Meet The Nigerian Universities That Made the Times Higher Education 2027 Global Ranking

Covenant University, the University of Ibadan (UI) and the University of Lagos (UNILAG) have emerged as Nigeria’s highest-ranked universities in the 2027 Times Higher Education (THE) World University Rankings.

The three institutions were placed jointly in the 801–1,000 global band, according to the latest ranking released by Times Higher Education.

Nigeria’s representation also expanded significantly, with 29 universities featuring in the 2027 ranking, compared with 24 in the previous edition.

The ranking evaluates universities using 17 performance indicators grouped under five broad areas: teaching, research environment, research quality, industry engagement and international outlook. The 2027 edition assessed 2,297 universities across 118 countries and territories.

Covenant University, UI and UNILAG recorded overall scores within the 36.4–40.1 range, although their individual performances differed across the ranking indicators.

Covenant recorded its strongest relative performance in industry engagement and international outlook, while UI and UNILAG recorded particularly strong scores in research quality.

Other Nigerian Universities on the List
Four universities Ahmadu Bello University, Bayero University, Landmark University and the University of Ilorin occupied the 1,001, 1,200 band.

Babcock University, Osun State University and the University of Nigeria, Nsukka were placed in the 1,201–1,400 band.

Six institutions Federal University of Technology, Minna; Nnamdi Azikiwe University; Obafemi Awolowo University; University of Benin; University of Jos; and University of Maiduguri featured in the 1,401–1,600 band.

The Federal University of Technology, Akure was placed in the 1,601–1,800 band, while Federal University of Technology, Owerri; Ladoke Akintola University of Technology; Lagos State University; Olabisi Onabanjo University; and University of Calabar occupied the 1,801–2,000 band.

Universities in the 2,001+ category included Delta State University, Ekiti State University, Federal University of Agriculture, Abeokuta, Federal University Oye-Ekiti, Kwara State University, Michael Okpara University of Agriculture, Umudike and the University of Port Harcourt.

Five institutions Osun State University, University of Maiduguri, Olabisi Onabanjo University, Kwara State University and Michael Okpara University of Agriculture, Umudike were among the Nigerian universities newly appearing in the latest ranking.

Globally, the University of Oxford retained the number-one position for the 11th consecutive year. China’s Tsinghua University moved to 11th, while the National University of Singapore entered the global top 15.