The University of Santo Tomas obtained second place among Philippine universities ranked by Times Higher Education for its Asia rankings, released on April 24, 2025.
UST also ranks second in the Philippines for the Times Higher Education (THE) World Rankings by Subject 2025, particularly for Medicine and Health, placing at the 601st to 800th bracket.
THE used 18 calibrated performance indicators for the rankings, which were grouped 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).
Compared to its 2024 figures, UST improved in the Research Quality, Research Environment, and Teaching metrics even as it maintained its place in the 601st to 800th bracket.
Along with UST, De La Salle University – Manila, Mapúa University, and the Mindanao State University – Iligan Institute of Technology also placed in the 601st to 800th bracket. Six Philippine HEIs were ranked, with 15 more Philippine HEIs obtaining a ‘reporter’ status that indicates that a university has submitted data for the rankings.
According to the Presidential Communications Office, as of 2024, there were 1,977 HEIs in the Philippines, including 113 state universities and colleges (SUCs), 137 local universities and colleges (LUCs); 1,714 private HEIs; and 13 other government schools (OGS), CHED-supervised institutions, and special schools.
Earlier in the same month, teacher education programs from the UST College of Education were recognized by the Commission on Higher Education (CHED) through the Excellence in Quality Assurance in Teacher Education (EQUATE) Awards given on April 2, 2025.
UST’s teacher education degree programs include: Bachelor of Secondary Education (with majors in English, Filipino, Mathematics, Religious and Values Education, Science, and Social Studies); Bachelor of Early Childhood Education; Bachelor of Elementary Education; and Bachelor of Special Needs Education.
The award “is a recognition of your institution’s consistent upholding of the highest standard in ensuring the quality of pre-service teacher education programs, following the CHED minimum standards, program accreditation, and excellent performance in the Board of Licensure Examination for Professional Teachers,” wrote then CHED Chairman J. Prospero E. De Vera III in a letter dated March 28, 2025.
The EQUATE award is the latest recognition of these programs, as CHED has recognized the Elementary and Secondary Education programs since 2008 as two of UST’s 13 Centers of Excellence, while the Professional Regulation Commission has repeatedly recognized the University for being one of the top performing schools in the respective licensure exams. The Philippine Association of Colleges and Universities Commission on Accreditation (PACUCOA) also accredited BSEd and BEEd at the highest level of IV. Internationally, the ASEAN University Network – Quality Assurance (AUN-QA) has also certified the Bachelor of Secondary Education and Bachelor of Special Needs Education, effective until 2028.