ONCE AGAIN soaring high, the University of the Philippines (UP) Manila and UP Diliman have secured spots among the world’s top universities for 2025, according to the Center for World University Rankings (CWUR).

Out of 21,462 universities assessed by the awarding body, UP Manila ranked 1,677, placing it in the top 7.9%, while UP Diliman followed closely at 1,784, falling within the top 8.4%.

Proudly representing the Philippines on the global ranking, these two campuses of the same institution were the only ones from the country to make it to the 2025 Global 2000 list, which was published on June 2.

UP On Top

Based on the reports, UP Manila earned an overall score of 67.4, slightly edging out UP Diliman’s 67. Moreover, UP Manila ranked 1,047 in employment outcomes and 1,607 in research performance.

Aside from its strong reputation in medical and scientific research, UP Manila is also advancing work in Artificial Intelligence, data science, digital ecosystems, and human-centered technologies.

UP Diliman’s employment ranking was not listed, but its research ranking stood at 1711. Meanwhile, in the Asia Regional Rankings, UP Manila placed 646th, while UP Diliman followed at 696th.

Improving The Quality

Since 2012, the CWUR has published its academic rankings mainly to help governments and higher education institutions improve their educational quality and research performance.

Universities are assessed using four main indicators: education (25%), employability (25%), quality of faculty (10%), and research output (40%), making it a comprehensive evaluation of institutional strength.

In March 2025, UP Manila secured the 479th spot in the U.S. News & World Report’s annual list of the top 500 Best Global Universities—making it the only university from the Philippines to earn a place on the list released by the U.S.-based media organization.

These rankings are based on 13 performance indicators that measure institutions’ research impact, as well as their global and regional reputations.

Among the metrics used are total number of publications, citation count, published books, international collaborations, conference papers, and standings in both regional and global research influence.