Rankings of universities in Canada are typically published annually by a variety of nationally, and internationally based publications. Rankings of post-secondary institutions have most often been conducted by magazines, newspapers, websites, governments, or academia. Ranking are established to help inform potential applicants about universities in Canada based on a range of criteria, including student body characteristics, classes, faculty, finances, library, and reputation. Various rankings consider combinations of factors, including funding and endowment, research excellence and/or influence, specialization expertise, admissions, student options, award numbers, internationalization, graduate employment, industrial linkage, historical reputation and other criteria. Various rankings also evaluate universities based on research output.

Several Canadian-based publication have produced rankings of universities in Canada, the most prominent being the news magazine Maclean's under the name Guide to Canadian Universities which began in 1991.[1] Canadian-based publications have generally limited their rankings to only universities in Canada. Several universities in Canada have also placed in rankings which includes other universities from around the world; such as Academic Ranking of World Universities, QS World University Rankings, the Times Higher Education World University Rankings, and the U.S. News & World Report Best Global University Ranking.

International rankings

Opinion-based

Several international publications assess the quality of a university by using the weighted average of opinions gathered in surveys, alongside other quantitative measures. Those surveyed typically include members of academia and the business community. These types of rankings include Quacquarelli Symonds's World University Ranking, The Times Higher Education World University Ranking, and the U.S. News & World Report's Best Global University Ranking.[2][3][4]

The following table includes Canadian universities, and their most recent global rank in the aforementioned publications (with national ranks in parentheses):

University 2023 QS World University Ranking[note 1][5] 2023 Times Higher Education World University Ranking[note 2][6] 2023 U.S. News & World Report Best Global University Ranking[note 2][7]
University of Alberta 110 (4) 118 (6) 136 (4)
University of British Columbia 47 (3) 40 (2) 35 (2)
Brock University 1001–1200 (28–30) — 1394 (32)
University of Calgary 242 (10) 201–250 (8–10) 175 (7)
Carleton University 601–650 (21) 601–800 (20–27) 526 (20)
Concordia University 551–560 (18) 601–800 (20–27) 653 (21)
Dalhousie University 308 (12) 301–350 (14–15) 314 (11)
University of Guelph 591–600 (20) 501–600 (18–19) 497 (19)
Université Laval 433 (15) 251–300 (11–13) 397 (15)
Lakehead University — 801–1000 (28–30) 1291 (30)
Laurentian University — — 1405 (33)
University of Lethbridge — 1201–1500 (31) 1741 (37)
University of Manitoba 651–700 (22) 351–400 (16) 372 (14)
McGill University 31 (1) 46 (3) 54 (3)
McMaster University 152 (6) 85 (4) 138 (5)
Memorial University of Newfoundland 751–800 (24–26) 601–800 (20–27) 698 (22)
Université de Montréal 116 (5) 111 (5) 156 (6)
University of New Brunswick 700–751 (23) 601–800 (20–27) 948 (26)
University of Northern British Columbia — 801–1000 (28–30) —
Ontario Tech University — 601–800 (20–27) 1121 (T-27)
University of Ottawa 237 (9) 137 (7) 215 (9)
Université du Québec 571–580 (19) 601–800 (20–27) [note 3]
Queen's University at Kingston 246 (11) 251–300 (11–13) 429 (17)
University of Regina 1001–1200 (28–30) 601–800 (20–27) 935 (25)
University of Saskatchewan 473 (17) 501–600 (18–19) 441 (18)
Université de Sherbrooke 751–800 (24–26) — 789 (24)
Simon Fraser University 328 (13) 251–300 (11–13) 317 (12)
University of Toronto 34 (2) 18 (1) 18 (1)
Toronto Metropolitan University 801–1000 (27) 801–1000 (28–30) 1452 (34)
Trent University — — 1570 (35)
University of Victoria 359 (14) 301–350 (14–15) 327 (13)
University of Waterloo 154 (7) 201–250 (8–10) 191 (8)
Western University 172 (8) 201–250 (8–10) 300 (10)
Wilfrid Laurier University — — 1271 (29)
University of Windsor 751–800 (24–26) 601–800 (20–27) 1121 (T-27)
Vancouver Island University 1001–1200 (28–30) — —
York University 456 (16) 401–500 (17) 426 (16)

Quantitative-based

Several institutions and publications have created university rankings whose methodologies rely only on quantitative measures. These rankings use quantitative measures to assess the quality of an institution, such as bibliometrics, or through the number of awards and distinctions accrued by a university's faculty and/or alumni. Quantitative international rankings include the Academic Ranking of World Universities, published by the Shanghai Ranking Consultancy; and the Center for World University Rankings.

