For the second consecutive year, Canada’s three universities are in the QS World University Rankings.
QS is an organization that acts as an authority concerning the analysis of higher education institutions on a global scale. QS also states that its World University Rankings are the only ranking system to measure both sustainability as well as employability performance.
Where Did Canada’s Top Schools Rank In QS World University Rankings For 2025?
Looking ahead to next year, QS ranked the following three schools near the top of its 2025 World University Rankings.
Note: This year’s list included over 1500 institutions.
Notably, these three schools are also located in Canada’s three most popular provinces for newcomers.
In fact, all but one of the schools inside Canada’s own top 10 for 2025 are located in British Columbia, Ontario, and Quebec. The only exception to this is the University of Alberta.
University of Toronto – UofT
- Overall rank: 25
- Overall score: 84.1
Score by factor
- Academic Reputation: 99.7
- Faculty/Student Ratio: 44.9
- Citations per Faculty: 50.8
- Employer Reputation: 96.9
- International Faculty/Student Ratio: 96.9 (Faculty) and 96.1 (Student)
- Sustainability: 100
- Employment Outcomes: 98.7
- International Research Network: 97.7
What To Know Regarding UofT?
Down a few spots from its 21st-place finish in the QS World University Rankings last year, UofT is Canada’s highest-ranking post-secondary institution for the second year in a row.
However, the UofT did rank number one overall in the rankings for sustainability.
In addition, obtaining scores above 96.0 for academic reputation, employer reputation, employment results, international research outcomes, and both international ratios, UofT is again regarded as one of the top post-secondary institutions in the world.
Note: This is UofT’s fifth time being included in QS’s top 30 in the last six years.
McGill University – McGill
- Overall rank: 29
- Overall score: 83
Score by factor
- Academic Reputation: 94.3
- Faculty/Student Ratio: 62.3
- Citations per Faculty: 57.9
- Employer Reputation: 87.6
- International Faculty/Student Ratio: 83.7 (Faculty) and 89.6 (Student)
- Sustainability: 99.1
- Employment Outcomes: 98.3
- International Research Network: 94.2
What To Know Regarding McGill?
Canada’s three universities are in the QS World University Rankings and McGill is one of them.
Up one spot from the previous year, McGill has been ranked inside the top 30 of the QS World University Rankings for the first time since 2022. This year also continues a new 13-year trend of the University annually ranking somewhere in the top 35 of the QS World University Rankings.
University Of British Columbia – UBC
- Overall rank: 38
- Overall score: 81
Score by factor
- Academic Reputation: 98.3
- Faculty/Student Ratio: 34.5
- Citations per Faculty: 57.7
- Employer Reputation: 94.3
- International Faculty/Student Ratio: 95.5 (Faculty) and 72.8 (Student)
- Sustainability: 99.8
- Employment Outcomes: 74.6
- International Research Network: 96.2
What To Know About UBC?
After ranking 34th on the QS World University Rankings in 2024, UBC has fallen out of spots in the QS 2025 rankings.
The University was given scores above 94.2 in five of QS’ eight assessed criteria, most notably for academic reputation and sustainability. In addition, ranking just a few spots behind UofT, UBC ranked number four overall in QS’ rankings for sustainability.
Which Schools Rounded Out Canada’s Top 10?
Canada’s three universities are in the QS World University Rankings. Specific rankings are also dedicated to some of the top international student destinations.
In QS’ rankings in Canada, the following institutions round out Canada’s top ten post-secondary institutions for 2025.
- University of Alberta (#96 overall)
- University of Waterloo (#115 overall)
- Western University (#120 overall)
- Universite de Montreal (#159 overall)
- McMaster University (#176 overall)
- University of Ottawa (#189 overall)
- Queen’s Universityy (#193 overall)
- University of Calgary (#198 overall)
Who Is QS?
QS publishes the World University Rankings annually, recognizing the best schools based on eight different factors. Three of these factors were recently added after QS released its 2024 list.
The factors used to rank these universities/ institutions include:
- Academic Reputation
- Faculty/Student Ratio
- Citations per Faculty
- Employer Reputation
- International Faculty/Student Ratio
- Sustainability
- Employment Outcomes
- International Research Network
Each school ranked in the QS World University Rankings has an overall score and a score for each of the five factors mentioned above.
How Does QS Develop Its Ranking System?
QS now uses eight different criteria to rank the school in its World University Rankings.
Listed by weight, these factors are:
1. Academic Reputation (30%)
A school’s academic reputation is determined after conducting surveys of thousands of people who teach and research in the higher education industry.
2. Citations Per Faculty (20%)
This criteria accounts for how many times a paper written or produced by a faculty member at a particular school has been cited by a different publication in the last five years.
QS notes that ‘citations per faculty’ are considered a measure of the institution’s reliability in the context of academic writing.
3. Employer Reputation (15%)
Another survey-based criterion, this part of the QS methodology, factors in the responses of global employers who are asked ‘name they believe’ produces some of the most employable graduates.
4. Faculty/ Student Ratio (10%)
QS methodology rewards low student-to-faculty ratios and small class sizes because these factors are considered to contribute to an advantageous, more personalized, and collaborative learning environment.
5. International Faculty/ Student Ratio (10%)
This part of the methodology considers two ratios similar to the above faculty/ student ratio factor.
- The number of international faculty members to domestic faculty members
- The number of international students to domestic students
Note: Each of the ratios above is weighted at 5% and QS notes that these ratios, which are initially self-reported by the institution, are verified against government data when possible.
6. Sustainability (5%)
This factor measures the commitment to sustainability put forth by an institution and its alumni.
7. Employability Outcomes (5%)
This factor measures the relative ability of an institution to ensure a high level of employability for its graduates.
8. International Research Network (5%)
A measure, according to QS, of how institutions create and sustain research partnerships resulting in internationally co-authored publications to collaborate on solving the world’s challenges and disseminate vital research to wider audiences.
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