Rankings published on 2 March 2025 by EduRank have placed the University of the Philippines (UP) Diliman at the top of the Philippine standings, marking another year of impressive performance for the country’s premier state university system.

The latest list, which evaluates colleges and universities based on research outputs, non-academic prominence, and alumni influence, was compiled by examining 850,000 citations drawn from 80,000 academic publications produced by 229 Philippine institutions, alongside the popularity of 1,163 recognized alumni.

These factors, combined with data from the largest reference database available, helped EduRank produce an overall Top 10 that begins with UP Diliman, followed by De La Salle University, Ateneo de Manila University, the University of Santo Tomas, and UP Los Baños.

Completing the group are UP Manila, the University of San Carlos, Mapúa University, Mindanao State University, and the Asian Institute of Management, highlighting the wide array of academic strengths found throughout the archipelago.

One of the most noteworthy narratives to emerge from this latest ranking is the strong performance of the state uni system system, with three of its campuses — UP Diliman, UP Los Baños, and UP Manila — securing spots among the top contenders. UP Diliman retained its place at the forefront, buoyed by its prolific research programs and a roster of well-recognized alumni whose influence stretches far beyond the university’s halls.

UP Los Baños, long reputed for its specialized focus on agriculture and life sciences, came in fifth, while UP Manila, renowned for its emphasis on the health sciences, took sixth.

De La Salle University, holding steady in second overall, also continues to serve as a cornerstone of Philippine higher education, combining a reputable business curriculum with rigorous research endeavors.

Categorical standouts

Beyond these institutional standings, EduRank’s category-specific analyses provide additional insight into the distinct academic niches where certain universities excel. In the realm of Business, De La Salle University once again stands out, topping the list ahead of UP Diliman and UP Los Baños, while in Engineering, UP Diliman assumes the lead, followed by De La Salle University and Mapúa University.

Computer Science sees De La Salle University pushing ahead into first place with UP Diliman second and Mapúa again third, reflecting the growing importance of technological fields in the country’s higher education framework.

Meanwhile, when it comes to Medicine, UP Manila proves its dominance by taking first place, as its sister campus, UP Diliman, and De La Salle University fill in the subsequent ranks.

Global leaders

Beyond the local context, EduRank’s overview also reveals the broader contours of the global academic environment. Using a dataset that encompasses 2.96 billion citations linked to 115 million academic publications from 14,131 universities worldwide — and further factoring in the influence of 233,449 recognized alumni — EduRank places Harvard University firmly in the top global spot. Stanford University follows closely at second, while the University of Michigan – Ann Arbor takes third.

Notably, England's Oxford University sits just behind these American giants at fourth place, demonstrating the competitive nature of the highest echelons of global academia.