PH breaks into QS global top 100 by subject, but still far behind SEA neighbors

MANILA, Philippines — Two Philippine schools have placed for the first time in the global top 100 of QS' world university rankings by subject, according to its latest edition, but the country still trails its Southeast Asian neighbors with higher-ranked academic programs.

Ateneo de Manila University entered the 51–100 band in Theology, Divinity & Religious Studies, climbing from 101–150 last year. The University of the Philippines debuted in the same band for Library & Information Management, a subject in which it had not previously been ranked. Neither university had placed in the top 100 in any discipline before.

The Commission on Higher Education called the two schools' placements a "historic breakthrough for the country."

Hospitality & Leisure Management also emerged as the Philippines' strongest subject, based on QS' rankings, with three schools — Adamson University, Lyceum of the Philippines University and UP — all placing in the global top 200.

The rankings, released late March by London-based higher education analysts Quacquarelli Symonds (QS), evaluate how specific academic programs — not universities — stack up globally. Unlike QS' overall university rankings, which rate institutions as a whole, the subject edition zeroes in on specific disciplines, from archaeology to veterinary science, across 55 fields.

Programs are scored on five indicators, weighted differently by discipline: how academics and employers worldwide rate the institution in that field, and how its research performs in terms of citation impact, productivity, and international collaboration. 

Research data is drawn from Elsevier's Scopus database; reputation scores come from global surveys of over 150,000 academics and 100,000 employers.

Rankings like QS have faced growing scrutiny, particularly from academics in developing countries who say the metrics favor well-funded Western institutions. Fidel Nemenzo, former UP Diliman chancellor, wrote in a BusinessWorld piece this month that the system rewards what is easily counted — citations, publication volume — while ignoring teaching quality and public service. 

QS' latest rankings by subject show a considerable gap between the Philippines and its regional peers. Malaysia fielded 356 ranked entries from 28 institutions, with 44 programs in the global top 100, 14 in the top 50, and one in the top 10. 

Indonesia had 189 entries from 26 universities and 15 were in the top 100. Thailand had 170 entries from 16 institutions and 18 top-100 programs. The Philippines had 47 programs from six schools — and two in the top 100.

Of the Philippines' 47 ranked programs, 14 climbed in rank, five dropped, 19 stayed stable and nine were new. Seven entries hit record-high ranks: UP in Library & Information Management, History (201–250), Arts & Humanities (257), and Life Sciences & Medicine (316); Ateneo in Theology; Adamson in Hospitality & Leisure Management (101–150); and De La Salle University in Philosophy (151–200).

Hospitality as the Philippines' best program

The Philippines' highest showing in any single discipline came in Hospitality & Leisure Management, where three schools placed in the global top 200, more than in any other subject.

Adamson University debuted at 101–150, the highest Philippine rank in the field. Lyceum of the Philippines University ranked 151–175, and UP debuted in the same band. Both Adamson and Lyceum were entirely new to the QS subject rankings this year.

No other program offering performed at this level. The next most represented programs — Business & Management Studies, Economics & Econometrics, English Language & Literature, and Politics & International Studies — each had three schools ranked, but none placed higher than the 151–200 band.

The University of the Philippines accounted for 22 of the country's 39 narrow subject entries — more than half — and all four broad faculty area entries.