University College Dublin rises to 118 in latest QS World University Rankings

• A rise of eight places since last year.
• Ranked 49th in the world and No. 1 in Ireland for Sustainability.

University College Dublin is ranked 118th in the latest QS World University Rankings (WUR), up eight places from last year.

This year’s climb, up from 126, marks the third year in a row of upward movement for UCD, which now sits among the top 8% of institutions in the world in the QS listings.

For its World University Rankings, QS uses nine weighted indicators including: Academic Reputation (30%), Citations per Faculty (20%), Employer Reputation (15%), Faculty Student Ratio (10%), Sustainability (5%), Employment Outcomes (5%), International Faculty (5%),  International Students Ratio (5%), and International Research Network (5%).

In the Sustainability indicator, evaluating the social and environmental impact of universities as centres of education and research, UCD is 49th in the world and number one in Ireland. 

It also remains in the top 100 for Employment Outcomes at 88th globally. 

For the 2026 WUR edition, the most improved indicators for UCD are Citations per Faculty, up 26 places, International Research Network, up 24 places, International Students Ratio, up 18 and Academic Reputation, the most heavily weighted individual metric, up nine. 

Citations per faculty is a measure that captures the quality of a university’s research outputs. 

The upwards trajectory UCD has seen in its International Students Ratio and International Research Network metrics are an indication of how much the University has benefited from international networking opportunities and global research partnerships.

Across the 2026 rankings, Ireland's universities were the most improved in Europe, and the second most improved in the world, with most outperforming many of their European counterparts, and other global English-speaking student destinations, in key indicators such as Employer Reputation, International Faculty and Sustainability.

“Ireland’s outstanding results in the 2026 QS World University Rankings are testament to the dedication of academics, administrators and students across the eight universities from the country included in the ranking,” said Ben Sowter, QS Senior Vice President.

For this year’s ranking, QS evaluated some 8,467 institutions and ranked 1,501 globally.