University College Dublin (UCD) begins the new academic year ranked among the world’s top 100 universities. The latest QS World University Rankings recognise the growing strength of UCD’s education, research, reputation and global community. For UCD alumni, it is a shared achievement.
Every day, UCD graduates carry the university into the world: through the organisations they lead, the discoveries they make, the businesses they build, the communities they serve and their contribution to public life, culture and society in Ireland and internationally.
“These outstanding achievements reflect the excellence and ambition that define UCD,” says UCD president Prof Orla Feely. “They are also a reflection of our outstanding graduates, who make an impact across the world.”
UCD’s top 100 position is part of a wider picture of international recognition.
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The university is ranked among the world’s top 50 for sustainability and remains firmly within the global top 100 for employment outcomes – important recognition of both UCD’s contribution to an increasingly more sustainable future and the value employers place on its graduates.
Research is another big source of UCD’s growing international influence. UCD is Ireland’s leading university for securing Horizon Europe research funding and is among the top 20 universities in Europe for funding secured under the programme. Its researchers are working across disciplines and borders to address some of the defining challenges of our time.
“Pioneering research with societal impact continues to be one of UCD’s greatest strengths,” Feely says. “Our researchers and innovators are breaking the boundaries of existing knowledge and engaging creatively across disciplines to address challenges in areas such as climate, health, sustainability and AI (artificial intelligence).”
The university is also establishing a UCD AI Institute, bringing together researchers and educators from diverse disciplines to advance research, education, innovation and responsible leadership in one of the defining technologies of our age.
The physical university is changing too. UCD’s campus continues to evolve to support new generations of students, researchers and educators. The O’Connor Centre for Learning, officially opened in March at Belfield, represents a significant investment in the future of teaching and learning.
“This marked the start of a new era of teaching and learning that is already enriching the student experience,” Feely says.
Yet UCD’s future is inseparable from its history. In 2026, the university marked 100 years of agricultural education, recognising the profound contribution UCD graduates, researchers and partners have made to agriculture, food systems and environmental sustainability. UCD also celebrated 20 years of its Clinical Research Centre, where more than 25,000 patients have accessed new therapies and enhanced medical care through clinical research.
The university marked the 170th anniversary of the UCD Literary & Historical Society, founded by St John Henry Newman.
“His vision of a university education that develops the whole person continues to inspire our mission today,” Feely says.
Together, these milestones tell a larger story: generations of UCD people applying knowledge beyond the university itself.
That influence is particularly visible in Europe. UCD graduates have played remarkable leadership roles in European institutions. Seven of Ireland’s 14 European Commissioners are UCD alumni, while Catherine Day became the European Commission’s first woman secretary general.
As Ireland takes on an important European leadership role, UCD will continue that tradition by bringing leaders and thinkers together at Belfield for important conversations around AI, innovation and democracy.
For Patricia Reilly, a UCD veterinary graduate and member of European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen’s cabinet, the connection to UCD remains deeply personal. “I am a very proud UCD graduate,” says Reilly, “and I made precious, lifelong friendships with people who mean a great deal to me.”
‘I am proud of the global reach and impact of the UCD community, and the enduring relationship between the university and our alumni’
— UCD president Orla Feely
Across the Atlantic, another UCD graduate is leading one of America’s great civic institutions. David Leonard, president of Boston Public Library, the oldest large municipal library in the United States, studied philosophy and mathematics at UCD. His career demonstrates the enduring value of a university education in preparing people not simply for their first job, but for lives and careers that evolve in unexpected directions.
“That’s the beauty of a good university education,” Leonard says. “It gives you a foundation and helps you find the things you care about, but that doesn’t mean that’s where you’re going to end up. If you’re learning about something you’re passionate about, then you can apply that in any field.”
The UCD community grows every year. Throughout 2026 new graduates joined an international network of more than 350,000 alumni spanning 183 countries, many professions and generations. Reunion celebrations brought others back on campus, reconnecting former classmates with each other and with their university that has continued to change since they graduated.
Feely has also met UCD graduates at events around the world. “I had the pleasure of meeting many graduates who continue to speak with such affection for their time at UCD and the friendships and opportunities they found here,” she says. “I am proud of the global reach and impact of the UCD community, and the enduring relationship between the university and our alumni.”
That relationship between UCD and its alumni matters in both directions. The standing of a university is built over generations. Every graduate carries something of UCD into the world, and every achievement, contribution and connection strengthens the university for those who follow.
UCD’s standing reflects the collective strength of a university community: its students and faculty, its researchers and partners, and generations of graduates whose influence reaches far across the globe.
“UCD alumni exemplify the qualities that have long defined University College Dublin: ambition, creativity and a commitment to making a positive difference in the world,” Feely says. “At a time of profound global change, these values have never been more important.”
UCD has reached a new level of global recognition. The opportunity now is to build on that momentum; extending its contribution, its connections and its influence even further.
Connect with the UCD alumni community and discover more about UCD’s global recognition at ucd.ie. UCD Connections accompanies The Irish Times on Friday, September 11th, with the digital edition also available through the UCD alumni website
