MANILA, Philippines — Ateneo de Manila University ranked first among Philippine institutions in the Times Higher Education (THE) World University Rankings for the fifth year in a row.

The Ateneo was in the 1001-1200 bracket among 2,297 institutions on the 2027 list topped by the University of Oxord.

"The primary engine of the Ateneo's overall global position is its research quality, with a score of 66.9—up from just 52.4 in 2024. It far outstripped its local rivals and many international institutions to land in the 705th spot for the metric worldwide," a statement from the Ateneo Research Communications said.

Locally, next to the Ateneo were the University of the Philippines which was in the 1201-1400 bracket, University of Santo Tomas which was in the 1601-1800 bracket, De La Salle University and Mapua University which were in the 1801-2000 bracket, and Mindanao State University-Iligan Institute of Technology which was in the 2001+ bracket.

The statement mentioned that the Ateneo "joined the 2022 edition as an unranked institution" and "jumped to first place" among Philippine institutions in the 2023 edition then maintained its lead since.

"Globally, the University of Oxford held the top position for a record 11th consecutive year. But the 2027 list highlights the growing presence of Asian institutions among the world's leading universities," the statement read.

"Three Asian universities appeared in the top 15: China's Tsinghua University, which overtook Switzerland's ETH Zurich to take 11th place; followed by Peking University in 13th place; and the National University of Singapore in the 15th spot," the statement read.

It also stated that the assessment was based on "five pillars" which were teaching, research, environment, research quality, industry, and international outlook.

"The rankings provide an international benchmark and help students evaluate institutions, guide researchers in international collaboration, and allow universities to identify areas for improvement," it read.

The statement from the Ateneo Research Communications also said, "While no ranking captures the full value of a university's work, the THE's assessment offers an external measure of institutional performance in a global context, which can be considered in assessing an institution's fulfilment of its mission and vision."