5 Canadian universities ranked among the best schools in the world

A slew of Canadian universities were recently ranked among the best schools in the world, thanks to their sustainable choices.

Times Higher Education dropped its 2024 ranking of the top universities pursuing sustainable development goals, and a handful of Canadian institutions managed to make the top 20 — with the University of Alberta leading the pack.

Times Higher Education evaluated 2,152 universities from 125 countries and regions to produce the Impact Rankings for 2024. The rankings integrate scores across multiple Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) — put in place by the United Nations — to reflect overall performance and impact.

The schools were ranked based on the 17 SDGs laid out by the UN, including quality education, gender equality, clean water and sanitation, affordable and clean energy, as well as sustainable cities and communities, to name a few.

So, which university landed on top? Australia's Western Sydney University ranked number one for the third consecutive year.

As for Canadian schools, the University of Alberta ranked sixth overall — scoring highest in SDGs such as industry, innovation and infrastructure, life below water and partnerships for the goals.

Queen's University ranked eighth overall, scoring highest in sustainable cities and communities. The University of Victoria also made the top 20, ranking 13th overall.

Simon Fraser University in Burnaby also made the cut, ranking 17th while the Université Laval in Quebec City managed to be the fifth and final Canadian university to rank in the top 20, landing 19th.

While they may not have earned a spot in the top 20, Western University (21), Université de Montreal (28) and McMaster University (30) weren't too far behind.

Wondering which other schools made the list? Here's the complete top 10 of global schools pursuing sustainable development in 2024, per Times Higher Education:

1. Western Sydney University — Australia
2. University of Manchester — United Kingdom
3. University of Tasmania — Australia
4. Aalborg University — Denmark
5. RMIT University — Australia
6. University of Alberta — Canada
7. UNSW Sydney — Australia
8. Queen's University — Canada
9. Arizona State University (Tempe) — United States
10. University of Exeter — United Kingdom

To see the entire Impact Rankings of 2024, visit the Times Higher Education website here.

This article's cover image was used for illustrative purposes only.