Edinburgh University moves up world rankings

The Old College building at Edinburgh University. Picture: Ian Georgeson

It rose from 36th to 24th, but there were no places in the top 200 for Napier, Heriot-Watt and Queen Margaret.

Other leading Scottish universities such as St Andrews, Dundee, Aberdeen and Glasgow all climbed in the rankings.

The University of Oxford is in second place in the Times Higher Education’s latest global league table, while the University of Cambridge and Imperial College London also make the top ten in fourth and eighth places respectively.

A spokeswoman from Edinburgh University said: “It is always pleasing to see the university perform strongly in international league tables, reinforcing our ranking as one of the leading global universities.

“Our strong position is a tribute to the hard work and commitment of the entire university community.

“Our significant investments in early career researchers with international leadership potential, and the flexibility of a four-year degree with direct engagement with research and practice, allow us to deliver excellence in both education and research.”

UK institutions have the second highest proportion of international students among the top 200.

The 12th edition of the rankings sees the UK with 78 universities in the top 800, making it second only to the United States.

The university rated number one in the world is California Institute of Technology for the fifth year in a row.

Cabinet Secretary for Education and Lifelong Learning Angela Constance said: “These figures again show a very strong performance for Scottish universities and echo the good news from the QS rankings released earlier this month.

“To see five institutions back in the top 200 and all five substantially improving their placing again demonstrates that our higher education institutions are up there with the very best in the world.

“We really do punch above our weight and thanks are due to the hard working staff and students that have made this possible.

“The Scottish Government has invested over £1 billion into higher education this year and we are demonstrating our ongoing commitment to research and knowledge exchange by providing £282 million through the Scottish Funding Council in 2015-16, building on increasing levels of funding since 2007.

“Research undertaken in our universities helps drive innovation and we are supporting our universities to modernise their governance systems. This will enhance their important contribution to Scottish society and the advancement of its people and economy.”

Phil Baty, editor of the Times Higher Education World University Rankings, said: “The United Kingdom is a stand-out performer in this year’s rankings, boasting an impressive 78 institutions overall, with 34 of these sitting in the top 200.”