The recent subject ranking published by Quacquarelli Symonds (QS) saw Trinity subjects gain significantly. Nursing at Trinity is now ranked 10th in the world, representing a precipitous rise from 20th in last year’s ranking. Similarly, English rose to 19th in 2026 from 27th in 2025. Pharmacy and Pharmacology rose to 28th up from 34th in 2025, while History at Trinity is now placed 50th in the world.
Out of the 43 Trinity programmes that are in the ranking, 34 rank first in Ireland. These include Economics, Engineering, Modern Languages, and Medicine and Dentistry, in addition to those listed above.
In total, eleven of the ranked subjects gained, while 14 of them decreased their rank. The ranking of 16 subjects remained unchanged.
QS Senior Vice President Ben Sowter says that “this year‘s results show that strategic investment in specific disciplines — not just overall institutional strength — is becoming a defining feature of how universities compete and gain international recognition”.
The QS University Ranking is the primary metric used to determine and compare universities’ performance and is updated annually. The rankings are based on indicators such as academic reputation, faculty/student ratio, citations per faculty, employer reputation, and internationalisation. Overall, Trinity currently ranks 75th in the world, 29th in Europe, and first in Ireland.
