MANILA — The University of San Carlos in Cebu City joined the "Big 4" universities in the Philippines as it secured a place in the latest world university rankings released Wednesday by a UK-based higher education firm.

The said university claimed a spot in the 1,201-1,400 bracket of the 2024 World University Rankings by Quacquarelli Symonds (QS).

Last year's rankings only featured four universities from the Philippines, namely the University of the Philippines (UP), Ateneo de Manila University, De La Salle University (DLSU), and the University of Santo Tomas (UST).

Meanwhile, UP continued its streak as the highest ranked university from the Philippines as it grabbed the 404th spot in the world rankings.

• UP, Ateneo slip in latest QS world university rankings

This, while also improving its standing from the 2023 rankings as it previously held on to the 412th spot.

Ateneo also placed higher this year, improving to the 563rd spot from last year's 651-700 bracket.

DLSU had by far the largest improvement in the Philippine universities included in the rankings as it jumped to the 681-690 bracket from its previous placement at 801-1,000 bracket.

UST retained its spot at the 801-850 bracket from its previous 801-1,000 place.

QS assessed almost 1,500 institutions from around the world through the following indicators: academic reputation, employer reputation, faculty and student ratio, citations per faculty, and international student and international faculty ratio.

The Massachusetts Institute of Technology in the United States also remained at the top university in the world, according to the QS rankings.

Meanwhile, the National University of Singapore also kept its place as the No. 1 school in Asia, while also placing 8th in the world.