THE UNIVERSITY maintained its position as the second best Philippine school in the Times Higher Education (THE) Asia University Rankings, keeping its spot in the 601-800 bracket in the ranking’s 2026 edition.
UST had an overall score of 23.3-30.8 after attaining the following marks in the five indicators: research quality (26.9), research environment (12.2), teaching (27.4), industry (21.1), and international outlook (59.5).
Asst. Prof. Nestor Ong, director of the UST Office of QS/THE Rankings, attributed the University’s placement to “consistent” academic quality, strengthened international collaborations and sustained reputation among academic peers and employers.
“As long as the University is consistently ranked, it means we remain on the map among the best and top Philippine universities. It is encouraging to know that UST continues to be recognized among the country’s leading institutions,” Ong told the Varsitarian.
He said the establishment of the new Research Center for Engineering and Technological Sciences will also boost UST’s overall research performance.
“These efforts support our goal of entering the Times Higher Education World University Rankings by Subject and improving our overall standing in both Asia and global rankings,” Ong said.
The same six Philippine schools which placed in last year’s rankings made it in the 2026 edition. Forty-two other schools in the country were declared reporter institutions for this year, up from last year’s 15.
Ateneo de Manila University kept its spot as the top Philippine school, placing anew in the 501-600 band.
The University of the Philippines dropped to the 601-800 bracket from last year’s 501-600 band, joining De La Salle University, Mapua University, and UST in the No. 2 spot among Philippine schools.
Mindanao State University – Iligan Institute of Technology fell to the 801+ bracket from last year’s 601+ band, ranking third among Philippine institutions.
Phil Baty, THE’s chief global affairs officer, commended universities from China and Southeast Asia for their performance in the rankings.
“China’s extraordinary performance and progress in higher education and research is laid bare in the results of this year’s Asia University Rankings, reflected not just by the mainland’s continued prominence at the top of the table, but also in the rising performance of its special administrative regions of Hong Kong and Macao,” Baty said.
“It is also encouraging to see strong results from Southeast Asia, one of the most dynamic regions in the world,” he added.
Five universities from mainland China entered the top 10 of THE Asia rankings, with Beijing’s Tsinghua University and Peking University placing first and second, respectively.
The National University of Singapore ranked third, followed by another Singaporean institute, Nanyang Technological University. The University of Tokyo from Japan placed fifth, securing Tokyo’s highest position in a decade.
THE used 18 performance indicators to provide “the most comprehensive and balanced comparisons” among the institutions. One of the metrics, study abroad, currently has zero weight but will be counted in future.
Indicators are grouped into five key areas: research quality (30%), research environment (28%), teaching (24.5%), industry (10%), and international outlook (7.5%).
Under the research quality metric, a university’s role in contributing new knowledge is evaluated through citation impact (7.5%), research strength (7.5%), research excellence (7.5%), and research influence (7.5%).
The research environment pillar measured research reputation among peers: research reputation (15%), research income (6.5%), and research productivity (6.5%).
Teaching pillar, or the learning environment, is measured through teaching reputation (10%), staff-to-student ratio (4.5%), doctorates-awarded-to-academic-staff ratio (5.5%), institutional income (2.5%), and doctorate-to-bachelor’s ratio (2%).
Metrics for industry are divided into industry income and patents, with 5% weight each.
The international outlook is categorized into proportions of international students, international staff, and international collaboration, all having a weight of 2.5%.
The rankings featured a total of 929 universities, up from last year’s 853, across 36 Asian countries.
