Rankings of universities in Canada

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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; including the 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[]

Bibliometric-based rankings[]

Bibliometric rankings are based on citation analysis, evaluating 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. Annual international rankings of this nature include the Academic Ranking of World Universities, published by the Shanghai Ranking Consultancy; 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. Although these rankings attempt to provide a quantitative analysis of a university's academic performance, differences in methodologies, and weighting of factors differentiates these rankings.

The following table includes Canadian universities, and their most recent global rank (up to the top 1000) in the aforementioned publications (with national ranks in parenthesis):

University 2021 Academic Ranking of World Universities[2] 2020 Performance Ranking of Scientific Papers for World Universities[3] 2020–21 University Ranking by Academic Performance[4]
University of Alberta 101 – 150 (5–6) 92 (4) 77 (4)
University of British Columbia 42 (2) 33 (2) 29 (2)
University of Calgary 151 – 200 (7–8) 147 (7) 125 (6)
Carleton University 401 – 500 (19–20) 501 – 550 (19–20) 563 (20)
Concordia University 501 – 600 (21–22) 701 – 750 (23–24) 589 (23)
Dalhousie University 201 – 300 (9–12) 311 (13) 297 (13)
University of Guelph 401 – 500 (19–20) 501 – 550 (19–20) 420 (17)
Lakehead University 901– 1000 (28) N/A N/A
Université Laval 301 – 400 (13–18) 268 (11) 238 (11)
University of Manitoba 301 – 400 (13–18) 308 (12) 289 (12)
McGill University 67 (3) 49 (3) 47 (3)
McMaster University 92 (4) 120 (6) 133 (7)
Memorial University of Newfoundland 601 – 700 (23–24) 601 – 650 (22) 573 (21)
Polytechnique Montréal[note 1] N/A N/A 790 (26)
Université de Montréal 101 – 150 (5–6) 115 (5) 104 (5)
University of New Brunswick N/A N/A 950 (27)
Ontario Tech University 801 – 900 (26–27) N/A N/A
University of Ottawa 201 – 300 (9–12) 156 (8) 144 (8)
Université du Québec à Montréal 601 – 700 (23–24) 701 – 750 (23–24) 629 (24)
Queen's University at Kingston 201 – 300 (9–12) 381 (15) 364 (14)
Ryerson University 801 – 900 (26–27) N/A 737 (25)
University of Saskatchewan 301 – 400 (13–18) 467 (17) 370 (15)
Université de Sherbrooke 501 – 600 (21–22) 551 – 600 (21) 580 (22)
Simon Fraser University 301 – 400 (13–18) 400 (16) 405 (16)
University of Toronto 22 (1) 3 (1) 2 (1)
University of Victoria 301 – 400 (13–18) 377 (14) 424 (18)
University of Waterloo 151 – 200 (7–8) 238 (10) 192 (10)
University of Windsor 701 – 800 (25) N/A 981 (28)
Western University 201 – 300 (9–12) 214 (9) 186 (9)
York University 301 – 400 (13–18) 478 (18) 546 (19)

Opinion-based rankings[]

A number of international publications formulate their rankings using the weighted average of opinions gathered in surveys, including 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. The methodologies used in these rankings differ amongst one another, although most opinion-based rankings use opinion surveys to evaluate a university's rank. Those surveyed typically includes members of academia, and the business community. In addition to opinion surveys, the following publications also use a quantitative measure of a university's academic performance, similar to bibliometric-based rankings. However, in contrast to bibliometric rankings, the quantitative results are used alongside the qualitative results gathered from opinion surveys.[5][6][7]

