Ateneo maintains spot as top PH institution in 2026 THE World University Rankings

For the 4th straight year, Ateneo de Manila University is once again the highest-ranked Philippine university in the Times Higher Education (THE) World University Rankings.

The 2026 THE World University Rankings, released on Thursday 9 October 2025, Ateneo de Manila is once again in the 1001-1200 bracket, where it has stood in the past 2 ranking periods (2024, 2025). Ateneo's overall score is at 32.1-35.4, according to THE.

"Once again, I commend the entire University community for this achievement," said Fr Roberto Yap SJ, University President. "It is a recognition of the hard work of our students and faculty, our researchers, our support staff and administrators."

The rankings are based on 5 Pillars: teaching, research environment, research quality, industry, and international outlook. The rankings per pillar are as follows:

•    Teaching (29.5% of overall score): rank 1013 globally
• Research Environment (29%): 1711
• Research Quality (30%): 753
• Industry (4%): 1640
• International Outlook (7.5%): 1476

THE World University Rankings, which has been published since 2004, is a rankings table of research-intensive universities across the world, based on their activities and impact in teaching, research, knowledge transfer, and international outlook.

"We use 18 carefully calibrated performance indicators to provide the most comprehensive and balanced comparisons, trusted by students, academics, university leaders, industry and governments," THE explained.

"This good news is a reflection of Ateneo's transformative impact as a force for good, both here in our country and even across the world," Yap added. "This will only strengthen our commitment to continuously improve on our work in teaching, formation, research, and outreach."

This year a total of 2,191 higher education institutions from 115 countries and regions were included in the rankings.

Among Philippine institutions, Ateneo de Manila is ranked #1, followed by the University of the Philippines (1201-1500); De La Salle University, Mapua University, Mindanao State University-Iligan Institute of Technology, and the University of Santo Tomas (all in the 1501+ bracket).

The full explanation of the metholodogy of the THE World University Rankings can be found at https://www.timeshighereducation.com/world-university-rankings/methodol…

This follows the recent QS World University Rankings, released last June, where Ateneo was ranked =511 making it the top private institution in the Philippines.