Tribhuvan University’s world score rises as research output tops 4,600 papers

Tribhuvan University’s (TU) world score has improved. Its score, which stood at 23.05 in 2025, has risen to 23.52 in 2026.

Although TU’s position in the Times Higher Education (THE) rankings has remained unchanged, its overall score has gone up. In the global rankings, TU sits at 1501+. TU had formed a committee, convened by Prof. Narayan Prasad Adhikari, Head of the Central Department of Physics, to work on improving its ranking.

The score improvement is partly attributed to better data entry by that committee.

 “There are more than 50,000 universities in the world. TU’s ranking position is unchanged, but the score has improved,” says Prof. Adhikari. “TU stands well on the global map. Our goal is to get into the top 1,000.”

Until 2023, TU was ranked within the top 1,000. It then slipped to 1,501+. This year, while the ranking remains the same, the score has improved. TU claims that its ranking will also improve from next year.

On how to reach the top 1,000, Prof. Adhikari says it is achievable: 

“Getting into the top 1,000 is feasible. We need good documentation, real students, faculty, and publication data.”

TU claims its ranking has stagnated because research conducted by affiliated campuses is not always documented under the TU name. 

“There are many community colleges. They do publish research papers, but they don’t mention Tribhuvan University. The same goes for private affiliated colleges; they don’t mention ‘TU’ either,” he says to Onlinekhabar. “If community and private colleges mention TU, it would help improve the ranking.”

Ranking calculation process 

When TU’s name appears on a research paper, it is counted as TU’s output. TU submits some data to Times Higher Education, while THE collects other data directly online. The ranking criteria assign the following weights: teaching — 29.5%, research environment — 29%, research quality — 30%, industry — 4%, and international faculty and students — 7.5%.

“How many foreign teachers and students are at the university is also looked at. International partnerships are also important,” he said.

4,638 research papers in 4 years

Over the past four years, TU has published a total of 4,638 research papers.  1,113 in 2025, 1,256 in 2024, 1,136 in 2023, and 1,133 in 2022. 

By comparison, large universities worldwide publish tens of thousands. 

“Compared to the world, this is much less. But for a country like ours, this is a significant number,” he says. “We don’t even have 1,000 PhD students. Research is happening across all faculties, but we need to add more quality faculty.”

Top-ranked subject areas

Tribhuvan University has competed in 11 subject areas in THE rankings. According to the subject-wise rankings, TU’s medical education is ranked 601st in the world. Social Sciences and Education are ranked 801st, Management and Engineering at 1001st, Life Sciences at 1001st, and Physical Sciences at 1251st.

“Competing in 11 subjects globally is rare. We have participated across all subjects in THE. We are excellent in some. In medicine, we’re 601st in the world. Nepal’s medical education is among the best globally,” says Prof. Adhikari.

Steps for improvement 

“The main thing is to increase research, which requires a budget. New subjects need to be introduced,” Adhikari says. “The number of undergraduate students needs to grow. The ratio of undergraduates to PhD students is important.” 

 We also need to bring in foreign faculty and students, he adds.

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