McGill made the world's top 50 universities — but other Canadian schools ranked way higher

Montreal's McGill University is officially one of the world's top 50 universities for 2025.

If you're deciding where to pursue studies in and around Montreal, the latest global university ranking might help tip the scales. The 2025 National Taiwan University (NTU) Rankings are out, and McGill is the only Quebec school to crack the world’s top 100.

Out of the thousands of universities that were evaluated worldwide, McGill landed in 50th place with a score of 64.4. That's a big jump from recent years — it ranked 57th in both 2024 (44.4) and 2023 (44.0).

The NTU rankings focus strictly on research performance. This year's list evaluated more than 2,000 universities using eight different indicators, from the quantity and quality of studies to their influence on the global stage. Each school gets a weighted score that is then turned into a final ranking. The result isn't a perfect "best school" list, but a snapshot of who's leading in academic research.

How Canadian universities placed

Overall, four Canadian schools made the top 100 list this year:

• University of Toronto — 4th place
• University of British Columbia — 33rd
• McGill University — 50th
• University of Alberta — 88th

The University of Toronto took the highest Canadian spot, ranking fourth overall, just behind household names like Harvard, Stanford, and University College London.

Quebec universities compared

While McGill holds down the global top 50, its closest Quebec competitor, the Université de Montréal, improved its standing but fell short of the top 100, climbing from 129th in 2024 to 116th this year. Université Laval landed at 291st, while the Université du Québec came in at 448th.

Where McGill stands out

McGill didn't just perform well overall — it scored especially high in specific fields:

• 12th in neuroscience and behavioural sciences
• 29th in psychiatry and psychology
• 39th in biology and biochemistry

You can explore the entire 2025 university ranking here.

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