Ateneo debuts in THE World rankings as top PH school, places in 351-400 bracket

Ateneo de Manila University makes its debut in the Times Higher Education (THE) World University Ranking, placing in the 351-400 bracket in the world’s most recognized institutional rankings.

Institutions are scored based on five “pillars”: Teaching (30%); Research (30%); Citations (30%); Industry Income (7.5%); and International Outlook (2.5%).

Of these, Ateneo had its highest score for Citations with 97, placing it at number 60 globally for the said pillar. This pillar, according to THE, focuses on an institution’s "role in spreading new knowledge and ideas," and "how much each university is contributing to the sum of human knowledge."

The University also had a significant score for Teaching (32.4). This metric, meanwhile, focuses on an institution’s learning environment: student-to-faculty ratio, reputation, number of postgraduates, and institutional income.

Ateneo had an overall score of 45-46.9, THE said.

“This performance shows that Ateneo is at par with our foreign peers, an institution that is truly global yet firmly rooted in our Filipino, Catholic, and Jesuit identity,” said Fr Roberto C Yap SJ, University President. “We're especially proud of the fact that, despite being a relatively small institution, we are the top Philippine university in the rankings.”

With its performance in research influence, Dr Ma Louise Antonette De las Penas, chair of the University Research Council, said that it is an “affirmation” of Ateneo’s “commitment to the discovery of new knowledge through research and the impact it brings to society.”

Continuing with the mission

Yap said that the THE result “only reflects what we have been doing all these years -- our dedication to our mission to educate and form future leaders, produce and enrich knowledge, and seek solutions to society's most pressing problems.”

“It shows that we are heading in the right direction as an institution, as we aim to increase our real-world impact through teaching, research, and outreach, as we envision in our Lux in Domino 2030 strategic plan,” said Bernadine T Siy, chair of the Board of Trustees.

It is also a call for the University to continuously reassess and reinvent ways to proceed with its teaching, learning, research, and outreach, according to Dr Maria Luz C Vilches, Vice President for the Loyola Schools and concurrent OIC-VP for the Professional Schools.

“When an institution opens itself up for evaluation according to global standards, it is embarking on a risky venture,” said Vilches. “We know that the path to excellence is steep but the North Star beckons and we move forward with resilience, hope, and courage – rejoicing in our gains but also humbly addressing what we are found wanting,” she added.

Siy said that the result is a “wonderful and welcome development.” “As we increasingly engage with the rest of the world, being recognized outside our borders is an important thing, and this THE performance only shows that we are making our Ateneo be known in the global academic scene.”

Siy hopes that the news “inspires us further to do better, and carry on with our educational mission.”

“My congratulations and commendation to our faculty, students, research staff, research partners, collaborators working together, in and across disciplines; and our administrators and professional staff supporting research,” De las Penas added. “Each played an important part in making this outstanding result possible.”

“I am proud of the entire Ateneo community for this achievement, and may this motivate us further to do our best, rankings notwithstanding, to continue being a force for good in the world,” Yap added.

Authoritative rankings

The THE World University Rankings is one of the most authoritative global institutional ranking tables, first released in 2004.

The latest rankings were released on Wednesday, 12 October 2022, with 1,799 institutions ranked in this cycle.

Previously, Ateneo de Manila was ranked in the 101-200 bracket of the 2022 THE Impact Rankings, which assesses institutions based on the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).

In June, Ateneo was ranked in the 651-700 bracket in the 2023 QS World University Rankings, another globally-recognized rankings table.

The full rankings and methodology can be accessed at the THE website.