Diyala: Diyala University has achieved a new academic milestone, reflecting its growing research standing at both the regional and international levels. The university secured a prominent position in the 2026 Transparent Ranking of Universities, ranking 3211th globally out of approximately 17,400 higher education institutions included in the ranking.
According to National Iraqi News Agency, the ranking results revealed that the university produced 53 research papers within the top 1% of most cited research globally, in addition to 485 papers within the top 10% of most cited research globally during the period 2021-2025. This reflects the high quality of the scientific output of the university’s faculty and staff and its significant impact within the global academic community.
University President Tahseen Hussein Mubarak stated in a press release that this achievement is a result of the university’s strategic vision to support scientific research and encourage high-quality publication in international journals, as well as providing a stimulating academic environment for creativity and innovation. He noted that progress in international rankings is no longer an end in itself, but rather a natural reflection of the quality of institutional performance and the excellence of researchers and their scientific contributions.
He added that the university is continuing to implement its programs aimed at enhancing high-quality research output and expanding scientific cooperation with international universities and research institutions. This will contribute to raising the scientific impact of research published under the name of Diyala University and strengthen its presence in various international ranking indicators.
The Transparency Ranking of World Universities is issued by the Cybermetrics Laboratory of the Institute for Public Policy and Interests at the Spanish National Research Council (CSIC). The 2026 edition relies on data from the open database OpenAlex, whereas previous editions relied on Google Scholar. Data for this edition was collected during the first week of July 2026 for institutions that possess an institutional identifier within the ROR system.
The ranking methodology is based on two main criteria: first, the number of research papers ranked within the top 1% globally in terms of scientific citations, which is the primary criterion for determining the ranking; and second, the number of research papers ranked within the top 10% globally in terms of citations during the same period, reflecting the scientific influence of academic institutions within the international research community.