Covenant University, University of Ibadan rank among Nigeria’s top universities in 2024 – Report 

Covenant University has once again solidified its status as Nigeria’s leading institution in the 2024 Times Higher Education (THE) World University Rankings, followed by the University of Ibadan (UI).

Covenant University ranked in the 801-1000 range globally, maintaining its title as the highest-ranked Nigerian university from the previous year.

The 2024 Times Higher Education rankings assessed universities across five major areas: teaching, research environment, research quality, industry income, and international outlook. The ratings were determined using 18 carefully calibrated performance indicators to gauge the comprehensive effectiveness of each institution.

These include analysis of over 134 million citations from 16.5 million research publications, along with survey responses from over 68,000 scholars globally.

Speaking on the data, THE stated, “Overall, we collected 411,789 datapoints from more than 2,673 institutions that submitted data,” reflecting the rigorous evaluation process.

The Federal University of Technology Akure (FUTA), the University of Lagos, and Bayero University were also listed among the best institutions in the country. These universities have been recognized for their efforts in improving the quality of education and research, positioning them as important contributors to Nigeria’s higher education sector.

Top 10 ranked Nigerian universities:

• Covenant University

• University of Ibadan

• Federal University of Technology Akure

• University of Lagos

• Bayero University

• University of Ilorin

• University of Nigeria, Nsukka

• Afe Babalola University

• University of Benin

• Federal University of Agriculture, Abeokuta

Global rankings  

While Nigerian universities strive for greater visibility, the University of Oxford topped the global rankings for the eighth consecutive year. Stanford University rose to second place, pushing Harvard University to fourth, while the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) climbed to third. The University of Cambridge, which was in joint third last year, slipped to fifth place.

This year’s Times Higher Education World Rankings saw notable changes, with Italy’s Catholic University of the Sacred Heart making its debut in the 301-350 range. The US leads with 169 institutions overall, and 56 in the top 200. India surpassed China with 91 institutions, becoming the fourth most-represented country. Four European nations entered the rankings for the first time, contrasting with last year’s trend when all the new entrants were from Africa.

Stanford University topped the teaching pillar, Oxford and Cambridge led in research environment, and MIT ranked first in research quality. The University of Sharjah (UAE) excelled in international outlook, and 28 institutions achieved a perfect score in industry connections.

 Here are the top 10 universities globally: 

• University of Oxford, UK

• Stanford University, US

• Massachusetts Institute of Technology, US

• Harvard University, US

• University of Cambridge, UK

• Princeton University, US

• California Institute of Technology, US

• Imperial College London, UK

• University of California, Berkeley, US
• Yale University, US