EDINBURGH University has outperformed rival institutions in Scotland in a new higher education league table.

The university came in the top five in the UK in 10 out of 30 subject disciplines - far more than any other Scottish institution.

Edinburgh University came top in the country for linguistics, beating both Oxford and Cambridge to the top spot.

The only other Scottish universities to feature in the QS subject rankings were St Andrews, in Fife, which came fourth in the country for philosophy, and Aberdeen, which was third for agriculture and forestry.

Dr Sue Rigby, vice-principal for learning and teaching at Edinburgh University, said: "We are delighted that several of our disciplines are recognised for their excellence in the latest subject rankings.

"It is a tribute to the hard work and innovation of our academic and professional support staff."

Oxford is ranked as the UK's best-performing institution, taking first place in three subjects - English language and literature, modern languages and geography.

This means it was rated number one more than any other university in the world except Harvard and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), both in the US. Harvard was ranked first in 11 subjects and MIT first in nine. Cambridge was ranked first globally in one subject - history.

The rankings suggest UK universities are facing stiffer competition from other nations in science, technology, engineering and maths disciplines.