Local rankings
There are no set methods for ranking institutions in the Philippines. Aside from comparisons in terms of accreditation, autonomy, and centers of excellence awarded by the Commission on Higher Education (CHED), there are attempts to rank schools based on performance in board exams conducted by the Professional Regulation Commission (PRC). The PRC and CHED sometimes publish reports on these results.
FindUniversity.ph publishes the lists of top schools in each PRC regulated board exam, aggregated over the past four exams. These lists are updates regularly based on the PRC's publications of the performance of schools in each exam. The FindUniversity.ph website has also created the Weighted Board Exam Ranking which ranks Philippines HEI based on their ranking in all board exams their graduates have participated in. This ranking is also based on the last four exams of each board exam, and takes into account first time takers only, and only schools that had a total of at least 10 participants in the last four exams of each board exam.
In 2009, CHED executive director Julito Vitriolo said that they are in the process of establishing appropriate guidelines to rank Philippine universities and colleges for each specific academic program or discipline. As of June 2015, such rankings do not exist yet.
International rankings
Internationally, the Ateneo de Manila University, De La Salle University, the University of the Philippines, and the University of Santo Tomas are those that had been regularly listed as among the region and world's top universities in league tables and surveys such as in the now-defunct Asiaweek university rankings (which last ranked universities in 1999 and 2000), and the THES-QS World University Rankings in 2005, 2006, and 2008. In the 2007 THES-QS rankings, only UP and the Ateneo remained in the THES-QS rankings' top 500. In 2008, Ateneo, La Salle, UP, and UST once again placed in the rankings, with the Ateneo ranked 254th in the world, UP at 276th while De La Salle University and the University of Santo Tomas both placed in the Top 401-500 category Ateneo and UP were also ranked among the top 100 universities worldwide in the field of the arts and humanities. The THES-QS rankings are mainly based on peer review survey, while the Asiaweek rankings were measured on the university's endowment and resources. In the 2009 world rankings, two Philippine universities made it to the top 300, with the Ateneo de Manila University ranked 234th and the University of the Philippines ranked 262nd. De La Salle University was ranked within the 401-500 range, whereas the University of Santo Tomas was ranked below 500. Individual subject areas were also ranked in the following categories: Arts and Humanities, Engineering/Technology, Natural Sciences, Life Sciences & Biomedicine, and Social Sciences. The Ateneo and UP ranked 88th and 93rd, respectively, in Arts and Humanities, 243rd and 281st, respectively, in Engineering/Technology, 114th and 176th, respectively, in Natural Sciences, 186th and 171st, respectively, in Life Sciences & Biomedicine, and 138th and 123rd, respectively, in Social Sciences, where La Salle was ranked 292nd.
There are other university rankings based on different methodologies and criteria. In the Webometrics Ranking of World Universities by a Spanish research body, which measures a university's Internet presence and the volume of research output freely accessible online, has UP and La Salle ranked ahead of other local universities. On the other hand, in the Shanghai Jiao Tong University Academic Ranking of World Universities, which is based on Nobel Prize winners, Fields medals for mathematicians, highly cited researchers, or articles in Nature or Science; and, the École des Mines de Paris rankings, which is according to the number of alumni who are the CEOs of the Fortune 500 companies, do not have Philippine universities in the top 500.
In the QS 2009 top Asian universities rankings, 16 Philippine schools participated or have been included in the survey. These schools were: Adamson University, the Ateneo de Davao University, the Ateneo de Manila University, Central Mindanao University, De La Salle University, Father Saturnino Urios University, the Mapua Institute of Technology, Mindanao State University, the Polytechnic University of the Philippines, Saint Louis University (Philippines), Silliman University, the University of the Philippines, the University of San Carlos, the University of Santo Tomas, the University of Southeastern Philippines, and Xavier University.
Unlike the THE-QS world university rankings, the QS 2009 Asian University Rankings is limited in scope to Asian institutions, surveys only parties in Asia, and utilizes different criteria compared to those used in the THE-QS rankings. Given these criteria, four Philippine schools ranked among the top 200: the University of the Philippines (63rd), De La Salle University (76th), Ateneo de Manila University (84th) and the University of Santo Tomas (104th). In the subject areas, four Philippine universities figured in the region's top 100: For Arts and Humanities, the University of the Philippines (12th), the Ateneo de Manila University (19th), De La Salle University (44th), and the University of Santo Tomas (55th) were recognized. For Life Sciences and Biomedicine, the University of the Philippines (47th), the Ateneo de Manila University (52nd), De La Salle University (79th), and the University of Santo Tomas (85th) were recognized. For Natural Sciences, the Ateneo de Manila University (24th),the University of the Philippines (32nd), the University of Santo Tomas (94th), and De La Salle University (97th) were recognized. For Social Sciences, the University of the Philippines (22nd), the Ateneo de Manila University (28th), De La Salle University (51st), and the University of Santo Tomas (75th) were recognized. For IT and Engineering, the University of the Philippines (63rd), the Ateneo de Manila University (64th), and De La Salle University (79th) were recognized. For other indicators, Philippine schools made it to the top 100 in all but three of the ranking criteria (student-faculty ratio, papers per faculty, and citations per paper).
In the same 2009 QS Asian University Ranking, more Philippine universities were included in the top 500 bracket. In terms International Student Review: Ateneo de Manila University (70th), De La Salle University (76th), Silliman University (111th), University of Santo Tomas (183rd), Saint Louis University (Philippines) (216th), University of San Carlos (250th), Mapua Institute of Technology (267th), University of the Philippines (281st), Polytechnic University of the Philippines (345th), Fr. Saturnino Urios University (368th).
