'Reporter' no more: UST obtains rank in THE World University Rankings for the first time

THE UNIVERSITY of Santo Tomas (UST) finally secured a ranking in the Times Higher Education (THE) World University Rankings, where it also emerged as the third best university in the Philippines.

UST got an overall ranking of 1501+, its first rank since the assessment was established in 2004.

Last year, the University fell short of obtaining a rank due to lack of published research works and was only granted a “reporter” status.

READ: UST fails to secure 2023 Times Higher Education ranking, gets ‘Reporter’ status

In its 2024 edition, THE said UST met the publication threshold of 1,000 relevant research publications over the past five years and at least 150 papers each year, an eligibility criterion that the University met as early as March 2023.

Among Philippine universities with rankings, UST ranked third behind Ateneo de Manila University (1001-1200) and the University of the Philippines (1201-1500). It was tied with De La Salle University for third place.

THE chief global affairs officer Phil Baty praised UST for its first-ever rank in the global university rankings system, citing its performance in the international outlook pillar.

“I am delighted to see that the University of Santo Tomas [entered] the Times Higher Education World University Rankings for the first time, newly ranked in the band 1501+ is a great achievement. Of particular note is the fact that in [its] international outlook pillar, it has a score of 67, which is well above the world median,” Baty told The Flame through a representative.

“To make the rankings, amid great and growing international competition, and to gain a place among this group, is a landmark achievement,” he added.

UST was ranked across five key areas, namely, teaching (19.6), research environment (9.5), research quality (25.8), international outlook (67) and industry (20.7).

According to THE, the España university scored below the world median across the areas of research environment, research quality and industry. UST lagged behind the teaching pillar despite achieving a good score in the student staff ratio indicator, THE added.

For its latest edition, THE developed its methodology by increasing its performance indicators from 13 to 18. Among the new indicators were research strength (5%), research excellence (5%), research influence (5%) and patents (2%). Its metric for studying abroad currently weighs 0%.

Ten Philippine institutions obtained a “reporter” status in the latest THE assessment, namely, Cebu Technological University, Central Luzon State University, University of Eastern Philippines, Mapua University, Mariano Marcos State University, Mindanao State University – Iligan Institute of Technology, Nueva Ecija University of Science and Technology, University of Science Technology of Southern Philippines, Tarlac Agricultural University and Visayas State University.

The 2024 Times Higher Education World University Rankings ranked 1,904 universities across 108 countries while 769 institutions were given a “reporter” status. F

Editor’s note: This article has been edited to include the Philippine universities that obtained a “reporter” status in the 2024 Times Higher Education World University Rankings.