Three Nigerian universities have secured positions on the prestigious list of the best 1,000 universities globally for the year 2023,
in a significant recognition of academic excellence,
According to the Times Higher Education World University Rankings 2023, the distinguished trio comprises the University of Ibadan (UI), University of Lagos (UNILAG), and Covenant University.
The rankings, which encompassed 1,799 universities across 104 countries and regions, positioned the University of Ibadan as the top institution in Nigeria, closely followed by UNILAG and Covenant University.
Furthermore, the University of Ibadan clinched the third spot in Africa, trailing behind the University of Witwatersrand in South Africa and Aswan University in Egypt.
While UI and UNILAG were both ranked between 401 and 500 globally, Covenant University secured a position between 600 and 800 but emerged as the 10th best university in Africa.
Notably, beyond these three institutions, no other Nigerian university secured a place among the top 1,000 worldwide.
The rankings also shed light on the performance of other Nigerian universities, with Bayero University Kano (BUK) and the Federal University of Agriculture (FUTA) being ranked between 1,001 and 1,200.
In contrast, Egypt dominated the African rankings with 14 universities, followed by South Africa with five institutions. Tanzania, Kenya, and Uganda each had one university represented.
Topping the global rankings were renowned institutions such as the University of Oxford, Harvard University, and the University of Cambridge. The top 10 universities were predominantly from the United States and the United Kingdom.
The rankings, meticulously compiled using 13 performance indicators across teaching, research, knowledge transfer, and international outlook, reflect the shifting dynamics of the global higher education landscape.
Times Higher Education emphasized the robust methodology behind the rankings, which involved analyzing millions of citations and survey responses from scholars worldwide.
The rankings underscore the significance of academic excellence and institutional performance in shaping the global higher education landscape, serving as a benchmark for students, educators, governments, and industry experts alike.
See the best 10 universities in the world below:
1. University of Oxford
2. Harvard University
3. University of Cambridge
4. Stanford University
5. Massachusetts Institute of Technology
6. California Institute of Technology
7. Princeton University
8. University of California, Berkeley
9. Yale University
10. Imperial College London
According to the Times Higher Education, the table of the ranking was based on 13 carefully calibrated performance indicators that measure an institution’s performance across four areas: teaching, research, knowledge transfer and international outlook.
“This year’s ranking analysed over 121 million citations across more than 15.5 million research publications and included survey responses from 40,000 scholars globally. Overall, we collected over 680,000 datapoints from more than 2,500 institutions that submitted data.
“Trusted worldwide by students, teachers, governments and industry experts, this year’s league table reveals how the global higher education landscape is shifting,” it stated.
“The University of Oxford tops the ranking for the seventh consecutive year. Harvard University remains in second place, but the University of Cambridge jumps from joint fifth last year to joint third.
“The highest new entry is Italy’s Humanitas University, ranked in the 201-250 bracket. The US is the most-represented country overall, with 177 institutions, and also the most represented in the top 200 (58).
“Mainland China now has the fourth-highest number of institutions in the top 200 (11, compared with 10 last year), having overtaken Australia, which has dropped to fifth (joint with the Netherlands).
“Five countries enter the ranking for the first time – all of them in Africa (Zambia, Namibia, Mozambique, Zimbabwe and Mauritius).
“Harvard tops the teaching pillar, while Oxford leads the research pillar. Atop the international pillar is the Macau University of Science and Technology.
“Overall, 1,799 universities are ranked. A further 526 universities are listed with “reporter” status, meaning that they provided data but did not meet our eligibility criteria to receive a rank, and agreed to be displayed as a reporter in the final table,” the added.