In terms of International Faculty Review, the rankings were as follows: Ateneo de Manila University (73rd), University of the Philippines (151st), Silliman University (216th), De La Salle University (283rd), Saint Louis University (Philippines) (288th), University of Santo Tomas (321st), while Fr. Saturnino University, Mapua Institute of Technology, Polytechnic University of the Philippines and the University of San Carlos tied at the 324th spot.
In 2010, the universities above were included in the QS Asian Universities Survey. Overall, the Ateneo de Manila University (58th), the University of the Philippines (78th), the University of Santo Tomas (101st), and De La Salle University (106th) were ranked among the top 100 in Asia. In the various subject areas, the four universities were among the Asian top 100. For Arts and Humanities, the Ateneo de Manila University (14th), the University of the Philippines (16th), De La Salle University (54th), and the University of Santo Tomas (69th) were recognized. For Life Sciences and Biomedicine, the University of the Philippines (32nd), the Ateneo de Manila University (38th), the University of Santo Tomas (69th), and De La Salle University (84th) were recognized. For Natural Sciences, the Ateneo de Manila University (22nd), the University of the Philippines (31st), and De La Salle University (88th) were recognized. For Social Sciences, the University of the Philippines (18th), the Ateneo de Manila University (25th), De La Salle University (48th), and the University of Santo Tomas (83rd) were recognized. For IT and Engineering, the Ateneo de Manila University (57th), the University of the Philippines (62nd), and De La Salle University (80th) were recognized.
In the other academic criteria, Philippine universities were represented in all but two indicators (international student review and international faculty review). For Academic Peer Review, the University of the Philippines and Ateneo de Manila University posted the same scores (96.0), and were ranked 23rd and 24th, respectively. De La Salle University and the University of Santo Tomas were ranked 70th and 90th, respectively. For Asian recruiter review, the University of the Philippines (22nd), the Ateneo de Manila University (25th), De La Salle University (29th), and the University of Santo Tomas (59th) were recognized. For Student-Faculty ratio, the University of Southeastern Philippines was the only Philippine school recognized, at 43rd. For citations per paper, the University of Santo Tomas was ranked 8th, the only Philippine school recognized in that category. For International Student Exchange-Inbound, the Ateneo de Manila University (48th) and University of San Carlos (53rd) were recognized. For International Student Exchange-Outbound, the Ateneo de Manila University was the only Philippine school recognized, ranking 41st.
Quacquarelli Symonds Asian Rankings 2013
University of the Philippines 67th
Ateneo de Manila University 109th
University of Santo Tomas 150th
De La Salle University 151st-160th
University of Southeastern Philippines 251-300th
Quacquarelli Symonds Asian Rankings 2014
University of the Philippines 63rd
Ateneo de Manila University 115th
University of Santo Tomas 141st
De La Salle University 151st-160th
Ateneo de Davao University 251-300th
Views of the THES-QS rankings
Rankings such as the THES-QS have been received with mixed reactions. In 2006, Ang Pamantasan, the official student paper of Pamantasan ng Lungsod ng Maynila, published the university's criticism on the rankings, saying that the THES-QS criteria do not apply to the unique landscape of each participating universities, and that such rankings say nothing or very little about whether students are actually learning at particular colleges or universities.
On the same year, the University of the Philippines, through its University President Emerlinda Román, expressed that it does not want to participate in the THES-QS Ranking, but was included in 2007 with an incomplete academic profile. That same year, Ateneo de Manila University President Fr. Bienvenido Nebres, S.J. commented on the rankings, pointing out that rankings such as these did not adequately reflect the university's progress or how well it has been working toward achieving its mission-vision.
In 2007, the Ateneo administration reiterated its position on several occasions, even given an improvement in the 2007 rankings.
In 2008, the University of the Philippines questioned the validity of the 2008 THES-QS rankings, claiming that the methodology used was "problematic", and cited the International Ranking Systems for Universities and Institutions: A Critical Appraisal, which found out that The Times simply asks 190,000 'experts' to list what they regard as the top 30 universities in their field of expertise without providing input data on any performance indicators, as one of the bases for rejecting the said survey. Furthermore, the UP said that THES-QS refused to divulge how and where the data were taken from, and instead, advised the university to advertise at the THES-QS website for US$ 48,930 publicity package. CHED Chairperson Emmanuel Angeles, on the other hand, commended all four Philippine universities that made it to the list. He also suggested that Philippine schools would get better in the future THES-QS rankings if they choose to advertise in the THES-QS publications and when budgetary allocations for faculty and researchers, particularly at UP, would become better in the coming years. The Ateneo administration, instead of directly commenting on the 2008 rankings, allowed the publication of an opinion-editorial article on its website, which basically reiterated the same position, even after further improvement.
In 2009, the University of Santo Tomas expressed that "it will be very difficult for a university to rank high in such surveys unless they enjoy big media mileage or they have extensive press releases to advertise themselves". Furthermore, UST lamented that, "it is quite puzzling that another university in the country ranked much higher than UST in the field of Life Sciences and Biomedicine when it hardly offers any course in the field like Pharmacy, Medical Technology, Nursing, Physical and Occupational Therapy". Despite repeated invitations to participate in conference sponsored by the THES-QS and to advertise the University in its websites and publications, UST strongly refused to do so. The Ateneo administration maintained its previous positions following the 2009 rankings, however actively participates in the survey.
In 2010, following publication of the 2010 QS Asian University Rankings, there were varied responses. The Ateneo administration maintained its previous positions, and together with some faculty members, expressed some satisfaction with the rankings, but committed to continue work on improving the university. In the University of Santo Tomas, some administrators noted their performance vis-a-vis other schools in terms of academic peer review, while the editorial of their student paper noted that some things were amiss with the rankings, noting their university's performance in local board examinations and the marketing and advertising aspect of the rankings.