Trinity College Dublin has been ranked 74th in the world for arts and humanities, according to Times Higher Education rankings released yesterday. This marks the first time an Irish university has entered the top 100 in this particular ranking.
Just last month Times Higher Education placed Trinity 160th in its overall ranking of universities. However, the university consistently does better in the QS World Rankings, where it placed 78th overall and 61st for Arts and Humanities this year.
The Times arts and humanities ranking is dominated by American and British universities, with Stanford and Harvard taking first and second place respectively. Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) appears 3rd, while Oxford ranks 4th and University College London comes in 5th. Canada, the Netherlands and Germany were the only other countries to place universities within the top 25.
At 74th place, Trinity was preceded by an Israeli university in 73rd place and followed by the University of California in 75th.
Looking solely at Europe, Trinity ranks in the top 40. Within Ireland, it is the only university to enter the table for Arts and Humanities, therefore placing it 1st amongst Irish universities.
While the factors used to evaluate universities in this ranking are the same as those used in the overall Times Higher Education rankings, the weightings are balanced differently. Teaching and learning environment contributes to 37.5 per cent of the ranking, as does the volume, income and reputation of research. Meanwhile, influence of research, international outlook and innovation all contribute to the ranking in lesser degrees.
Possibly reflecting Trinity’s focus on international outlook in recent years, the university scored highly in this field, ranking 17th in the world among arts and humanities.
In Trinity’s press release, Trinity’s Dean of Research Professor John Boland reacted to this positive news: “To gain a place in the top 100 in this ranking is a significant achievement for Trinity’s teaching and research in Arts and Humanities, especially given the intense international competition from so many larger and better-funded universities worldwide.”
He continued: “This latest news reinforces the message of Trinity’s Arts and Humanities impressive performance and reputation, already shown earlier this year in its placement at 61st in the world in the QS Faculty Rankings 2015.”
