TWO of Scotland’s leading universities have slipped down the league table of the world’s finest institutions.
The top Scottish university was Edinburgh, which came 21st overall and sixth in the UK after falling four places from last year.
The second ranked institution was Glasgow University, which came 62nd after a drop of seven places.
However, St Andrews bucked the trend by going up 20 places to 68, one of biggest climbers on the list. The survey, run by QS, an international careers and education network, comes at a time when Scottish universities fear their international status is under threat because of proposed changes to the way they are run.
A spokesman for Universities Scotland welcomed the “further proof” of the international reputation of Scotland’s higher education sector.
He said: “Competition is increasing in the global higher education marketplace, so it is important that Scotland’s higher education institutions continue to receive the full support of the Scottish Government to compete effectively.
“Scotland’s universities compete successfully on a global stage because we are autonomous and because we are entrepreneurial.
This is what enables universities to determine their own teaching and research strategies as international institutions and to stay ahead of the competition.
“We want to keep it that way, and we look forward to the Scottish Government’s constructive consideration of how the Higher Education Governance Bill can be amended to achieve that.”
Angela Constance, the Education Secretary, said: “Our universities are internationally renowned for their research excellence and respected for their innovative and collaborative approach and these figures again show that we punch above our weight.
“The Scottish Government invests over £1 billion annually into higher education and we are demonstrating our ongoing commitment to research and knowledge exchange by providing £282 million in 2015/16, building on increasing levels of funding since 2007.
“Furthermore, through our proposals on governance, the Scottish Government wants to support our universities to modernise their governance systems, enabling an evolution that can enhance their important contribution to Scotland and the advancement of its people and economy.”
The QS rankings placed US research giant the Massachusetts Institute of Technology at the top of the table for the second successive year, while Harvard moved into second place ahead of Cambridge University. Cambridge University came third while Oxford University was sixth.
A spokeswoman for Edinburgh University said: “We are securely ranked as one of the leading global universities.
“Our strong position is a tribute to the hard work and commitment of the entire university community as well as our significant investments in early career researchers with international leadership potential.”
Professor Louise Richardson, principal of St Andrews, added: “This is a terrific achievement, and is largely due to the increasing influence of our research and the extent to which the remarkable work that takes place here is cited around the world.”
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