IBADAN: The University of Ibadan (UI), Oyo State, has reclaimed its position as Nigeria’s best university in the Times Higher Education (THE) World University Rankings 2026.
According to the ranking released on Thursday, UI ranked within the 801–1,000 band globally, outpacing other leading Nigerian institutions to return to the top spot it last held in 2023.
The latest edition of the global ranking assessed 2,191 universities from 115 countries, using 18 performance indicators across five key metrics — teaching, research environment, research quality, industry engagement, and international outlook.
UI climbed from fourth place in the 2025 ranking to first in 2026, displacing Covenant University, which held the top position for two consecutive years (2024 and 2025).
Following UI in the national ranking are the University of Lagos (UNILAG), Bayero University, Kano (BUK), and Covenant University (CU), ranked second, third, and fourth respectively.
The report also highlighted that UNILAG achieved the highest score in research quality (66.7), while BUK led in international outlook. Covenant University maintained its dominance in industry engagement, reflecting strong ties with corporate partners.
Globally, THE analyzed more than 174.9 million citations from 18.7 million research publications, alongside feedback from over 108,000 scholars, reflecting shifts in research impact and institutional reputation.
Out of 51 Nigerian universities featured in the 2026 ranking:
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UI and UNILAG were placed between 801–1,000,
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BUK, CU, and Landmark University ranked within 1001–1200,
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While Ahmadu Bello University, FUT Minna, University of Ilorin, University of Jos, and University of Nigeria, Nsukka were in the 1201–1500 range.
Another 14 universities were placed above 1501, while 27 were unranked.
The Times Higher Education (THE) ranking is recognized globally as an independent benchmark for academic excellence, using data and metrics to evaluate performance across teaching, research, and innovation.
To qualify for inclusion, universities must teach undergraduates, produce multidisciplinary research, and have published at least 1,000 scholarly papers between 2020 and 2024 with a minimum of 100 annually.
