THE UNIVERSITY improved its scores in the 2026 Quacquarelli-Symonds (QS) World University Rankings, but remained within the 851-900 bracket worldwide and No. 4 in the Philippines.
Results of the latest edition, released June 18 (Manila time), showed UST recording an overall score of 19.9 and posting higher ratings in each of the 10 indicators used by QS to measure schools’ performance:
- sustainability – 40.2 (from 2.4);
- employment outcomes – 25.5 (from 14.1);
- academic reputation – 20.3 (from 12.28);
- employer reputation – 45.9 (from 39.9);
- international faculty – 38.5 (from 34.9);
- international students – 9.0 (from 5.8);
- faculty-student ratio – 14.1 (from 12.5);
- international research network – 19.1 (from 18.1);
- citations per faculty – 1.7 (from 1.3); and
- international students diversity – 7.0.
Despite posting higher ratings, UST’s global placement fell in most indicators.
It fell 57 places in the employer reputation criterion, landing in the 294th spot from 237th in the 2025 edition. Meanwhile, UST ranked 513th globally in the international faculty indicator, down from 459th.
The citations per faculty, faculty-student ratio, international research network, international students, and sustainability indicators all fell to the 801+ range from the 701+ range in the previous edition.
UST climbed in only one indicator: employment outcomes, where it jumped 59 spots to 631st from 690th. It figured in the 601+ range in academic reputation, compared with last year’s 605th placement.
International student diversity is an unweighted indicator and was not factored into the computation of a school’s overall score.
Asst. Prof. Nestor Ong, deputy director of the UST Office of QS/THE Rankings, shared some strategies that universities, including UST, adopt to improve their rankings.
Ong said enhancing research output, increasing open access publications, strengthening research collaborations, targeted outreach and dissemination, and building research centers could improve citation impact and research visibility.
Historically, UST has struggled in the citations per faculty indicator, ranking the lowest among all Philippine universities in the 2025 edition of the QS rankings.
Ong also cited efforts at improving teaching and learning, boosting internationalization, investing in infrastructure, strengthening alumni relations, and tracking and reporting performance.
“These initiatives, although generalized, are often found in universities aiming to improve their standing in QS World University Rankings,” he told the Varsitarian.
A total of six Philippine universities made it to the 2026 QS World University Rankings, led by the University of the Philippines, which dropped to 362nd from 336th.
Ateneo de Manila University was the lone school from the country to improve its rank, climbing to 511th from 516th. De La Salle University remained the third best school in the Philippines after ranking 654th, compared with last year’s 641-650 placement.
Two Philippine universities entered the QS rankings this year: Adamson University and Mapua University, which placed in the 1,001-1,200 range and 1401+ range, respectively.
The University of San Carlos, previously ranked 1401+ in the 2025 edition, failed to make it to the latest edition.
The United States’ Massachusetts Institute of Technology retained its position as the No. 1 university worldwide, a title it has held for 14 consecutive years. Imperial College London placed second, followed by Stanford University in third.
The QS World University Rankings evaluated universities based on nine performance indicators: academic reputation (30%), citations per faculty (20%), employer reputation (15%), employment outcomes (5%), international faculty (5%), international research network (5%), international students (5%), faculty-student ratio (10%), and sustainability (5%). with reports from Marco Luis D. Beech
