UK dominating university rankings

UK universities are among the best in Europe, according to a new league table, with St Andrews University cementing its place in the top 50.

The latest Times Higher Education European University rankings reveal the UK dominates higher education across the continent, with 46 in the top 200.

The list also shows Germany is closing the gap, with 36 institutions making the cut this year.

The new table comes amid continuing concerns visa changes are leading to fewer international students choosing to come to the UK to study.

St Andrews has been placed 35th on the list, behind Edinburgh (seventh) and Glasgow (28th).

“For a small nation like Scotland to have three universities in the European Top 50 is a considerable achievement and testament to the quality of our institutions, their staff and students and the very high standards of our academic programmes,” a spokesperson for St Andrews University said.

An Economic Impact Report published in 2012 showed that St Andrews University contributes £485 million to the Scottish economy annually, with a substantial proportion of that through international student fees.

The university also supports around 9,000 jobs – again in large part due to international students choosing the high-quality of Scottish academic programmes.

Rankings editor Phil Baty said international students were “hugely important” to UK higher education and the wider economy, warning that this “lifeline” was being put at increasing risk due to immigration policies and the rising popularity of other European universities.

“Not only are our restrictive immigration policies and the noisy rhetoric surrounding the issue leading many students to perceive that they are not welcome in the UK, we are also seeing the increasing popularity of European universities which are often just as highly ranked as their UK competitors but also much, much cheaper to study with,” he added.

Overall, Oxford was the top-ranked European university this year, followed by Cambridge in second and Imperial in third place.

Picture: Kim Cessford. St Andrews University is ranked 35th in Europe.