PH’s globally-ranked HEIs up by 82% at 173 – CHED

By Stephanie Sevillano, Philippine News Agency

Commission on Higher Education (CHED) Chairperson Shirley Agrupis (Commission on Higher Education(CHED)/facebook)

MANILA – The Commission on Higher Education (CHED) on Tuesday said globally-ranked higher education institutions (HEIs) in the Philippines now rose to 173.

This comes as the CHED awarded leading universities among the globally-ranked HEIs at the ICONS Awards 2025 held at the Philippine International Convention Center (PICC) on Dec. 10.

“This continuity shows the strategic value of ICONS—not simply as a recognition ceremony, but as a mechanism for measuring progress, sustaining international momentum, and normalizing a culture of global engagement across our higher education system,” CHED Chairperson Shirley Agrupis said in a statement.

This year’s performance shows an 82 percent increase from 95 recognized HEIs in major global ranking systems in 2024.

The agency then recognized HEIs with strong performance in various global ranking systems, including the Times Higher Education (THE) World, Asia, and Impact Rankings, the Quacquarelli Symonds (QS) Rankings, and the World University Rankings for Innovation (WURI).

Among the awarded State Universities and Colleges (SUC) or private HEI programs are Mariano Marcos State University, Maritime Academy of Asia and the Pacific, University of the Philippines Diliman, De La Salle-College of Saint Benilde, Quezon City University, Saint Louis University, Ifugao State University, and St. Dominic College of Asia.

Besides these awards, the CHED also stressed the importance of the ratification of the Tokyo Convention by President Ferdinand R. Marcos Jr., which aligns the country’s higher education system with regional standards.

Agrupis, meanwhile, urged HEIs to continue advancing reforms and ensure a significant impact on learners as they intensify global presence.

“I challenge our HEIs to fully harness instruction, research, and extension—using the strength of their academic programs, the rigor of their research, and the reach of their community engagements—to deepen global engagement and translate internationalization into meaningful impact for their learners and communities,” she said.