Ateneo de Manila University and the University of the Philippines (UP) have tied as the country's best universities, according to the 2025 Times Higher Education (THE) Asia University Rankings.
According to the results announced Thursday, both Ateneo and UP fell under the 501-600 ranks out of 853 universities across 35 countries and regions in Asia. This, nonetheless, translates to Ateneo falling in ranking this year since it was ranked in the 401–500 category in 2024 for the same ranking. UP, on the other hand, held its rank in the same rank as in the previous year.
The rank of De La Salle University (DLSU) also fell from the 501–600 category in 2024 to the 601+ category in 2025. There were 15 other institutions of higher education that were listed as "reporter," i.e., they reported data but did not qualify this year.
Tsinghua University
Across all of Asia, Mainland China was again at the top of the rankings, with Tsinghua University at number one for seven years running now. Five of the top 10 universities on the continent were Chinese. Singaporean, Japanese, and Hong Kong institutions also featured in the top 10. The THE said that the Asia University Rankings employed the same methodology as the global rankings, but the weightings were recalibrated to accommodate the priorities of Asian institutions.
The THE employed 18 performance indicators, which were categorized into five areas: Teaching (the learning environment); Research environment (volume, income and reputation); Research quality (citation impact, research strength, research excellence and research influence; International outlook (staff, students and research); and Industry (income and patents).
