Canadian University Rankings 2022 - 2023

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Canadian University Rankings

Canada is home to numerous prestigious universities and institutions for students to further their education. However, many may be wondering - which school is right for them? How should they choose their university and major? Teachers often recommend students to look at university rankings and their most reputable programs, as well as the student life. By using these rankings, students will be able to narrow down their options and create application goals. If you look online for Canadian university rankings, you will find that there are many, so which one should you focus on? How can you use these lists to effectively plan your post-secondary education and future employment? Take a look at StudyPug Learning’s university ranking to get started.

If you are feeling overwhelmed by these rankings or confused on how to select the best university that fits your needs, consider consulting StudyPug Learning’s academic consultant to discuss your options for the future and how to succeed in your academic studies.

View our analysis of Canadian university rankings!

USNews University Rankings, QS University Rankings, ARWU University Rankings, THE University Rankings, and Maclean's University Rankings are currently the world’s most recognized university rankings. These rankings reflect a comprehensive consideration of the education and cognition of each university from different perspectives, and each list’s criteria is slightly different from one another.

For example, USNews is more inclined toward North American schools, whereas Maclean’s focuses on Canadian universities. USNews and THE focus more on the academic research capabilities available in each institution, and QS evaluates the number of international students and faculty employed. All of these different factors affect how universities are ranked differently from list to list.

However, the quality of education, status, and value of a university should not be determined solely by how they are ranked worldwide. Prospective students should use these rankings as a reference for narrowing down which school to attend rather than selecting one based on how high they rank. Because of how each list is based on varying criteria, students should study which rankings best align with their interests, as well as take into account their own hobbies, future plans, aptitude test results, and other factors like majors or areas of interest to select the school that they believe they will excel best in.

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# Best Overall # Highest Quality # Most Innovative # Leaders of Tomorrow
1 Toronto 1 Toronto 1 Toronto 1 Toronto
2 UBC 2 McGill 2 Waterloo 2 UBC
3 Waterloo 3 UBC 3 UBC 3 McGill
4 McGill 4 Waterloo 4 McGill 4 Waterloo
5 McMaster 5 McMaster 5 McMaster 5 McMaster
6 Alberta 6 Queen's 6 Alberta 6 Alberta
7 Queen's 7 Western 7 Queen's 7 Montreal
8 Western 8 Alberta 8 Western 8 Calgary
9 Montreal 9 Dalhousie 9 Simon Fraser 9 Queen's
10 Simon Fraser 10 Montreal 10 Calgary 10 Simon Fraser
11 Calgary 11 Simon Fraser 11 Montreal 11 Ryerson
12 Dalhousie 12 Calgary 12 Guelph 12 Western
13 Guelph 13 Victoria 13 Dalhousie 13 Laval
14 Victoria 14 Guelph 14 Ryerson 14 Concordia
15 Ryerson 15 Ottawa 15 Victoria 15 Victoria
16 Laval 16 Laval 16 Concordia 16 York
17 Concordia 17 Concordia 17 Laval 17 Sherbrooke
18 Ottawa 18 Memorial 18 Sherbrooke 18 Guelph
19 Sherbrooke 19 Saskatchewan 19 Ottawa 19 Dalhousie
20 York 20 Ryerson 20 Saskatchewan 20 Saskatchewan
21 Saskatchewan 21 Wilfrid Laurier 21 York 21 Carleton
22 Memorial 22 York 22 Memorial 22 Ottawa
23 Carleton 23 Sherbrooke 23 Carleton 23 UQAM
24 Wilfrid Laurier 24 Carleton 24 Ontario Tech 24 Manitoba
25 UQAM 25 Mount Allison 25 Wilfrid Laurier 25 Wilfrid Laurier
26 Manitoba 26 UQAM 26 UQAM 26 Brock
27 St. Francis Xavier 27 Acadia 27 Manitoba 27 Ontario Tech
28 Acadia 28 Manitoba 28 St. Francis Xavier 28 Memorial
29 Mount Allison 29 St. Francis Xavier 29 Brock 29 Regina
30 New Brunswick 30 Saint Mary's 30 Acadia 30 Lethbridge
31 Ontario Tech 31 New Brunswick 31 New Brunswick 31 Acadia
32 Brock 32 Lethbridge 32 Saint Mary's 32 Trent
33 Saint Mary's 33 Bishop's 33 Lethbridge 33 Lakehead
34 Lethbridge 34 Brock 34 Regina 34 New Brunswick
35 Regina 35 Regina 35 Windsor 35 St. Francis Xavier
36 Trent 36 Trent 36 Mount Allison 36 UNBC
37 Bishop's 37 UPEI 37 Lakehead 37 Mount Allison
38 Windsor 38 Windsor 38 Trent 38 Saint Mary's
39 Lakehead 39 UNBC 39 UNBC 39 Windsor
40 UNBC 40 Ontario Tech 40 UPEI 40 Laurentian
41 UPEI 41 Lakehead 41 Bishop's 41 Winnipeg
42 Winnipeg 42 Winnipeg 42 Winnipeg 42 Bishop's
43 Moncton 43 Moncton 43 Laurentian 43 Cape Breton
44 Mount Saint Vincent 44 Mount Saint Vincent 44 Mount Saint Vincent 44 Brandon
45 Laurentian 45 Laurentian 45 Moncton 45 UPEI
46 Cape Breton 46 St.Thomas 46 Cape Breton 46 Moncton
47 St.Thomas 47 Cape Breton 47 Brandon 47 Nipissing
48 Brandon 48 Brandon 48 St.Thomas 48 Mount Saint Vincent
49 Nipissing 49 Nipissing 49 Nipissing 49 St.Thomas

