UCC Rises in World Rankings
As 2017 continues, UCC receives yet another nod of recognition for its excellence. Named University of the Year in The Sunday Times Good University Guide 2017 for the second year running, ranked highest in Ireland and 12th globally on the UI GreenMetric Rankings of World Universities 2016, it has also jumped in the QS Rankings of subject results for 2017. A global database, which ranks the world’s top 900 universities, has added two subjects from UCC to its top 100 subjects, and 16 to its top 300. The international QS World University Rankings by Subject 2017 list, published on the 8th March, has now included the UCC School of Nursing and Midwifery and the School of Pharmacy & Pharmacology.Professor Eileen Savage, of the UCC School of Nursing and Midwifery, has responded to the addition of the School to the list, stating that “[their] achievement in the top 100 in nursing schools worldwide is recognition of the expertise and commitment of all our lecturers, administrative and professional/technical staff.“[O]ur School achieves excellence in offering high quality programmes at undergraduate level in four areas of nursing: general, integrated children’s and general, intellectual disability and mental health; and also in midwifery. We offer a range of postgraduate, clinical specialist, advanced practitioner and doctorate programmes which are fit for purpose. Demand for places on our courses has been growing for the past 10 years and we are proud of our first class teaching resources, exemplified by our state of the art clinical simulation resource centre and our close partnerships with Ireland’s largest and foremost teaching hospitals.”Professor Stephen Byrne, the Head of the School of Pharmacy, and the Chair of Clinical Pharmacy Practice, also expressed his delight at the latest rankings: “I am also pleased to see the research endeavours of colleagues and collaborators within UCC being recognised for their dedication and commitment. It is even more welcome to the School, as it is implementing [a] five-year integrated MPharm degree which started in September 2015.”The top 300 list of QS Rankings by Subject saw the addition of 16 UCC subjects, which include Archaeology, Biological Sciences, Chemistry, Computer Science & Information Systems, Education, English Language & Literature, Environmental Sciences, Engineering (Chemical), Engineering (Electrical & Electronic), Law, Medicine, Modern Languages, Nursing and Midwifery, Pharmacy & Pharmacology, Physics & Astronomy and Sociology.A sense of competitiveness is undoubtedly running amongst the bigger universities in Ireland, as NUI Galway also achieved a top 100 position for nursing. In Dublin, UCD have taken the lead overall, as they received rankings for 13 subjects in the top 100 list, as well as Veterinary Science and English language & literature in the top 50. This resulted in a slipping in the ranks for Trinity College Dublin, who now find themselves out of the top position of Irish universities.The continuous success for UCC, however, recognises its position as one of the top Irish universities. The university’s latest achievement has been warmly welcomed by UCC President, Professor Patrick O’Shea, who highlighted that “[s]uch performances demonstrate that University College Cork remains in an excellent position to compete both nationally and internationally. It enhances UCC’s reputation as an attractive option for study at all levels and assures employers that UCC’s alumni are work and world-ready.”