Galgotias, IISc and THE ranking: how research quality score is built

By Shamyak

Published

Research quality is 30% of THE's ranking and is built from citation averages, not volume. Our reading of the methodology shows why a high pillar score and a modest overall rank can sit together.

Original report

Data as of 3 October 2026. Based on our reading of the THE methodology page for the 2026 edition.

Galgotias University can beat IISc on "research quality" in the Times Higher Education (THE) ranking because that score measures how often a university's papers are cited, adjusted for subject, not how much research it produces or how big it is. Our reading of THE's published methodology, done on 3 October 2026, shows a small institution clears the entry bar with an average of 200 papers a year and is then judged on averages and percentiles.

The question took off after Hindustan Times reported, under the headline "Galgotias outscores IISc on THE's 'research quality' metric, raising questions", that the private university had a higher score on that pillar. THE released its 2027 World University Rankings on 30 September 2026. Education portal education21 reported that IISc ranked 254th, down from the 201-250 band, and that 143 Indian institutions were ranked, up from 128.

Research quality is 30% of the overall score

THE's methodology page sets research quality at 30% of a university's overall score. That 30% is split four ways:

Half of the pillar, then, is one number: citation impact. The other 70% of the overall score comes from THE's other pillars. That split is why one strong pillar does not carry a university up the overall table.

The arithmetic: a top pillar score moves the total only so far

Each point on a 0-100 pillar score is worth 0.3 points of the overall score, because the pillar carries a 30% weight. education21 reported IISc's research quality score in the 2027 table as 51.5. Multiplied by 0.3, that adds about 15.5 points to IISc's overall score.

education21 cited a similar case: Saveetha Institute scored 95.1 on research quality but sat in the 326-350 overall band. Its pillar adds about 28.5 points (95.1 x 0.3). That is roughly 13 points more than IISc gets from the same pillar. Saveetha still ranked well below IISc's 254th, so the other 70% of the score decided the order.

The same logic applies to Galgotias, whose exact score and overall band we could not confirm from any page we opened. A high research quality score and a modest overall rank are not a contradiction in THE's formula. They are what happens when one 30% pillar is strong and the 70% is not.

Why size barely matters inside the pillar

Every one of the four measures is an average, a percentile or a share, not a total. That is the core of the answer.

The entry bar is low by research-university standards. THE requires 1,000 relevant publications over 2020-2024, with at least 100 a year. A university that clears it is then scored on how its papers perform, not on how many there are.

Is IISc really behind on research?

On this one pillar, by THE's numbers, a lower score than some institutions is what the 2027 table shows. As a verdict on IISc's research overall, the score cannot carry that weight: it was not built to measure volume, size or breadth.

What the 51.5 says is narrower. On citation-based, subject-normalised measures over 2020-2024, IISc's papers scored about half of the pillar's maximum. That says nothing about how many papers IISc publishes compared with a smaller university.

There are limits on reading the 2027 table too. education21 reported that seven IITs opted out and BITS Pilani withdrew, so several obvious comparisons for IISc are not in it. We found no statement from IISc, Galgotias or THE on the comparison. Hindustan Times's headline said the result was "raising questions"; it did not name a finding of wrongdoing, and neither do we. See how every outlet covered it.

THE plans changes for 2028

education21 reported that THE's 2028 rankings will cap institutional self-citations and reduce the weight of citation impact. Citation impact is the largest single part of the research quality pillar at 15%, so the gap between pillar score and overall rank could shift next year.

Questions people are asking

How does THE measure research quality?

THE uses four citation-based, subject-normalised measures: citation impact (15%), research strength (5%), research excellence (5%) and research influence (5%), per its methodology page.

What share of the THE score is research quality?

30% of the overall score, according to THE's methodology page for the 2026 edition.

What is IISc's research quality score in THE 2027?

51.5, according to education21. IISc ranked 254th overall.

Will THE change how research quality is scored?

education21 reported that for 2028 THE will cap institutional self-citations and cut the weight of citation impact.

How we did this

We read THE's methodology page for the 2026 World University Rankings on 3 October 2026 and took the weights, time windows and normalisation rules from it. We did not open the 2027 methodology page, so the 2027 weights may differ. Scores and ranks come from education21's report on THE 2027. We did not open the Hindustan Times article and quote only its headline. The arithmetic multiplies each reported pillar score by the 30% weight, which assumes the pillar score feeds the overall score in proportion to its weight. Galgotias's exact score and overall band were not available from the pages we opened, so we report none.

This story was produced with AI assistance and reviewed, edited and verified by the reporter before publication.

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