University of Limerick has been named among the top 500 universities globally, according to the latest world university rankings.
UL has significantly improved its position in the 2024 QS World University Rankings, climbing more than 100 places to a ranking of 426 overall.
The 2024 rankings encompass a comprehensive evaluation of the performance of the world’s top 1,503 universities, spanning 104 countries.
In the 2023 rankings, UL was placed within the range of 531-540.
The QS World University Rankings have historically used six indicators: Academic and Employer Reputations; Citations per Faculty; Faculty/ Student ratio; International Faculty and Student ratios. A further three indicators have been introduced in the ratings for 2024 - International Research Network, Employer Outcomes and Sustainability.
These changes reflect the shifts in higher education that have occurred over the past two decades, such as the growing importance of sustainability, employability, and research collaborations.
Welcoming the announcement, Professor Norelee Kennedy, UL Vice President Research said: “This is a fantastic result for UL, and we are delighted to be ranked among the top 500 universities in the world.
“Improving our ranking by over 100 places is testament to the hard work and dedication of the university faculty, staff and students and reflects UL’s improved performance in research and teaching.
“We are dedicated to continuing to improve our performance and to offer an outstanding experience for our current students and to attract the best talent to UL,” Professor Kennedy added.
UL President Professor Kerstin Mey said the ranking result was a “significant confirmation” of the approach taken in the recalibration of the UL@50 strategic plan to add as a priority the need to implement a high-performance research support infrastructure and to also embed sustainability into each of the strategic goals.
“The news from QS placing UL at 426 in the world’s top 1,503 universities spanning 104 countries, is a significant confirmation of this approach. That it is paying dividends is thanks to the hard work and dedication of UL faculty, staff and students to our commitment to being a research leader in addressing global challenges,” Professor Mey said.
The QS rating is the second time this month that UL’s ranking among the world’s top universities has improved.
The Times Higher Education Impact Rankings placed UL at 86 out of 1,591 institutions globally when it comes to delivering on the UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).
The ranking examines a university’s performance against the SDGs across teaching, research, equality, internal culture, and the impact UL has in the wider society.
This was also an improvement on the previous set of results when UL was ranked in the 101-200 range out of a total of 1,400 institutions.