Trinity Ranked Among Top 100 Universities for Arts & Humanities

Jun 08, 2011

Trinity College Dublin has been named amongst the leading universities in the world in the latest QS World University Rankings for Arts & Humanities, featuring in the top 100 for five out of six disciplines.  The QS World University Rankings confirm Trinity College’s international reputation for excellence in scholarship and research in the Arts & Humanities and highlight it as one of the best performers in English Language and Literature, History, Philosophy and Modern Language.

The rankings place Trinity’s School of English as the only Irish institution to feature in the top 50, ranking 32nd in the world and 5th in Europe.  Speaking about the achievement Head of the School of English, Dr Darryl Jones said: "This extraordinary result confirms the School of English's position in the very front rank of international English Departments.  It is testimony to our world-class record of research and publication, and to our commitment to the highest standards of teaching.  The fact that the QS rankings consulted employers as well as universities is particularly gratifying, as it shows that employers hold our graduates in the highest regard.  An English degree from Trinity is a valuable commodity!"

Trinity’s discipline of History also scored highly and was also the only Irish institution to make it into the top 50 list, coming in at 39th in the world and 11th in Europe.  TCD also made the top 100 in the disciplines of Modern Languages and Philosophy. 

Erasmus Smith's Professor of Modern History, Professor Jane Ohlmeyer said: "We are delighted with these rankings which reflect the History department’s commitment to the delivery of excellence in research and education.  This is a great example of a small department, in global terms, punching above its weight and doing so in an era of chronic under-investment.  Just imagine what we could achieve with adequate resources."

Following the announcement of the rankings, Head of the Department of Philosophy, Professor Peter Simons said: “Philosophy at Trinity is able to compete with much larger units in the world's top 100 departments in the subject: this is a tribute to the hard work and excellence of our philosophers.”

Head of the School of Languages, Literatures and Cultural Studies, Dr Sarah Smyth said: “In 1776 Trinity was the first university in the world to introduce the study of modern continental languages.  Since then we have produced thousands of high-achieving graduates, including one Nobel Prize winner. Together with our colleagues in other Irish universities, we have kept Ireland open to cultural exchange and dialogue. We continue to innovate with creative degree formats at undergraduate and postgraduate levels - including European Studies, Literary Translation, Textual & Visual Studies, thereby engaging with the dynamics of contemporary culture.”

QS World University Rankings for Arts & Humanities include the discipline of Geography in this category.  Trinity College’s discipline of Geography was ranked in the top 100 in the listing.

2011 marks the first time QS World University Rankings produced rankings for universities offering arts and humanities degrees.  For the purpose of compiling the rankings QS score universities according to a number of criteria which include academic reputation, employer reputation and citations per faculty.  Further information on the rankings can be found online.