UST placed No. 144th in a new ranking of Asia’s top 200 universities,
with three other Philippine schools making it to the list.
The University of the Philippines, backed by billions in state
subsidies, ranked No. 63, way ahead of other Philippine universities
in the 2009 QS.com Asian University Rankings.
The new Asian rankings employed a different methodology from the
yearly THE-QS World University Rankings, whose 2008 edition saw
Jesuit-run Ateneo de Manila University overtaking UP at No. 254. UP
ranked 276th in the 2008 global listing. De La Salle University and
UST were on the list of universities ranked No. 401 to 500.
In the 2009 Asian University Rankings, however, De La Salle ranked
higher than Ateneo at No. 76. Ateneo stood at 84th.
Hong Kong, Japanese, and South Korean universities dominated the list,
with the University of Hong Kong emerging as Asia’s top university.
Nunzio Quacquarelli, managing director of London consultancy
Quacquarelli Symonds, said: “The results of the QS.com Asian
University Rankings focus on regionally relevant measures of
excellence, with the top performing universities distinguished not
only by quality, but also by high productivity of research, compared
to their regional peers.”
Ben Sowter, head of research at QS said: “The advantage of these
regional rankings is in the richer picture we can create when
comparing universities at a regional rather than global level, through
the inclusion of additional factors. For example, countries with a
first language other than English use student exchanges as a key
approach to internationalization, which is reflected in the QS.com
Asian University Rankings.”
“These adjustments have had an inevitable influence on the results,
the position of institutions in Hong Kong, Japan and Singapore was to
be expected, but the stronger performance of South Korean institutions
in contrast to the world rankings suggests a strength known in the
region that has yet to be fully acknowledged globally,” he added.
The 2009 Asian listing is posted in full on www.topuniversities.com.
