UCC excels in QS subject rankings placing in top 200 world rankings

UCC has returned an outstanding performance nationally and internationally in the 2013 Quacquarelli Symonds (QS) World University Rankings by Subject.

UCC has been ranked first among Irish universities for Engineering (Electrical and Electronic) and Environmental Sciences.Strongly positioned in second place from an Irish perspective are Engineering (Chemical); Biological Sciences; Medicine; Pharmacy and Pharmacology and Law.

Overall, UCC is ranked among the world’s top 200 institutions for ten of its subject areas. Law, Modern Languages andBiological Sciences at UCC performed exceptionally well and are featured in the top 100 institutions worldwide for the first time, all improving upon their top 150 ranking in 2012.

English Language & Literature and Medicine follow closely, ranked among the top 150 institutions and improving upon their top 200 ranking from 2012. Electrical Engineering at UCC continues to maintain its strong 2012 performance within the top 150 institutions worldwide, as does Geography within the top 200. Chemical Engineering is ranked within the top 200 for the first time since the additional subject ranking measure was introduced by QS in 2011. Pharmacy and Pharmacology as well asEnvironmental Sciences have also returned a top-200 ranking.

These remarkable outcomes are based on an extensive evaluation by QS of 2,858 universities, with 678 institutions in total ranked. The results are generated by QS from global surveys of reputation among employers and academics, as well as the impact of research through citations.

Reflecting on the rankings, Trevor Holmes, Vice-President for External Relations at UCC said: “These results should be a source of great pride for students and staff alike. To have ten subject areas in the top 200 is an excellent achievement. This recognises the dedication of UCC’s academic community across multiple subject areas to excellence in teaching, learning and research. Emerging among the top tier in a global field of competition underpins our continual dedication towards ensuring the quality of the UCC students’ education and experience is truly of a world-class standard”.

With UCC already ranked among the top 2% of universities worldwide by QS (2012), the ethos behind this offshoot of the main QS World University Rankings (announced each September annually) is that international students often choose the area of study that interests them first, ahead of deciding on a location. These results mark UCC out as a global leader across many subject areas. The rankings will help prospective students nationally and internationally choose the third-level education pathway that is right for them, by facilitating their understanding of the high calibre of teaching and research that lies behind these subjects at UCC.

Highlighting the strong performance displayed in the rankings by Irish universities generally, Ben Sowter, head of research at QS said: “Although only eight of the country’s institutions have ranked in the top 200, we found that 23 Irish institutions in total have been cited by academics in at least one subject, which suggests that the international reputation of the country’s institutions among academics is strong”.

Almost 3000 international students currently study at UCC, representing more than one hundred countries worldwide. UCC is also home to c.14,000 undergraduate students, c.4000 Masters and PhD student and c.2000 part-time students in Adult Continuing Education. A recent UCC Careers Service survey as part of the National Higher Education Authority ‘First Destinations of Graduates’ Survey revealed employment levels for graduates of UCC are very positive, despite a tough economic climate. Employment rates for 2011 undergraduates are now back to 2006/2007 levels, with 90% of primary degree graduates are in employment or further study.

This latest development continues to build on the momentum generated by further international recognition for UCC, Ireland’s first five star university (QS Stars 2011). UCC’s commitment to research was recognised in February, with the University poised to play an essential role in Science Foundation Ireland’s largest joint state/industry research investment in Irish history (€300m). UCC is to lead four of the seven centres involved and to co-lead a fifth, while partnering the remaining two. UCC also reaffirmed its standing as the world’s first Green Flag campus in April, a world first in itself for the prestigious international award programme run by the Foundation of Environmental Education and An Taisce. UCC again saw off global competition recently in the area of environment-friendly university management, emerging among the top three universities from a packed field of 215 global competitors in the Universitas Indonesia Greenmetric World University Ranking system.