It remains the only Syrian university among the top 2,191 universities from 115 countries worldwide.

Marwan Al-Raeei, director of the Ranking Office at the University of Damascus, said the university preserved its overall standing, ranking in the +1501 category in the edition released on October 9, 2025, according to the state-run Syrian Arab News Agency (SANA).

He noted that this achievement reflects the university’s position among the top 7% of universities and research centers worldwide.

 Al-Raeei explained that the Times ranking relies on precise criteria to measure the quality of education and scientific research at universities around the world. These standards include the volume and impact of research, the proportion of faculty researchers, the level of international collaboration, innovation, and global academic reputation surveys.

According to the ranking’s website, Damascus University has 163,499 students, with each faculty member supervising an average of 56.8 students.

Female students outnumber males, comprising 69% of the total, compared to 31% males.

The percentage of international students reaches 7%, according to data compiled by Times Higher Education as part of its 2026 global university evaluation process.

The Times Higher Education World University Rankings, the most renowned British classification system, evaluates over 2,000 universities from 115 countries and regions.

Oxford University topped the global list for the ninth consecutive year, while the top ten were dominated almost entirely by British and American universities.

At the Arab level, Saudi and Qatari universities occupied the top five positions, followed by universities from the United Arab Emirates, Lebanon, Jordan, and Egypt.

Times Ranking Criteria for Global Universities

The Times Higher Education ranking is based on five main pillars that include 18 detailed indicators, measuring performance in teaching, research, international outlook, and industry collaboration.

• Teaching (29.5%): Evaluates academic reputation, student-to-staff ratio, number of PhD holders, and institutional income as a measure of teaching resources.

• Research Environment (29%): Measures research volume, income, and reputation.

• Research Quality (30%): Focuses on citations, proportion of high-impact publications, and excellence in research output.

• International Outlook (7.5%): Considers the ratio of international students and staff, as well as international research collaborations.

• Industry & Knowledge Transfer (4%): Assesses a university’s ability to collaborate with industry, its applied innovation, and income from industrial partnerships.

Previous Ranking Progress

In May 2025, Damascus University advanced 416 places in the Round University Ranking (RUR), moving to 535th globally after ranking 951st the previous year.

According to a statement issued by the university, it improved in more than 13 indicators across three out of four main sections of the RUR ranking, enhancing its overall international standing.

The RUR ranking, published annually since 2010 by the Moscow-based RUR Agency, evaluates universities’ performance using 20 indicators. Although methodologically reliable, it is considered less influential than global classifications like QS and Times Higher Education (THE).