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

University 2022 QS World University Ranking[note 2][8] 2022 Times Higher Education World University Ranking[note 3][9] 2022 U.S. News & World Report Best Global University Ranking[note 4][10]
University of Alberta 126 (5) 125 (6) 135 (5)
University of British Columbia 46 (3) 37 (2) 35 (2)
Brock University 1001 – 1200 (28) N/A 1306 (33)
University of Calgary 235 (10) 201 – 250 (8–11) 169 (7)
Carleton University 601 – 650 (21–22) 601 – 800 (20–27) 481 (18)
Concordia University 521 – 530 (18) 601 – 800 (20–27) 657 (21)
Dalhousie University 272 (12) 251 – 300 (12–14) 317 (12)
University of Guelph 581 – 590 (19) 501 – 600 (18–19) 483 (19)
Université Laval 414 (15) 251 – 300 (12–14) 354 (14)
Lakehead University N/A 801 – 1000 (28–31) 1279 (32)
Laurentian University N/A N/A 1326 (34)
University of Lethbridge N/A 1201+ (32) 1569 (37)
University of Manitoba 601 – 650 (21–22) 301 – 350 (15–16) 387 (15)
McGill University 27 (2) 44 (3) 51 (3)
McMaster University 140 (6) 80 (4) 133 (4)
Memorial University of Newfoundland 751 – 800 (25–26) 601 – 800 (20–27) 675 (22)
Université de Montréal 111 (4) 88 (5) 151(6)
University of New Brunswick 651 – 700 (23) 601 – 800 (20–27) 954 (26)
University of Northern British Columbia N/A 801 – 1000 (28–31) N/A
Ontario Tech University N/A 601 – 800 (20–27) 1063 (28)
University of Ottawa 230 (9) 162 (7) 199 (8)
Université du Québec 591 – 600 (20) 601 – 800 (20–27) [note 5]
Queen's University at Kingston 240 (11) 251 – 300 (12–14) 412 (16)
University of Regina N/A 601 – 800 (20–27) 983 (27)
Ryerson University 801 – 1000 (27) 801 – 1000 (28–31) 933 (25)
University of Saskatchewan 458 (16) 501 – 600 (18–19) 510 (20)
Université de Sherbrooke 751 – 800 (25–26) N/A 804 (24)
Simon Fraser University 298 (13) 201 – 250 (8–11) 313 (11)
St. Francis Xavier University N/A 801 – 1000 (28–31) N/A
University of Toronto 26 (1) 18 (1) 16 (1)
Trent University N/A N/A 1497 (35)
University of Victoria 334 (14) 301 – 350 (15–16) 334 (13)
University of Waterloo 149 (7) 201 – 250 (8–11) 199 (8)
Western University 170 (8) 201 – 250 (8–11) 294 (10)
Wilfrid Laurier University N/A N/A 1247 (31)
University of Windsor 701 – 751 (24) 601 – 800 (20–27) 1111 (29)
York University 494 (17) 401 – 500 (17) 456 (17)

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.[11]

National rankings[]

Opinion-based rankings[]

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.[12]

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.[13] 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.[14] In February 2017, University Magazine, based in Windsor and Edmonton, started publishing its list of Top 10 universities in Canada.[15] 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".[16] 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.[17] In addition to the medical/doctoral, comprehensive, and undergraduate university categories, the magazine also produces rankings for that focus on individual academic fields.

The Maclean's ranking of "medical/doctoral universities" includes universities that are heavily research-based, and have a broad range of graduate-level programs.[18] 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.[19] 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.[20]

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.[17] Respondents to the magazine's reputation survey includes university administrators and faculty, secondary school guidance counsellors, and members of the business community.[17][21] 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.[17][21]

2022 Maclean's reputational rankings[note 4][21]
University Overall reputation rank Highest quality Most innovative Leaders of tomorrow
University of Toronto 1 1 2 1
University of British Columbia 2 2 3 2
University of Waterloo 3 4 1 3
McGill University 4 3 4 4
McMaster University 5 5 5 5
University of Alberta 6 7 8 6
Queen's University at Kingston 7 6 6 7
Université de Montréal 8 8 7 8
Western University 9 9 9 10
University of Calgary 10 11 10 9
Simon Fraser University 11 15 11 12
Université Laval 12 12 12 15
Dalhousie University 13 10 14 21
University of Victoria 14 13 15 17
University of Ottawa 15 14 19 16
Concordia University 16 18 16 14
University of Guelph 17 16 17 20
York University 18 17 20 13
Université de Sherbrooke 19 19 13 18
Ryerson University 20 22 18 11
University of Saskatchewan 21 20 21 22
Carleton University 22 21 22 19
Wilfrid Laurier University 23 23 25 27
University of Manitoba 24 25 24 25
Memorial University of Newfoundland 25 24 26 33
Université du Québec à Montréal 26 27 23 24
University of Regina 27 30 28 26
University of New Brunswick 28 32 27 40
Brock University 29 31 30 23
Acadia University 30 26 37 34
St. Francis Xavier University 31 29 34 37
Trent University 32 35 31 31
Mount Allison University 33 28 41 41
University of Prince Edward Island 34 33 33 43
Ontario Tech University 35 42 29 28
University of Lethbridge 36 36 36 30
University of Windsor 37 38 32 35
Bishop's University 38 37 39 32
Saint Mary's University 39 34 40 42
University of Winnipeg 40 39 38 36
University of Northern British Columbia 41 40 35 39
Lakehead University 42 41 42 29
Université de Moncton 43 43 43 48
Mount Saint Vincent University 44 44 45 45
Brandon University 45 45 46 38
Cape Breton University 46 46 44 46
Nipissing University 47 48 47 47
St. Thomas University 48 47 48 49
Laurentian University 49 49 49 44
Criticism[]

