Posted 09 October 2008
UCD one of the fastest movers in Times Higher world university rankings - UCD climbs 69 places in international rankings
The Times Higher Education World University Rankings show continued improvement in the position of University College Dublin and place the university at 108 for 2008. This represents a climb of 69 places since 2007 and a leap of 111 places since 2006.
Welcoming UCD’s surge up the rankings the president of UCD, Dr Hugh Brady said that this was due to a combination of factors, most notably the international recognition gained by the new UCD Horizons modular curriculum and the striking increase in research activity across the University - in both the arts and the sciences.
“The latter is particularly gratifying as diversity is UCD's greatest strength. The dramatic move up the rankings is a credit to all UCD staff who have worked so hard over the past few years to deliver a reform programme that would take most universities decades. A modern university must excel in teaching, research and innovation if it is to compete successfully on the international stage and play its full part in the development of a thriving knowledge society.
It is essential that our universities now receive the level of investment required to sustain this improvement. Rankings, whether you like them or not, are increasingly viewed as important considerations for both top quality students and staff when choosing their university”. Said Dr Brady.
UCD’s performance reflects an improvement in all metrics. In particular, the academic survey rank – which is based on how a university is viewed by 6,000 academics worldwide – shows increases across all five subject area categories (Arts & Humanities, Engineering & IT, Life Sciences & Biomedicine, Natural Sciences, and Social Sciences).
