The University of Ilorin (UNILORIN) has emerged as Nigeria’s highest-ranked university for research quality in the Times Higher Education (THE) World University Rankings 2027, scoring 69.4 per cent.
The result, released on September 30, places UNILORIN ahead of the University of Lagos, Bayero University, Kano, and the University of Ibadan on the research quality metric. The ranking was unveiled at the World Academic Summit hosted by the University of Cape Town, South Africa.
Reacting to the ranking, UNILORIN Vice-Chancellor, Prof. Wahab Olasupo Egbewole, SAN, attributed the performance to years of sustained academic research. He said the result reflected the work of scholars whose publications have gained international readership and citations.
The university’s Project Manager for University Ranking Implementation, Prof. Suleiman Folorunso Ambali, said THE assesses universities across five broad areas: teaching, research environment, research quality, international outlook and industry.
According to Ambali, research quality is UNILORIN’s strongest area. The university scored 69.4 per cent, compared with 67.8 for the University of Lagos, 66.5 for Bayero University and 64.9 for the University of Ibadan. UNILORIN’s score was also 26 points above the national average of 43.3 per cent.
The research quality score, which accounts for 30 per cent of THE’s overall assessment, combines four field-normalised indicators: citation impact, research strength, research excellence and research influence.
Ambali said UNILORIN also improved its overall global position, moving from the 1,201–1,500 band in the 2026 edition to the 1,001–1,200 band in 2027. The university is among seven Nigerian institutions ranked within the global top 1,200 and is joint fourth nationally alongside Ahmadu Bello University, Bayero University and Landmark University.
He said Nigeria had 29 universities in the 2027 rankings, up from 24 the previous year, making it the country with the highest number of ranked universities in sub-Saharan Africa. He added that targeted improvement efforts could help UNILORIN and Ahmadu Bello University move into the 801–1,000 band in the 2028 edition.
Egbewole described the achievement as “a milestone, not a destination,” noting that the university still needs to improve its global academic reputation, research funding and doctoral output. He urged staff to maintain research momentum, publish in indexed journals, strengthen international collaborations and ensure accurate documentation of the university’s scholarly work.
The vice-chancellor reaffirmed UNILORIN’s Vision 1:10:500, which seeks to make the university Nigeria’s leading institution, place it among Africa’s top 10 and position it within the global top 500. Ambali similarly said the next priority was to ensure greater international recognition of research produced by the university.
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