In September 2006, 26 Canadian universities, including several of Canada's largest universities such as the University of Alberta, University of British Columbia, Concordia University, Dalhousie University, McMaster University, Queen's University at Kingston, Université de Montréal, University of Ottawa, and the University of Toronto, refused to complete Maclean's questionnaire.[22][23][24] In the same year, 11 Canadian universities issued a joint statement which described the rankings as "over-simplified and arbitrary," and criticized low response rates for its reputation surveys.[22]

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."[25] Beginning with its 2007 rankings, the magazine gathered information previously obtained from the questionnaires from third-party, or other official sources and reports.[22]

See also[]

References[]

Notes

  1. ^ 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.
  2. ^ Although 2022 is used in the title, the following was released in June 2021
  3. ^ Although 2022 is used in the title, the following was released in September 2021
  4. ^ a b c d e Although 2022 is used in the title, the following was released in October 2021
  5. ^ 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 696 (23), École de technologie supérieure was ranked 1228 (30), and University of Quebec Trois Rivieres was ranked 1544 (36) in the U.S. News & World Report's ranking.

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. ^ "2021 Academic Ranking of World Universities". www.shanghairanking.com. ShanghaiRanking Consultancy. 2021. Retrieved 17 August 2021.
  3. ^ "World University Rankings By 2020". nturanking.csti.tw. NTU Rankings. 2021. Retrieved 18 August 2021.
  4. ^ "World Ranking". Informatics Institute of Middle East Technical University. 2021. Retrieved 18 August 2021.
  5. ^ "Methodology". QS World University Rankings. QS Quacquarelli Symonds Limited. 6 June 2018. Retrieved 4 November 2018.
  6. ^ "World University Rankings 2018 methodology". Times Higher Education World University Rankings. TES Global Limited. 29 August 2017. Retrieved 4 November 2018.
  7. ^ 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.
  8. ^ "QS World University Rankings - 2022". QS Quacquarelli Symonds Limited. 2021. Retrieved 8 June 2021.
  9. ^ "World University Rankings 2022". Times Higher Education. 2021. Retrieved 2 September 2021.
  10. ^ "Best Global Universities in Canada". U.S. News & World Report LP. 26 October 2021. Retrieved 26 October 2021.
  11. ^ "Methodology". webometrics.info. Cybermetrics Lab. 2019. Retrieved 14 September 2019.
  12. ^ Jarvey, Paul; Usher, Alex (2012). "Measuring Academic Research in Canada: Field-Normalized University Rankings 2012" (PDF). Higher Education Strategy Associates. Retrieved 13 November 2017.
  13. ^ "School Rankings". Campusranking.ca. Student Life Network. Retrieved 13 November 2017.
  14. ^ "MatchU". Campusranking.ca. Student Life Network. Retrieved 13 November 2017.
  15. ^ "Top Universities in Canada". UniversityMagazine.ca. AMG Brands. 19 February 2017. Retrieved 13 November 2017.
  16. ^ "Maclean's – Maclean's unveils its 21st annual University Rankings". Cision. CNW Group Ltd. 26 October 2011. Retrieved 13 October 2018.
  17. ^ a b c d Dwyer, Mary (11 October 2018). "University Rankings 2019: Our methodology". Maclean's. Rogers Digital Media. Retrieved 23 August 2019.
  18. ^ a b "Canada's best Medical Doctoral universities: Rankings 2022". Maclean’s. Rogers Media. 7 October 2021. Retrieved 17 October 2021.
  19. ^ a b "Canada's best Comprehensive universities: Rankings 2022". Maclean's. Rogers Media. 7 October 2021. Retrieved 17 October 2021.
  20. ^ a b "Canada's best Primarily Undergraduate universities: Rankings 2022". Maclean's. Rogers Media. 7 October 2021. Retrieved 17 October 2021.
  21. ^ a b c "Canada's best universities by reputation: Rankings 2022". Maclean's. Rogers Media. 7 October 2021. Retrieved 18 October 2021.
  22. ^ a b c Iype, Mike (10 November 2010). "Maclean's releases its 20th university rankings". Vancouver Sun. Postmedia Network Inc. Retrieved 23 August 2019.
  23. ^ Alphonso, Caroline (14 August 2006). "11 universities opt outof Maclean's survey". The Globe and Mail. The Woodbridge Company. Retrieved 13 October 2018.
  24. ^ 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.
  25. ^ Samarasekera, Indira (2 April 2007). "Rising Up Against Rankings". Inside Higher Ed. Retrieved 13 October 2018.
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