The World Rankings: Philippine universities still in bottom half

MANILA, Philippines — Philippine universities remained in the bottom half of this year’s edition of Times Higher Education (THE) World University Rankings, placing the country behind its counterparts in Southeast Asia.

Ateneo de Manila University (ADMU) remained the top Philippine university in THE’s 2025 world university rankings and retained its global rank within the 1,001-1,200 bracket.

The University of the Philippines (UP) – which has been leading the country’s universities in most international assessments – was named second best for a second time by THE as it placed in the 1201-1500 bracket again this year.

Mindanao State University-Iligan Institute of Technology (MSU-IIT) breached the world rankings, debuting at the 1501+ bracket and joining De La Salle University (DLSU), University of Santo Tomas (UST) and Mapùa University, which have been occupying the bracket since last year’s edition.

MSU-IIT succeeded after two years of being under “Reporter” status. A “Reporter” is a college/university that sent data to THE but was found ineligible within the world rankings.

About 14 universities – nine of which are state-run institutions – were named reporters this year.

De La Salle College of Saint Benilde, Lyceum Northwestern University, Manila Central University, National University, Quezon City University, Saint Louis University, University of the Immaculate Conception and the Philippine State College of Aeronautics made their first attempt for the rankings this year.

Still under reporter status are Cebu Technological University, Central Luzon State University, University of Eastern Philippines, Nueva Ecija University of Science and Technology, University of Science and Technology of Southern Philippines, Tarlac Agricultural University and Visayas State University.

Mariano Marcos State University (MMSU), which was under reporter status last year, did not opt for the rankings this year.

ADMU was the top overall performer in the indicators, scoring the highest in teaching and research quality.

UP, meanwhile, scored highest in research environment and industry, and UST was highest in international outlook.

DLSU, Mapua and UST improved faster in research quality