The Student Room Group
Campus Green, University of Dundee
University of Dundee

Why is University of Dundee so 'poorly' ranked?

http://www.guardian.co.uk/education/table/2012/may/21/university-league-table-2013 (43)

http://www.thecompleteuniversityguide.co.uk/league-tables/rankings (43)

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/League_tables_of_British_universities#The_Times (Outside top 30 in 2013, I think it was 44 in 2011)

The league tables are a load of rubbish but really it is all I have to go by. It is also a non-aligned university in that it is not RG/1994

It can't really be due to the age of the university considering it features outside the top 50 under 50

http://www.topuniversities.com/university-rankings/top-50-under-50/

plus it is the same age as the likes of Aston, York, Warwick and Bath yet none these universities all rank much better.


So why so poorly? It used to be a part of ST. Andtrews which is highly ranked. Dundee has one of the (if not the) best medical schools in Scotland and its engineering school is also very good, particularly civil engineering.
On the contrary, Dundee ranks very well in international rankings, with The Times international rankings placing it at 176th, just in front of Liverpool. Domestic rankings are flawed and everybody knows this.
Campus Green, University of Dundee
University of Dundee
Reply 2
Original post by Meat is Murder
On the contrary, Dundee ranks very well in international rankings, with The Times international rankings placing it at 176th, just in front of Liverpool. Domestic rankings are flawed and everybody knows this.


True, but even so it still makes no sense that it is so badly ranked domestically.
Reply 3
Original post by bestofyou
True, but even so it still makes no sense that it is so badly ranked domestically.


I wouldn't worry about it too much..

It's a Scottish uni. So it is basically a free ride for 3/4years.
Dundee is indeed very good for certain things, but not so much for others.

You have to realise that all league tables do is measure certain criteria.
Reply 5
What's Dundee?
I wouldn't worry about it. If you really want to do there then do let league tables stop you.
Reply 7
Dundee medical and dentistry schools are world class, I know that for sure. I think Dentistry wise it is second in the country last time I checked, by league tables are a heap of crap.
Reply 8
It's like any university. Some do better in some subjects than others. Dundee does far better in the likes of medicine but less so in Humanities. The criteria for university rankings would tell you why Dundee isn't as well-ranked as you'd believe, it's just a simple fact of some unis performing better or worse than others every year. Domestic rankings should always be taken with a pinch of salt, they are only there to give you an indication of how 'good' that uni is. Think of the subject rankings as well as the general rankings.
If you think about it, 43 out of all the big uni's in Britain really isn't that bad. Considering Dundee is first in Europe for biology research and 4th for genetics along with 85th WORLDWIDE for research and also one of the best medical schools in the country, it really isn't bad at all! League tables are only a slight guideline :smile:


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Reply 10
In fact Dundee is quite a good university, one of the best in Europe for medicine, dentistry and biological sciences (especially cancer research, genetics and drug discovery), also quite well regarded for the likes of law, civil engineering and art & design.

The domestical rankings are indeed hugely flawed - in the Guardian Dundee dropped from something like 22nd or so to 44th within just one year - I mean, WTF? Did a couple of department buildings just burn to the ground or what happened?

Everyone who aims to develop a realistic picture of a university shouldn't look at league tables but look for independent data on the details. For Dundee that would be:

Highest student satisfaction in the UK (according to the TIMES)
6th most popular employer globally for scientists (according to American magazine SCIENTIST)
33rd globally for biological sciences (according to QS)

This could go on. As you see, Dundee conducts excellent research and offers a high student satisfaction.

This said, there is a reason why Dundee is not on par with Cambridge or Harvard :wink: For some subjects Dundee isn't that good, I doubt a top A-level student interested in philosophy, english literature or business would have it on his/her list. It's not an elite university, but Dundee is definitely better than the league tables suggest.

I think a realistic overall ranking would place Dundee somewhere in the middle 20s (23rd - 26th) or so.
(edited 11 years ago)
Reply 11
What I find especially exceptional is that Dundee has the highest mean citation score in Europe (13th highest globally), that means on average research from Dundee is cited more often than that of Cambridge, Oxford, UCL, Imperial, St. Andrews or any other university in the UK :biggrin:
(edited 11 years ago)
The academic system is different in Scotland so I'd just take it's rank with a pinch of salt.

It's a good uni generally and it excels in some subjects.

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