Dhaka University, the country's highest echelon of academic excellence, has been achieving a better spot in different global university rankings in recent times for its intense focus on research activities.
In the US News and World Report ranking 2024-25, the university has ranked 560th position among the 2,250 universities from over 100 countries along with securing 146th position among the best universities in Asia with a score of 52.3, reports BSS.
Earlier, DU was ranked 554th in the Quacquarelli Symonds (QS) World University Rankings: 2025, published in the first week of June, making a significant jump from its 2024 ranking of 691-700 to 554th in 2025.
The country's oldest university has never attained a place inside 600 as it had been placed in the 801-1000 range for five consecutive years from 2019 to 2023. The university's previous highest ranking was 601+ in 2012.
It was ranked 701+ from 2014 to 2017 and 701-750 in 2018. The university also saw an improvement in its position last year too, securing 691-700 spot In the US News and World Report ranking 2023-24.
"Dhaka University has been improving in such ranking as the ranking is being conducted and evaluated mostly on research activities and there is no requirement for internal income or teacher-student ratio", said DU Vice Chancellor Prof Dr ASM Maksud Kamal.
Some recent steps taken by the DU authorities, including providing the teachers grants for publication of research papers in recognised international journals and increasing the university's collaboration with foreign universities across the world, have contributed to its leaps in global rankings recently, said the vice-chancellor.
In recent years, the university has been making different plans and intensely working on research activities, the VC said, adding, "A lion portion of the allocation university got during the centenary celebration has been spent on research activities in a very planned way".
Earlier, in the agreement signed by the faculties, they have the condition to publish at least one research in recognised international journals, and thus citation and quality publications have been increased which is being reflected in the rising improvement of the university in different global rankings, said Maksud Kamal.
"As per our recent academic master plans, each faculty will be given a specific target on research not only just conducting research but also publishing the research in the international journal", said Prof Maksud.
The university will see more improvement in global ranking within two years as a result of the plans introduced already, he added.
In the recently published US News and World Report ranking, four other Bangladeshi universities — Rajshahi University (1,076th), Bangladesh University of Engineering and Technology (1,396th), Jahangirnagar University (1,414th) and Bangladesh Agricultural University (1,775th) — have also secured positions in the global ranking.
Among the Asian universities, Rajshahi University ranked 342nd with a score of 41.3 while Bangladesh University of Engineering and Technology (BUET) ranked 488th with a score of 35.7, Jahangirnagar University 500th with a score of 35.5 and Bangladesh Agricultural University stands 689th with a score of 29.
In the rankings, Harvard University holds the first position with a perfect score of 100 out of 100 followed by the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), Stanford University, the University of Oxford and the University of California Berkeley in the top five.
Seven of the top 10 universities are from the US, while three are from the UK.
China has 422 universities included in the rankings, with 37 in the top 300. A total of 140 universities from neighbouring India were on the list, all placed beyond 600. Pakistan has 32 universities in the rankings, with four in the top 600.
