Ateneo de Manila University debuted in the Times Higher Education World University Ranking (THE WUR) as the top institution in the Philippines for its 2023 edition after emerging in the 351-400 rank bracket.
Ateneo surpassed the state-run University of the Philippines, which fell to the 801-1000 bracket—in itself a steep fall from the 601-800 bracket it was in last year.
The Jesuit school had an overall score of 45.0-46.9 based on five pillars: teaching, research, citations, industry income, and international outlook.
Aside from the Katipunan Ave. neighboring schools, De La Salle University and Mapua University also made it to the list, ranking 1201-1500 and 1501+ on World University Rankings 2023, respectively.
In a statement, the Commission on Higher Education (CHED) trumpeted 10 Philippine higher education institutions (HEIs) making THE WUR list.
This year’s performance is a dramatic increase from the two Philippine universities—UP and De La Salle University (DLSU)—that were ranked in 2019, CHED Chairman Popoy De Vera said.
“The dramatic increase in the number of internationalized Philippines HEIs shows that our universities continuously benchmark themselves with the best universities in the world and are improving their programs, faculty, and facilities to produce graduates that are globally competitive and industry-matched,” De Vera said.
“In other words, an increasing number of Philippine HEIs are globally competitive and world-class,” he added.
ADMU entered the top 301-400, which is the highest ranking ever received by any Philippine university in THE WUR rankings.
The 10 globally ranked HEIs are:
1. Ateneo de Manila University (301-400)
2. Cebu Technological University (Reporter)
3. De La Salle University (1201-1500)
4. Mapua University (1501+)
5. Mindanao State University – Iligan Institute of Technology (Reporter)
6. Tarlac Agricultural University (Reporter)
7. University of Santo Tomas (Reporter)
8. University of Science and Technology of Southern Philippines (Reporter)
9. University of the Philippines (801-1000)
10. Visayas State University (Reporter)
To add to this milestone, the entry of five State Universities and Colleges (SUCs) in the rankings is also the highest number of Philippine public universities making it in any world university rankings, CHED added.
The 2023 THE WUR is considered as the most diverse and largest ranking published by THE with 1,799 universities across 104 countries and regions participating.
THE WUR is one of the most definitive lists of world’s best research-led institutions.
The insights and data curated from this list have been adopted as a geo-political indicator as well as an aid to strategic management of institutions and a crucial factor in the study choices made by millions of students around the world and their employment prospects.
“The latest ranking is critical to achieve the directive of President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. that Philippine HEIs must produce industry-ready graduates for the local and international employment market,” De Vera added.
The list covers 13 carefully calibrated performance indicators that measure an institution’s performance across four areas: teaching, research, knowledge transfer and international outlook.
Harvard tops the teaching pillar, while Oxford leads the research pillar. Atop the international pillar is the Macau University of Science and Technology.
In encouraging Philippine HEIs to pursue a programmatic and holistic approach in their internationalization strategy, CHED prioritizes the bridging of PHL higher education to a world-class status through breakthroughs in internationalization and Transnational Higher Education (TNHE) to create milestones in nation-building and economic recovery.
This means a complete recalibration of the internationalization strategy by aligning it with the CHED Strategic Plan 2022-2028 and the thrusts of the President Marcos’ administration.