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Universities drop lower in world rankings

Trinity College in Dublin is the top-ranked Irish institution
Trinity College in Dublin is the top-ranked Irish institution Trinity College in Dublin is the top-ranked Irish institution

IRELAND'S flagship university has slumped further down an international league table.

The latest university rankings show a dip in standings for many third-level institutions, north and south.

Trinity College Dublin fell for the second successive year in the QS World University Rankings, dropping from 61st in 2013 to 71st last year and now 78th.

UCD was the second highest ranked Irish institution in 154th place, down from 139th last year.

Queen's University Belfast was ranked 182nd, down from 170th last year. Ulster University found itself in the 551-600 bracket, no change from the previous 12 month period.

The US and UK dominated the top 10, with Massachusetts Institute of Technology retaining its position as best in the world. Harvard was second, Stanford in joint third with Cambridge, and California Institute of Technology was fifth.

One institution that improved its placing was Dublin City University (DCU) which rose 13 places to 353rd.

"This significant rise in position for DCU is driven primarily by an improvement in our scores in research output," said president Professor Brian MacCraith.

"In the last five years, 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 young, research-intensive universities."

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Institution 2015 2014

Trinity College Dublin 78 71

University College Dublin 154 139

Queen's University Belfast 182 170

University College Cork 233 230

NUI Galway 271 280

Dublin City University 353 366

University of Limerick 471-480 501-550

Ulster University 551-600 551-600

NUI Maynooth 551-600 601-650