Times Higher Education Rankings
Times Higher Education Rankings are published by the British education magazine Times Higher Education (THE ).
It is considered one of the three major rankings, and compared to other world and Asia university rankings, focuses on what are known as "research indicators" such as research volume and citation impact along with research income. In addition to THE World University Rankings and THE Asia University Rankings, THE partnered with Benesse Group to begin publishing THE Japan University Rankings from 2017, and THE University Impact Rankings, which independently rank universities' efforts toward the United Nations' Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) from 2019.
THE Impact Rankings
In the THE Impact Rankings 2025, announced in June 2025, Ritsumeikan University is ranked 201-300th overall globally and placed atop jointly among private universities in Japan for the second consecutive year. The annual ranking is designed to evaluate how universities demonstrate their commitment to the United Nations’ Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) through their research and social contribution activities.
The THE Impact Rankings 2025 is the seventh edition, and 2,526 universities worldwide have been scrutinized for comparison across broad areas including research, stewardship, outreach, and teaching. In addition to the overall rankings, it also publishes the rankings by SDG; Ritsumeikan University has accomplished to be in the top 100 globally, 35th (ranked atop in Japan for the third consecutive year) for SDG1: No Poverty, and to be in the top 200 globally for SDG2: Zero Hunger, SDG6: Clean Water and Sanitation, and SDG15: Life on Land. The University will continue to proactively pursue the achievement of the SDGs and the resolution of issues prevalent in the international community.
| Global Ranking (Up to 400) |
University (*Private University) | Score |
|---|---|---|
| =44 | Hokkaido University | 92.7 |
| 101-200 | Hiroshima University, Kyushu University, Osaka University, Tohoku University | 83.7-89.4 |
| 201-300 | Ritsumeikan University, Keio University, Kobe University, Okayama University, University of Tsukuba | 79.4-83.6 |
| 301-400 | Kumamoto University, Nagoya University, Waseda University | 76.2-79.3 |
Internal Reports
THE World University RankingsTHE Asia University Rankings
Ritsumeikan University is ranked 1501st + in the THE World University Rankings and 501-600th in the THE Asia University Rankings. The numbers of papers and citations per researcher, which are regarded highly in the rankings announced by THE, generally tend to be higher in the fields of medicine and natural sciences. Accordingly, medical institutions (or universities with a medical college) can often perform strongly in the rankings. Among the Japanese universities without a medical college, only three are ranked in the top 1000. Ritsumeikan University has been recognized for its distinct strengths in the assessment categories of "Industry" and "International Outlook.”
THE World University Rankings
THE Asia University Rankings
Methodology
Ritsumeikan University scored high in the areas of "Industry" and "International Outlook".
Ritsumeikan Global Innovation Research Organization (R-GIRO)
TOP GLOBAL UNIVERSITY JAPAN
THE Japan University Rankings
Ritsumeikan University is ranked 28th among 257 Japanese universities in the THE Japan University Rankings published in April 2025. The University is ranked first among private universities in the Kansai region and 4th among all universities in the area. The University particularly demonstrated its strength in “Engagement,” one of the four key assessment pillars consisting of a student survey and a high-school advisors survey. The student survey picks up opinions of the current students with regard to interactions with the faculty, collaborative learning opportunities, and so on, while the high-school advisors survey collects the views of advisors regarding cultivation of global human resources and development of the students’ potential after enrolment. The results of the surveys are then quantified for assessment. Ritsumeikan University is also highly evaluated in “Environment.”
