Irish universities have had contrasting fortunes in the Financial Timesannual ranking of full-time masters of business administration (MBA) programmes, with the Trinity MBA programme climbing 15 places, while the UCD Smurfit School fell nine places in the rankings.

The Trinity MBA programme, which is run in conjunction with the Irish Management Institute (IMI) has been ranked 70th in the world by the Financial Timesin its 2007 analysis of MBA degrees, published today. The UCD Michael Smurfit School of Business course was ranked 98th.

Last year, the Trinity MBA was ranked 85th, while the UCD Smurfit School was ranked 89th in the list.

The Trinity MBA was also ranked second globally in terms of value for money and seventh for international mobility. It was placed seventh in Europe for the salary levels achieved by graduates.

Trinity emphasises the diversity of its programme, with women accounting for 45 per cent of this year's student body. Almost two-thirds of its students come from overseas.

Dr Gerard McHugh, head of Trinity's school of business, said it would continue to develop its graduate school of management and would aim to further improve its global ranking.

In a statement, the UCD Smurfit School said it was delighted to maintain its position among the top 100 business schools in the world.

Competition between schools is intensifying in an increasingly international environment, the dean of the school, Prof Tom Begley, said. "If we are to sustain our position we will need to work harder and to increase our investment in our facilities and our courses. It is important to the Irish economy that we have the capability to deliver world class business education."

The Financial Timesrankings use graduates' career prospects, diversity of culture within the university and its research capabilities to grade over 2,500 full-time MBA courses in the world.