For the second consecutive year, there are three of Canada’s top universities in QS World University Rankings 2025.
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 employability and sustainability 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 of Canada’s top universities in QS World University Rankings are located in three popular provinces for newcomers.
In fact, all but one of the schools inside Canada’s own top 10 for 2025 are located in Ontario, British Columbia, or Quebec. The one 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 About UofT
Down a few spots from its 21st-place finish in QS World University Rankings last year, UofT is Canada’s highest-ranking post-secondary institution for the second year in a row.
However, UofT did rank number one overall in QS world ranking for sustainability.
Also obtaining scores above 96.0 for academic reputation, employer reputation, employment outcomes, international research network 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 inside 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 About McGill
McGill University is one of Canada’s top universities in QS World University Rankings.
Up one spot from last year, McGill has been ranked inside the top 30 of QS World University Rankings for the first time since 2022. This year also continues a now 13-year trend of McGill annually ranking somewhere in the top 35 of 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 four spots in the QS 2025 rankings.
UBC scored above 94.2 in five of QS’ eight assessed criteria, most notably for academic reputation and sustainability. In fact, ranking just a few spots behind UofT, UBC ranked number four overall in QS’ world rankings for sustainability.
Which Schools Rounded Out Canada’s Top 10?
Apart from Canada’s top universities in QS world rankings, specific rankings have also been dedicated to some of the top international student destinations.
In QS Rankings for Canada, along with UofT, McGill, and UBC, the following institutions round out Canada’s top 10 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 University (#193 overall)
- University of Calgary (#198 overall)
Who Is QS?
QS publishes the World University Rankings annually, identifying 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 inside the QS World University Rankings obtains an overall score as well as a score for each of the five above factors separately.
How Does QS Develop Its Ranking System?
QS now uses eight different criteria to rank the schools in its World University Rankings.
Listed by weight, these factors are:
- Academic Reputation
A school’s academic reputation is determined after conducting surveys with thousands of people ‘who teach and research’ in the higher education industry.
- Citations Per Faculty
This criteria accounts for how many times, in the last five years, a paper written/ produced by a faculty member at the specific school was cited by a different publication.
QS notes that ‘citations per faculty’ are considered as a measure of the institution’s reliability in the context of academic writing.
- Employer Reputation
It is another survey-based criterion. This part of the QS methodology factors in the responses of global employers who are asked to ‘name up to ten local and thirty international universities that they believe’ will produce some of the most potentially employable graduates.
- Faculty/ Student Ratio
QS methodology rewards low student-to-faculty ratios and small class sizes because these factors contribute to an advantageous, ‘more personalized, and collaborative learning environment.’
- International Faculty/ Student Ratio
Similar to the above student/ faculty ratio factor, this part of the QS methodology considers two ratios:
- 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 are verified against government data when possible.
- Sustainability
This factor measures the commitment to sustainability put forth by an institution and its alumni.
- Employment Outcomes
These factors measure the relative ability of an institution to ensure a high level of employability for its graduates.
- International Research Network
A measure, according to the 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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