Several institutions publish rankings that are primarily bibliometric, based on citation analysis. Biblometric rankings specifically evaluate the impact a university has on specialized journals and other academic publications. Bibliometrics is a field of statistics used to provide quantitative analysis of academic literature. Primarily bibliometric rankings include those ; the Performance Ranking of Scientific Papers for World Universities, published by the National Taiwan University; and University Ranking by Academic Performance, published by the Middle East Technical University.

The following table includes Canadian universities, and their most recent global rank in the aforementioned publications (with national ranks in parentheses):

University 2022 Academic Ranking of World Universities[8] 2020 Performance Ranking of Scientific Papers for World Universities[9] 2020–21 University Ranking by Academic Performance[10] 2023 Center for World University Rankings[11]
University of Alberta 92 (5) 92 (4) 77 (4) 76 (4)
University of British Columbia 44 (2) 33 (2) 29 (2) 51 (3)
Brock University — — — 1255 (31)
University of Calgary 151–200 (7–8) 147 (7) 125 (6) 195 (8)
Carleton University 501–600 (20–22) 501–550 (19–20) 563 (20) 539 (20)
Concordia University 501–600 (20–22) 701–750 (23–24) 589 (23) 620 (22)
Dalhousie University 301–400 (13–17) 311 (13) 297 (13) 348 (14)
École de technologie supérieure — — — 1443 (33)
Institut national de la recherche scientifique — — — 969 (26)
University of Guelph 401–500 (18–19) 501–550 (19–20) 420 (17) 486 (19)
Lakehead University — — — 1321 (32)
Laurentian University — — — 1716 (38)
Université Laval 301–400 (13–17) 268 (11) 238 (11) 299 (12)
University of Lethbridge — — — 1596 (36)
University of Manitoba 201–300 (9–12) 308 (12) 289 (12) 282 (11)
McGill University 73 (3) 49 (3) 47 (3) 26 (2)
McMaster University 90 (4) 120 (6) 133 (7) 174 (6)
Memorial University of Newfoundland 701–800 (23–24) 601–650 (22) 573 (21) 648 (24)
Polytechnique Montréal[note 4] — — 790 (26) —
Université de Montréal 101–150 (6) 115 (5) 104 (5) 122 (5)
University of New Brunswick — — 950 (27) 1092 (29)
Ontario Tech University 901–1000 (25–26) — — 1545 (35)
University of Ottawa 201–300 (9–12) 156 (8) 144 (8) 212 (10)
Université du Québec à Montréal 701–800 (23–24) 701–750 (23–24) 629 (24) 641 (23)
Université du Québec à Trois-Rivières — — — 1696 (37)
Queen's University at Kingston 201–300 (9–12) 381 (15) 364 (14) 325 (13)
University of Regina — — — 998 (28)
Saint Mary's University — — — 1887 (39)
University of Saskatchewan 301–400 (13–17) 467 (17) 370 (15) 394 (16)
University of Winnipeg — — — 1975 (40)
Université de Sherbrooke 501–600 (20–22) 551–600 (21) 580 (22) 601 (21)
Simon Fraser University 301–400 (13–17) 400 (16) 405 (16) 371 (15)
University of Toronto 22 (1) 3 (1) 2 (1) 23 (1)
Toronto Metropolitan University 901–1000 (25–26) — 737 (25) 835 (25)
Trent University — — — 1507 (34)
University of Victoria 301–400 (13–17) 377 (14) 424 (18) 404 (17)
University of Waterloo 151–200 (7–8) 238 (10) 192 (10) 204 (9)
University of Windsor — — 981 (28) 990 (27)
Western University 201–300 (9–12) 214 (9) 186 (9) 188 (7)
Wilfrid Laurier University — — — 1226 (30)
York University 401–500 (18–19) 478 (18) 546 (19) 451 (18)

