McGill University is outshining more Ivy League schools in a new global ranking

This year's global report card from Quacquarelli Symonds (QS) shows McGill University moving up in the World University Rankings by Subject.

The Montreal institution now has three subjects in the global top 10 for the second year in a row. And the number of subjects ranked in the top 20 has reached seven, more than double last year.

McGill's presence is also felt in the wider rankings, with 35 subjects ranked in the top 50 globally, an uptick from 28 in 2023. The university now has 47 subjects in the top 100, a jump from 44 last year.

The university's rise in the rankings positions it among elite company, with heavyweights like Harvard, Oxford, and MIT leading in fields like Arts & Humanities, Life Sciences & Medicine and Engineering.

The annual QS ranking is based on academic and employer reputation, research citations per paper, H-index (measuring productivity and impact), and international research network. It provides a comparative analysis of over 16,400 individual university programs across more than 1,500 universities in 96 locations worldwide.

Specific subjects at McGill have shown remarkable performance, like Engineering – Mineral & Mining, which is ranked fifth globally. The subject has consistently appeared in the top 10 for the eighth consecutive year. Other high performers include Library Information & Management and Anatomy & Physiology, ranked sixth and seventh respectively.

This year, McGill saw four subjects break into the Top 20, including Environmental Sciences, Linguistics, Medicine and newcomer Music, which made its first appearance in the QS rankings at the 18th spot.

In terms of broad faculty areas, McGill is ranked in the global top 50 across all five categories, with improvements in Life Sciences & Medicine (now ranked 25th, up from 26th), Arts & Humanities (tied for 29th, improving from 31st), Engineering & Technology (39th, up from 42nd), and Social Sciences & Management (39th, up from 41st). Natural Sciences maintained its position at 47th.

McGill's leap in the QS rankings shows they've not only done their homework, they're also acing the test on a global scale.