Three Scottish universities make the grade among world’s elite 100

THREE leading Scottish universities have been ranked in the top 100 in a global league table measuring scientific performance.

Edinburgh claimed top honours for Scotland in the new ranking system, which aims to measure the scientific impact of universities, being rated in 66th place.

St Andrews and Dundee were rated in 71st and 78th by experts at Leiden University, in the Netherlands, who compiled the list.

They do not draw on reputational surveys or any data provided by the universities themselves for the compilation of the new Leiden Ranking league table.

Edinburgh was placed at 36th in the Times Higher Education World University Rankings earlier this year, with St Andrews the only other Scottish institution in the top 100, ending up in 85th place.

The University of Cambridge was the top-rated UK university in the Leiden Ranking, taking 31st place, while the Massachusetts Institute of Technology was rated best in the world.

Other Scottish universities to feature in the rankings included Glasgow and Aberdeen universities, coming in at 128th and 162nd respectively.

Professor Louise Richardson, principal at St Andrews, said: “We may be one of the world’s smaller research universities but demonstrably we have global reach as so many of our academics are producing internationally-important research.

“Despite the financial challenges we all face, we are determined that our universities should remain a critical international force and a means of strengthening Scottish influence abroad.”

A spokeswoman added: “The ranking found that St Andrews was among the world’s leading universities for international research collaboration.

“It was the top multi-faculty university in the UK and 25th in the world for research projects carried out with international partners. In the UK, only the London School of Tropical Medicine outperformed us on international research collaboration.”

A spokeswoman for Edinburgh University said: “We are pleased that our excellence in scientific research has been recognised.”

Professor Pete Downes, Dundee University’s principal, said: “We are delighted that once again the strength and impact of the research carried out at Dundee is being recognised on the international stage.

“The Leiden rankings show that the impact of our research ranks among the very best in the world, when considered by the average number of citations per paper.

“Impact of research – the practical benefits we can deliver for society as a whole – is something we consider crucially important at Dundee so it is very encouraging to see this ranking.

“The table as a whole also represents another strong showing for university research in Scotland, which we must continue to support to maintain and strengthen our position. This is an area where Scotland is truly world-class.”

Of the top 20 universities, 18 were from the United States and two from Switzerland. The US has 127 universities in the top 500, followed by Germany (39), the UK (36), China (31), Italy (25) and Japan (24).

A spokesman for Leiden University’s Centre for Science and Technology Studies, which compiled the list based on 25 years worth of research, said: “Compared with other university rankings, the Leiden Ranking offers more advanced indicators of scientific impact and collaboration and uses a much more transparent methodology.”