THE UNIVERSITY was named the fifth best research institution in the Philippines in the 2024 SCImago Institutions Rankings, which evaluated academic and research performance across various institutions.
UST logged its highest placement in the rankings this year, climbing seven spots to 5th in the Philippines (4,987th globally) from 12th (8,132nd globally) in the 2023 edition.
In the innovation output criterion, which evaluated the growth of institutions’ research output and patent applications, UST rose to third best from 12th in the country and 4,875th from 8,083rd globally.
UST improved to 8th from 11th in the Philippines (7,100th from 7,209th globally) in research performance, where the volume, impact, and quality of its research outputs were evaluated.
It climbed to No. 4 from No. 8 locally (2,015th from 5,118th globally) in the societal impact category, which measured institutions’ web presence through pages, backlinks, and social media mentions.
SCImago ranks institutions across 19 subject areas, with UST earning a rank in nine categories.
UST led all Philippine institutions in biochemistry, genetics, and molecular biology; chemistry; and pharmacology, toxicology, and pharmaceutics. It ranked second locally in agricultural and biological sciences and environmental science.
It also ranked in arts and humanities, psychology (4th), medicine (5th), social sciences (7th).
UST first joined the SCImago rankings in 2020, placing 6,432nd out of 7,026 research institutions globally and 8th among 12 in the Philippines.
For an institution to be ranked in a subject area, it must surpass the minimum output threshold in the previous year, which is equivalent to twice the percentage that this area represents in the world.
In the 2024 edition, the International Rice Research Institute remained the country’s top-ranked research institution despite dropping to 2,971st place from 1,431st globally. It has held the position in the Philippines since 2009.
It was followed by the state-funded University of the Philippines (UP) Diliman at 3,151st globally and the Department of Science and Technology at 3,344th.
De La Salle University was the top private research institution in the Philippines, placing 4,459th worldwide. UP Los Baños trailed UST and placed No. 6 locally and 5,866th worldwide, followed by Ateneo de Manila University at No. 6 and 6,645th.
A total of 9,054 research institutions joined the 2024 SCImago Institutions Rankings, which included 15 Philippines-based institutions. They were evaluated based on three criteria: research performance (50%), innovation outputs (30%), and societal impact (20%).
SCImago Lab is a Spanish consulting firm, originating from the SCImago Research Group, which specializes in “scientometrics,” scientific publications, and web visibility analysis.
