AFFORDABILITY AND JOB prospects remain the biggest concern for students, but Dublin is still one of the 50 best cities to study in the world.

The capital beat out such cities as Tokyo, New York and Barcelona to reach 15th in the poll, carried out by Quacquarelli Symonds (QS), the company which also ranks the world’s top universities.

The cities surveyed had to have two institutions in the QS World University rankings and a population of at least 250,000.

They were then ranked on affordability, job prospects, rankings of the university, student mix and quality of living.

Though Dublin scored poorly on affordability, it scored excellently on student mix says Ben Sowter, head of research at QS.

“With a maximum of 100 points awarded, Dublin’s highest scores were 92 for student mix, 80 for quality of living and 77 for university rankings. However, with the cost of higher education rising around the world, the city’s affordability score of 42 could be an issue for students facing financial constraints.”

Sowter continued: “With students becoming increasingly internationally-mobile, our aim is to widen students’ horizons and provide options which they may not have previously considered.”

Despite being ranked eighth last year, Dublin’s drop is down to changed criteria, not a slip in standards, QS says.

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