Trinity College Dublin has jumped 17 places in this year's QS World University Rankings to take the 81st spot on the list.

The latest figures from the 2024 QS World University Rankings have reported that seven of eight Irish universities have made improvements on their scores from last year.

Trinity College Dublin (TCD) came in under the top 100 universities, with a ranking of 81st place.

Trinity College was listed as having a "very high" research output.

The University of Galway was next on the list for Ireland, ranking 289th – a fall from the 270th spot last year.

University College Dublin (UCD) took 171st place – an improvement of 10 places as compared to 2023.

University College Cork (UCC) ranked 292nd internationally, having previously ranked 303rd last year.

Research

Speaking to Newstalk Breakfast, TCD Provost Dr Linda Doyle said the university's jump was a result of the "academic reputation" and the "esteem" in which staff are held.

"Over the last number of years, we've seen a burst in research activity," Dr Doyle told the show.

"That in itself is due to a number of things – it's due to increased funding from the government over COVID ... it was due to the fact that [the funding] in itself was quite non-prescriptive – it was just going out there and do great things.

"That's been the fundamental driver of our improvement."

Funding

Dr Doyle said she is aware this large improvement in ranking is due to this once-off funding.

You can clearly see the value that brings for Ireland, you hear the IDA say that is really, really important that we have a top 100 university," she said.

"What I need to focus on is how we make that investment sustained.

"It shows in our case anyway, that this investment has led to this outcome."

Reputation

Dr Doyle said the international reputation of Trinity College Dublin is perhaps partly the reason for the university to be so far ahead of other Irish educators.

"We call ourselves a research-intensive university and we're really driven by breaking new ground and driving research for the betterment of society," she said.

"There's good news for lots of the universities in Ireland, some of the other universities have done really well and employer reputation, and our international reputation more broadly is very, very strong."