The Courier & Advertiser (Fife Edition)
Cambridge and Oxford ranked top of Times list
St Andrews and Dundee drop down university rankings
St Andrews and Dundee have dropped down the list of the world’s best universities.
The Fife institution slipped from 110th to 143rd in the latest annual Times Higher Education (THE) World University Rankings, with Dundee down seven places to 187th.
However, the top two universities in the world are both to be found in the UK, according to the league table.
Oxford held on to first place, with Cambridge rising from fourth place to take second.
It is the first time that the two prestigious institutions have taken the top two spots in the 13-year history of the rankings.
A spokesman for Dundee University said: “We are content that we have retained a position within the world’s top 200.
“Obviously that is tempered by disappointment at a slight drop in our ranking, which runs contrary to the many other recent awards and rankings we have recently received including being Scottish University of the Year for two years running, in the top 10 of the National Student Survey and a gold award in the Teaching Excellence Framework.”
Out of 31 UK universities to make the top 200, 16 have seen a fall in their position, compared to last year.
A St Andrews University spokesman said: “We’re naturally a little disappointed, but the universities in the top 200 are really tightly packed and the smallest change in score will result in a large shift in position.
“It’s important to point out that St Andrews is currently the UK’s University of the Year for teaching quality, we have a TEF Gold Award, are consistently judged among the top three in other prestigious rankings and are joint top of the UK National Student Survey for the ninth time in 11 years.
“The THE is considerably out of step with these findings which may be a far more reliable and comprehensive reflection of an institution’s strengths.”
Phil Baty, editorial director of the THE global rankings, said UK higher education is facing “intense political pressure”, but that the data shows that the nation has “many of the very best universities in the world”.