Abu Dhabi University Breaks into Top 200 in World Rankings, A New Milestone for Gulf Universities

“Rankings are not a be-all and end-all, but rather a tool that universities can use to help them become their best selves.”- These are the words taken from the Times Higher Education Report 2025.

Times Higher Education released world university rankings in 2025. They have released the rankings after comparing 2,000 institutions from 115 countries and different territories.

In this ranking the performance of the institution from gulf nations are highly appreciable. According to the Times Higher Education ranking, Abu Dhabi University King Fahd University of Petroleum and Minerals in Saudi Arabia are the best-ranked higher education institutions in the region.

Oxford University has been the top-ranked university for the nine consecutive years. This is the first time when university from UAE is on the list of top 200 universities on the list. This Abu Dhabi University ranked among the top 350 universities in 2023 and achieved a position of 201-250 in year of 2024. But this year has improved its ranking to 191 this year. Check the full list of university rankings.

According to The Nationals, Times Higher Education chief global affairs officer Phil Baty said, “For a long time I’ve highlighted the incredible growth of higher education in the Arab region and in particular the Gulf states.” “This year is a momentous one as two Arab universities, from Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates, have broken into the top 200. This is a huge testament to the tremendous work taking place to radically improve higher education in those countries and the region, especially with the backing of transformative plans, namely Saudi Arabia’s Vision 2030 and the UAE’s Vision 2031. With the continued investment in higher education in the region, we hope, if the region can remain stable over the coming years, that we should see more universities breaking into the top 200, and even higher.”

Chancellor of Abu Dhabi University, Prof Ghassan Aouad stated, “to be among the top 200 universities in the world is a significant achievement. It’s an achievement for the UAE, not only for the university, but We have also increased our research publications, citations, the number of patents, the quality of teaching and learning, and the engagement with industry.”

This list of universities are prepared by calculating 18 teaching performance indicators covering teaching, research, knowledge transfer and internationalisation.

Legacy of Abu Dhabi University

Abu Dhabi University has risen in global academic rankings reflecting its commitment to excellence in education and research. It is one of the top institutions. Abu Dhabi University continues to be a leading educational institution in the region and beyond.