Other metrics

Webometrics Ranking of World Universities is biannual university ranking produced by Cybermetrics Lab. The webometrics rankings use link analysis in an effort to evaluate the institution's overall web presence, and accessibility.[12]

National rankings

Opinion-based

A number of Canadian-based publications have ranked universities in Canada. The most prominent of which is Maclean's, a Toronto-based news magazine that has published an annual rankings of Canadian universities since 1991.[1] In addition to the Maclean's ranking, there are other Canadian-based publications that also rank Canadian universities. In 2012, the Toronto-based Higher Education Strategy Associates published a study ranking Canadian Universities based on research strength. The study ranks Canadian Universities in two broad fields: Science and Engineering, and Social Sciences and Humanities.[13]

A number of nationally based organizations have also crafted ranking using input from students and alumni. In 2014, the Toronto-based CampusRanking.ca began publication of its annual Canadian University and College Rankings, focusing on undergraduate education. The student-generated rankings asked over 40,000 undergraduate students and alumni to rate their schools. The survey was done across 135 schools in Canada.[14] This data was used to develop a school matching quiz, MatchU, where students are matched to schools based on their personality type and school preferences.[15] In February 2017, University Magazine, based in Windsor and Edmonton, started publishing its list of Top 10 universities in Canada.[16] University Magazine surveyed undergraduate and graduate students at 96 Canadian universities, using this information to rank the universities

Maclean's

Maclean's publishes an annual ranking of Canadian universities, intended to measure a university's overall "undergraduate experience".[17] Universities are split into three categories: medical/doctoral, comprehensive, and undergraduate. Maclean's evaluates post-secondary institutions on a number of performance factors, such as awards collected, resources, reputation, as well as student satisfaction surveys.[18]

University of Windsor professor and co-author of The Marketing of Canadian University Rankings: A Misadventure Now 24 Years Old[19] Stewart Page, had observed, in 2012, that numerous Canadian schools had withdrawn active cooperation from Maclean’s annual surveys.[20]

In addition to the medical/doctoral, comprehensive, and undergraduate university categories, the magazine also produces rankings for that focus on individual academic fields.[citation needed] The Maclean's ranking of "medical/doctoral universities" includes universities that are heavily research-based, and have a broad range of graduate-level programs.[21] Universities placed within Maclean's comprehensive rankings includes universities with a significant degree of research activity and a wide range of programs at the undergraduate, graduate, and professional levels.[22] Universities placed in their primarily undergraduate rankings features universities that are smaller in size and offer fewer graduate programs than universities found in other categories.[23]

Maclean's medical/doctoral, comprehensive, and undergraduate annual rankings uses a number of performance factors to evaluate universities, including a reputational survey that accounts for 15 per cent of an institution's final score in the magazine's medical/doctoral, comprehensive, and undergraduate rankings.[18] Respondents to the magazine's reputation survey includes university administrators and faculty, secondary school guidance counsellors, and members of the business community.[18][24] In addition to using the information obtained from the reputational survey for its medical/comprehensive/undergraduate university rankings, Maclean's also publishes the results of the survey in the form of a reputational ranking. Maclean's reputational rankings rankgs institutions in several categories, including quality, innovation, and "leaders of tomorrow".[18][24] The following are Maclean's overall reputational rankings:

2023 Maclean's overall reputation rankings[note 2][24]
University Rank
University of Toronto 1
University of Waterloo 2
University of British Columbia 3
McGill University 4
McMaster University 5
Queen's University at Kingston 6
University of Alberta 7
Université de Montréal 8
Simon Fraser University 9
University of Victoria 10
University of Calgary 11
University of Guelph 12
Western University 13
University of Ottawa 14
Dalhousie University 15
Université Laval 16
York University 17
Concordia University 18
Toronto Metropolitan University 19
Université de Sherbrooke 20
Carleton University 21
University of Saskatchewan 22
Wilfrid Laurier University 23
Memorial University of Newfoundland 24
University of Manitoba 25
Université du Québec à Montréal 26
Brock University 27
Mount Allison University 28
University of New Brunswick 29
Trent University 30
Ontario Tech University 31
University of Northern British Columbia 32
Acadia University 33
St. Francis Xavier University 34
University of Winnipeg 35
Saint Mary's University 36
University of Prince Edward Island 37
University of Lethbridge 38
University of Regina 39
Université de Moncton 40
University of Windsor 41
Bishop's University 42
Lakehead University 43
Brandon University 44
Mount Saint Vincent University 45
Cape Breton University 46
St. Thomas University 47
Nipissing University 48
Laurentian University 49
Criticism

