IRISH universities have dramatically improved their positions in their world rankings this year.

UCD, the country's biggest university, has broken into the top 100 for the first time, moving from 108th place to 89th place this year

The Times Higher Education-QS World University Rankings are seen as a prestigious annual barometer of a university's performance.

Partly helped by increased investment in research, Trinity has improved on its stellar performance in 2009, going up from 49th to 43rd place.

The placing puts it ahead of prestigious global institutions such as the London School of Economics and New York University.

Other changes in this year's rankings show that NUI Galway leapt spectacularly by 125 places to 243rd place, just 36 spots behind University College Cork.

Strong

The rankings also showed a strong performance by the country's other universities with DCU improving from 302nd to 279th place, DIT easing from 328th place to 326th place and NUI Maynooth breaking into the 401-500 range for the first time along with the University of Limerick.

University presidents were predictably pleased with their improved performance this year, even if they have been quick to point out the limitations of such tables in the past.

Dr Hugh Brady has seen UCD go from 221nd place in 2005 into 89th place this year.

He said the top 100 was widely recognised as a benchmark of quality in the international higher education community.

"With over 2,000 universities surveyed, the ranking puts UCD in the top 5pc of universities worldwide," he said.

But there were warnings about the effects of cuts on the rankings next year. UCC President Dr Michael Murphy said he was pleased that Irish universities had achieved better rankings, but warned the sector continued to face a severe crisis.

"In the face of continued cuts, the danger is that the Irish university sector will be forced into a non-competitive position, thereby affecting our ability to compete internationally at the highest level and drive forward the Government's own agenda for a knowledge-based economy."

Irish Universities Association chief executive Ned Costello said the findings were clear evidence that Irish universities were continuing to innovate and outperform. "Knowledge and talent are the keys to growth: we have to invest to compete. Failure to do so will prolong the recession and stunt future growth", he warned.

Harvard retained its position at the top of the table, followed by Cambridge, Yale, University College London, Imperial College London, Oxford, Chicago, Princeton and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology.

http://www.independent.ie/education/latest-news/trinity-ucd-climb-up-the-world-rankings-for-universities-1907576.html

So then, UCD the 89th best college in the world? In the top 5% bracket? Hmm, not sure about that! I know some lecturers in the college are taking it with a pinch of salt.

What do you all reckon?

rainbow kirby

More fap material for Hugh Brady. Means absolutely zero to anyone else.

Pride Fighter

Another feather in the cap of Hugh Brady in his gold plated office.

pepsi1234

Go Brady! Semesterization was the best thing to happen to UCD.

Jev/N

pepsi1234 wrote: »

Semesterization was the best thing to happen to UCD.

But not Americanised spelling

/pedantic

GobBass

Pride Fighter wrote: »

Another feather in the cap of Hugh Brady in his gold plated office.

Gold plated? Wow,the recession finally hits home.:D

El Siglo

What a messed up country, we have a university in the top 100 in the world, with another university in the top 50, and yet school children in Cork are being asked to bring their own toilet roll in with them. What a great country we live in!:D

Mushy

Jev/N wrote: »

But not Americanised spelling

/pedantic

Tell that to some/all lecturers!

El Siglo wrote: »

What a messed up country, we have a university in the top 100 in the world, with another university in the top 50, and yet school children in Cork are being asked to bring their own toilet roll in with them. What a great country we live in!:D

Colleges get so much money from privately-owned business etc. that allows it to be this way.

mloc

I wonder does this survey take into account undergraduates at all.

Fad

El Siglo wrote: »

What a messed up country, we have a university in the top 100 in the world, with another university in the top 50, and yet school children in Cork are being asked to bring their own toilet roll in with them. What a great country we live in!:D

To be fair, government contributions are going to drop significantly.

pathetic, ****in ****hole

Mikeyt086

Deleted User wrote: »

pathetic, ****in ****hole

89th best ****hole in the world actually.

Chet T16

Whats this based on exactly?

Zuffer

Here is a breakdown of the methodology.

Academic Peer Review 40%
Employer Review 10%
Faculty Student Ratio; Score based on student faculty ratio 20%
Citations per Faculty; Score based on research performance factored against the size of the research body 20%
International Faculty; Score based on proportion of international faculty 5%
International Students; Score based on proportion of international students 5%

Short answer - take it with a pinch of salt. The biggest component, Academic Peer Review, is basically 'what do other professors in other universities think of you'. So obviously big names like Harvard, Yale, etc, have a huge advantage due to name recognition alone. Research is important. Overseas staff and student is an advantage. The only directly quantifiable variable that relates to undergraduate teaching is staff to student ratio. Obviously that tells you nothing about the quality of that teaching.

I've read elsewhere (but not verified) that UCD scores (relatively) badly on student/staff ratios and research citations, but makes up for it in the other categories.

Mr.Nice Guy

I heard if you have a Nobel Prize winner on your books that also boosts you up the rankings as you get extra points. So if Seamus Heaney becomes our new janitor you'll know what that's about. :pac:

pisslips

Mr.Nice Guy wrote: »

I heard if you have a Nobel Prize winner on your books that also boosts you up the rankings as you get extra points. So if Seamus Heaney becomes our new janitor you'll know what that's about. :pac:

yeh

Frank_Gallagher

pepsi1234 wrote: »

Go Brady! Semesterization was the best thing to happen to UCD.

Hugh, it's bad form to come on here and compliment yourself.

Michaelrsh

I wonder what rank UCD will have next year ... :rolleyes: