University of Dundee named UK’s ‘best young institution’ in Times Higher Education rankings

Editor of list says UK and US will have to 'raise their games' to compete in future years

(University of Dundee/Facebook)

The University of Dundee in Scotland has been named as the nation’s best young university, according to the Times Higher Education (THE) ‘150 Under 50’ rankings.

The global list, which analyses the world’s top universities under 50 years of age, has seen the UK emerge as being the most-represented country in the world, boasting “an impressive” 25 institutions in the complete top 150, said editor of the list, Phil Baty.

With Dundee leading the way, the universities of Bath and Surrey have also featured in the rankings, in second and third place respectively, followed by Stirling and Plymouth University.

Eleven of the UK’s 25 universities have made the top 100. However, more than half (13) of the country's representatives were founded in the 1960s, something Mr Baty said means many will be “told old” to feature in future years, with eight alone dropping out next year.

Top ten best young universities in the UK:

1. University of Dundee (established 1967)
2. University of Bath (1966)
3. University of Surrey (1966)
4. University of Stirling (1967)
5. Plymouth University (1992)
6. Loughborough University (1966)
7. Aston University (1966)
8. Brunel University London (1966)
9. City University London (1966)
10. Heriot-Watt University (1966)

As well as this, the editor of the rankings added that the Higher Education Funding Council for England (Hefce) received a £150m budget cut last year, as the number of first-year overseas students fell by 1.7 per cent in 2015/16, after a Government overhaul of immigration policies.

Mr Baty continued: “The rankings are led by young, exciting, and dynamic institutions - half of the universities in the top ten are 30 years or under - from nations investing heavily in creating world-class institutions, for example, Hong Kong, South Korea, and Singapore.

“As the pendulum swings, the traditionally dominant US and UK will have to raise their games to continue to compete in future years.”

Professor Sir Pete Downes, principal and vice-chancellor of the University of Dundee, said the institution is “in good company and delighted” to be 16th best in the world, as well as the top young university in the UK.

He continued: “Our work at Dundee carries global impact and we have built an international reputation for excellence in research and teaching, while the experience we offer students has been consistently highly rated.”

On the whole, the rankings have listed 150 universities from 39 countries. The methodology used to compile the list has drawn upon the same as THE’s World University Rankings, in which 13 performance indicators are taken into consideration from all the core missions associated with the modern global university, including research, teaching, knowledge transfer, and international activity.

Click here to see the complete 150 Under 50 rankings