Maclean’s Canadian University Ranking Criteria for 2022

About Maclean's

The Maclean University Rankings has been published annually by Maclean’s Magazine since 1991. Their ranking is comprehensive, with a classification system reflective of Canadian universities, with categories such as Doctoral, Comprehensive, and Primarily Undergraduate. It also ranks universities based on entry requirements, overall reputation, and student satisfaction, among others. These rankings are nationally recognized throughout the country and serve as an important standard for both domestic and international students when choosing their university and major.

Maclean's Rating Basis

The university ranking is based on 5 fields and 13 performance indicators. It is also based on academic status (28%), scientific research level (20%), educational resources (22%), student support (15%), and the reputation of the school (15%).

Student Status (28%)
This is the best reference factor to measure a school’s academics, including: the proportion of students who have won academic awards/national scholarships in the past five years, teacher-student ratio, and student satisfaction.

Teaching and Research Level (20%)
The evaluation factors of teaching and research level include: the proportion of faculty and staff who have won major awards in the past five years, research grants received, and the rate of research publication and citation.

Educational Resources (22%)
The evaluation criteria for educational factors include: school teaching funds, school research funds, and school library operating funds.

Student Support (15%)
For students, scholarships are also one of the reference factors for whether to apply for a university, and Maclean's reference factors for this scoring are: student services, scholarships and grants.

School Reputation (15%)
School reputation is also one of the reference factors that need to be paid attention to in university applications.

Maclean's Summary

2022 marks the 31st year in which the Canadian University Rankings were published by Maclean’s Magazine. Maclean will also launch the Canadian Medical Doctoral University Rankings and Canadian Basic University Rankings based on school reputation, research funding, and curriculum diversity.

Below are three rankings, each with a different emphasis. First are universities ranked for their doctoral program, including medical schools and range of doctoral degrees and research topics. Second is a general ranking focused on the diversity of courses offered by universities. Finally, a general ranking that measures the overall standard of undergraduate education at a university.

QS World University Ranking Criteria for 2021

About QS

QS University Rankings consists of American universities and is published by Quacquarelli Symonds, a UK-based international education consulting firm. The organization was established in 1990 and has branches all over the world, with its main purpose being to provide academic references for undergraduate, graduate, MBA, and working students internationally. Their university rankings were recognized in 2010 by the IREG (International Association for Academic Ranking and Excellence), and offers one of the most extensive rankings in the world. Some of their scoring criteria are academic reputation, employer reputation, teacher-student ratio, research citation rate, and internationalization. It is rated as one of the most watched university rankings in the world because of its transparency.

QS Score Basis

In 2022, the QS University Rankings were based on six main criteria: employability (27%), teaching strength (22%), research strength (26%), and diversity and internationalization (25%). Although its reviews are polarized because of subjective and commercial scoring criteria, it is undeniable that these rankings are one of the most influential in the world. As the second oldest ranking list internationally, QS evaluates the academic success and employment rate of each university, also analyzing the social influence of each school, which is valuable information for students curious about a school’s reputation. It can also serve as reference for graduates seeking employment.

QS Summary

In 2022, QS released the Top 500 World University Rankings. A total of 16 Canadian universities were ranked.

Which ranking list should you use? Let us help you decide!

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