Several Canadian institutions have been critical of Maclean's rankings, either frustrated with its process or its results.[19] After Maclean's released the methodology it used in 1992, Memorial University of Newfoundland and Carleton University opted to not participate in Maclean's 1993 ranking in protest of it. In 1994, the vice-chancellor of McGill University, Bernard Shapiro, wrote a letter to Maclean's coordinating editor concerning the rankings.[25]

Wide-scale withdrawals from participation in Maclean's rankings began in 1995, when 15 universities, primarily made up of francophone institutions from Quebec, as well as the University of Manitoba, Memorial University of Newfoundland, and Université de Moncton. opted to not participate in Maclean's survey. However, these universities continued to provide similar data to the ones requested by Maclean's to the Association of Universities and Colleges of Canada for comparison purposes.[25]

Further opt-outs from several research universities began in 2005, after the University of Toronto opted to not participate in the survey that year.[19][25] The University of Toronto's withdrawal from Maclean's rankings resulted in Maclean's utilizing freedom-of-information laws to obtain the data it needed to compile its rankings.[19] In August 2006, the University of Alberta, University of British Columbia, University of Calgary, Dalhousie University, University of Lethbridge, University of Manitoba, McMaster University, Université de Montréal, University of Ottawa, Simon Fraser University, and the University of Toronto issued a joint letter stating they would not participate in Maclean's ranking survey or provide them with any data.[26][27] The joint statement described the rankings as "over-simplified and arbitrary," and were critical of the low response rates for its reputation surveys.[28] By the end of 2006, a total of 26 universities opted to not complete Maclean's questionnaire.[28]

University of Alberta president Indira Samarasekera wrote that Maclean's initially filed a "Freedom of Information" request but that it was "too late" for the universities to respond. Samarasekera further stated, "Most of [the universities] had already posted the data online, and we directed Maclean's staff to our website. In instances where the magazine staff couldn't find data on our website, they chose to use the previous year's data."[29] Beginning with its 2007 rankings, the magazine gathered information previously obtained from the questionnaires from third-party, or other official sources and reports.[28]

In 2016, a team at University of Windsor published its analyses of Maclean’s Canadian universities ranking data of the previous 24 years, as The Marketing of Canadian University Rankings: A Misadventure Now 24 Years Old. The report offers a statistical findings summary, along with discussions regarding status quo as well as effects of the surveys on student welfare.[19]

See also

References

Notes

  1. ^ Although 2023 is used in the title, the following was released in June 2022
  2. ^ a b c d e f Although the year 2023 is used in the title, the following was released in October 2022
  3. ^ Publication did not look at the Université du Québec system as a whole, but at its individual component institutions. The Université du Québec à Montréal was ranked 745 (23), École de technologie supérieure was ranked 1338 (31), and University of Quebec Trois Rivieres was ranked 1603 (36) in the U.S. News & World Report's ranking.
  4. ^ The institution is an engineering school affiliated to the Université de Montréal. Some publications rank Polytechnique Montréal separately from the larger institution it is affiliated with.

