Ateneo leads Philippine universities in world university rankings 2026

Ateneo de Manila University has emerged as the Philippines’ highest-ranked institution in the Times Higher Education World University Rankings 2026.

Ateneo is placed in the 1001–1200 band, ahead of the University of the Philippines at 1201–1500. De La Salle University, Mapúa University, Mindanao State University–Iligan Institute of Technology and the University of Santo Tomas are ranked 1501+.

Based on the reported scores, Ateneo’s strongest advantage is research quality, where it received 64.7—the highest result among the six Philippine institutions. This performance helped offset its lower research-environment score of 11.2 and placed it at the head of the national group.

Ateneo de Manila (Rank 1001 - 1200) - Score: 32.1 - 35.4

University of the Philippines (Rank 1201 - 1500) - Score: 27.3 - 32.0

De La Salle University (Rank 1501+) - Score: 10.3 - 27.2

Mapua University (Rank 1501+) - Score: 10.3 - 27.2

Mindanao State University - Iligan Institute of Technology (Rank: 1501+) - Score: 10.3 - 27.2

University of Santo Tomas (Rank 1501+) - Score: 10.3 - 27.2

UP recorded the most balanced institutional profile. It led the six universities in teaching at 27.4, research environmentat 17.9 and industry engagement at 28.9. Its research-quality score of 39.0, however, remained well behind Ateneo’s.

UST achieved the country’s strongest international outlook score at 59.5. MSU-IIT followed with 39.1, narrowly ahead of UP at 38.6. These results indicate that Philippine universities are developing international connections even when their research resources and influence remain comparatively limited.