Universidad Andrés Bello Earns Five Stars in QS Stars 2025 Rating

UNAB is the only Chilean university — and one of just five in South America — to achieve the level of excellence in the QS Stars rating. This internationally recognized framework measures university performance through more than 70 indicators across various areas of institutional management.

Unlike traditional rankings, which focus on comparing universities against each other, the QS Stars system provides an in-depth, individual evaluation. Institutions are awarded a rating of up to five (or 5+) stars based on their performance in key areas of higher education.

Five-Star Excellence

The highest level of recognition — five stars — is awarded to institutions scoring more than 700 points in the evaluation. Universidad Andrés Bello earned 754 out of a possible 1,000 points across nine assessed areas.

The QS Stars university rating system uses a rigorous and comprehensive framework to assess institutional performance. It is an internationally recognized mark of quality, designed to provide actionable insights into areas of strength and areas for improvement —helping institutions pursue the highest standards in higher education.

“What’s valuable about this rating is that it is not a ranking and does not aim to compare one university with another. Instead, it measures institutional performance in key areas of university management,” said UNAB Provost Ana María Pavez.

“These are international standards that are very meaningful to us, especially since we have made internationalization a strategic priority. Internationalization is not only about offering global experiences, but also about aligning with quality standards. This is a highly detailed assessment that allows an external body to provide us with valuable, actionable information that strengthens our ongoing processes of continuous improvement,” added Provost Pavez.

UNAB’s emphasis on aligning with international standards of quality management has been in development for several years. It was the second university in Chile to earn institutional accreditation under U.S. standards through the Middle States Commission on Higher Education.

In addition, the university implemented a comprehensive quality assurance system across all its academic departments, certified by the Spanish agency ANECA. This introduced Europe-wide standards to complement existing international accreditations held by many of its academic programs.

Categories of Excellence

In this edition, QS Stars evaluated more than 1,500 institutions worldwide. UNAB received five stars at the institutional level and in six of the nine categories assessed: Teaching, Online Learning, Employability, Governance, Environmental Impact, and Diversity, Equity & Inclusion.

“We are a university committed to excellence, inclusivity, and secular values. These principles are at the heart of our mission, which is why we are constantly evaluating ourselves and maintaining high standards in the areas that define who we are,” said Pavez.

“Achieving the highest rating in areas such as Teaching, Employability, Online Education, and Diversity, Equity & Inclusion makes us proud and inspires us to continue taking on new challenges that ensure we fulfill our mission across the entire university community,” she added.

The evaluation—which began in August 2024—required UNAB to submit data for more than 60 indicators, including external satisfaction surveys of students and graduates.

Detail by Area

In Teaching, for example, the evaluation considered a range of variables, including graduate-level offerings, student-to-faculty ratios, student satisfaction, instructional hours per faculty member, learning management systems, and student retention.

In the area of Employability, indicators included employer reputation, alumni career services, and graduate employment outcomes.

In the areas where UNAB earned five stars — Environmental Impact, Governance, and Diversity, Equity & Inclusion — the evaluation covered topics such as institutional accreditation, sustainability and integrity policies, scholarships that promote diversity, gender balance within the university community, accessibility, environmental research, climate action plans, energy consumption, and many other variables.

At the global level, the QS Stars rating is led by Harvard University (USA), followed by the University of Oxford (UK), the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT, USA), the University of Cambridge (UK), and Stanford University (USA).