Dublin has been named one of the top 50 cities in the world for students.

Ireland's capital is ranked joint 15th with Vienna in the QS Best Student Cities survey.

Paris tops the list for the second year in a row - with London in second place.

The ranking, compiled by the team behind the annual QS World University Rankings is based on five key pillars: university rankings; student mix; quality of living; employer activity and affordability.

All of the cities taking part in the ranking have a population of over 250,000 and must have at least two institutions ranked in the QS World University Rankings. 98 cities in the world qualify on this basis, 50 has been published.

Thirty countries are represented with the most cities in the US, followed by Australia, Canada and the UK.

Ben Sowter, head of research at QS says: "With a maximum of 100 points awarded, Dublin's highest scores were for student mix, 80 for quality of living and 77 for university rankings. However, with the cost of higher education rising in the world, the city's affordability score of 42 could be an issue for students facing financial constraints."