St Andrews University has again been named in the top 100 in the world.
It is one of three Scottish institutions and 19 from the UK to make the list.
The QS world university rankings are based on surveys of thousands of academics and graduate employers and are judged on criteria including the quality of teaching and research, graduate employability and international influence.
St Andrews, which is Scotland’s oldest university, was ranked 97th, two places down from last year’s survey. Edinburgh University rose two places to 20th and Glasgow University jumped 18 spots to 59th.
Cambridge University was named best in the world and UK institutions took another three of the top 10 places, with the rest going to American universities.
St Andrews was given high marks for the reputation of its arts and humanities faculty. Its research output was classed as “very high” and it was judged to be 14th best at attracting people from overseas. Around two-fifths of current staff and students are from other countries.
Employers rated the university 51st for supplying well-qualified graduates.
Principal and vice-chancellor Professor Louise Richardson said: “This is a heartening result for the university and for St Andrews. We are pleased that the university is able to promote Scotland and Fife as a world-class centre for education and the training of top-quality graduates.
“It is a gratifying reflection on the commitment and skills of all who work and study here.”
The ranking comes a month after St Andrews was named top in Scotland and joint second in the UK by the National Student Survey.
Dundee University was ranked at 199 in the table, up from 201 last year.
Principal and vice-chancellor Professor Pete Downes said he was pleased to see Dundee move into the top 200.
“Whilst it is gratifying to see Dundee recognised as one of the world’s top 200 universities, we are still striving to improve our standing across the globe,” he said.
“A lot of hard work is taking place across the university to build on our areas of international strength in teaching and research, and it is our ambition to continue our progress and our reputation around the world.”
Ben Sowter, head of research at QS, said: “This year’s rankings show that the worst effects of the funding cuts have yet to be felt by UK universities. However, pre-emptive redundancies and increased student intake have led to worse student/faculty ratios relative to their international peers.”
Fee data has also been examined, showing that UK universities are a cheaper option than those in America but are being outdone in the value for money stakes by some European institutions.For the full list of universities, visit www.topuniversities.com