Works cited

  1. ^ a b Honey, Kim (29 October 2015). "2016 Maclean's University Rankings: A letter from the editor". Maclean's. Rogers Media. Retrieved 13 November 2017.
  2. ^ "Methodology". QS World University Rankings. QS Quacquarelli Symonds Limited. 6 June 2018. Retrieved 4 November 2018.
  3. ^ "World University Rankings 2018 methodology". Times Higher Education World University Rankings. TES Global Limited. 29 August 2017. Retrieved 4 November 2018.
  4. ^ Krivian, Alexis; Morse, Robert; Martin, Elizabeth (29 October 2018). "How U.S. News Calculated the Best Global Universities Rankings". U.S. News & World Report. U.S. News & World Report L.P. Retrieved 4 November 2018.
  5. ^ "QS World University Rankings – 2023". QS Quacquarelli Symonds Limited. 2022. Retrieved 23 June 2022.
  6. ^ "World University Rankings 2023". Times Higher Education. 2022. Retrieved 17 October 2022.
  7. ^ "Best Global Universities in Canada". U.S. News & World Report LP. 25 October 2022. Retrieved 26 October 2022.
  8. ^ "2022 Academic Ranking of World Universities". shanghairanking.com. ShanghaiRanking Consultancy. 2022. Retrieved 19 August 2021.
  9. ^ "World University Rankings By 2020". nturanking.csti.tw. NTU Rankings. 2021. Retrieved 18 August 2021.
  10. ^ "World Ranking". Informatics Institute of Middle East Technical University. 2021. Retrieved 18 August 2021.
  11. ^ "GLOBAL 2000 LIST BY THE CENTER FOR WORLD UNIVERSITY RANKINGS". CWUR. Retrieved 16 May 2023.
  12. ^ "Methodology". webometrics.info. Cybermetrics Lab. 2019. Retrieved 14 September 2019.
  13. ^ Jarvey, Paul; Usher, Alex (2012). "Measuring Academic Research in Canada: Field-Normalized University Rankings 2012" (PDF). Higher Education Strategy Associates. Retrieved 13 November 2017.
  14. ^ "School Rankings". Campusranking.ca. Student Life Network. Retrieved 13 November 2017.
  15. ^ "MatchU". Campusranking.ca. Student Life Network. Retrieved 13 November 2017.
  16. ^ "Top Universities in Canada". UniversityMagazine.ca. AMG Brands. 19 February 2017. Retrieved 13 November 2017.
  17. ^ "Maclean's – Maclean's unveils its 21st annual University Rankings". Cision. CNW Group Ltd. 26 October 2011. Retrieved 13 October 2018.
  18. ^ a b c d Dwyer, Mary (11 October 2018). "University Rankings 2019: Our methodology". Maclean's. Rogers Digital Media. Retrieved 23 August 2019.
  19. ^ a b c d e Cramer, Kenneth M.; Page, Stewart; Burrows, Vanessa; Lamoureux, Chastine; Mackay, Sarah; Pedri, Victoria; Pschibul, Rebecca (2016). "The Marketing of Canadian University Rankings: A Misadventure Now 24 Years Old" (PDF). Collected Essays on Learning and Teaching. 9: 232. doi:10.22329/celt.v9i0.4434.
  20. ^ Page, Stewart "Final Observations of Canadian University Rankings: A Misadventure Now Over Two Decades Long" Academics Matter, Ontario Confederation of University Faculty Associations, November 20, 2012. Retrieved February 15, 20234.
  21. ^ a b "Canada's best Medical Doctoral universities: Rankings 2023". Maclean's. Rogers Media. 6 October 2022. Retrieved 17 October 2022.
  22. ^ a b "Canada's best Comprehensive universities: Rankings 2023". Maclean's. Rogers Media. 6 October 2022. Retrieved 17 October 2022.
  23. ^ a b "Canada's best Primarily Undergraduate universities: Rankings 2023". Maclean's. Rogers Media. 6 October 2022. Retrieved 17 October 2022.
  24. ^ a b c "Canada's best universities by reputation: Rankings 2023". Maclean's. Rogers Media. 7 October 2022. Retrieved 17 October 2022.
  25. ^ a b c Salmi, Jamil; Saroyan, Alenoush (2007). "League Tables as Policy Instruments: Uses and Misuses". Institutional Management in Higher Education. 19 (2): 11. doi:10.1787/hemp-v19-art10-en. ISSN 1682-3451.
  26. ^ Alphonso, Caroline (14 August 2006). "11 universities opt out of Maclean's survey". The Globe and Mail. Retrieved 13 October 2018.
  27. ^ Schmidt, S. (2 September 2006). "Universities continue to shun Maclean's ranks". Canada.com. Postmedia News. Archived from the original on 22 August 2012. Retrieved 9 May 2009.
  28. ^ a b c Iype, Mike (10 November 2010). "Maclean's releases its 20th university rankings". Vancouver Sun. Archived from the original on 21 December 2010. Retrieved 13 February 2024.
  29. ^ Samarasekera, Indira (2 April 2007). "Rising Up Against Rankings". Inside Higher Ed. Retrieved 13 October 2018.
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