6 Quebec Universities Were Ranked Among The Best Schools In The World

A new ranking of the best universities in the world dropped and a total of 25 Canadian institutions managed to make the cut, six of which are in Quebec.

The Academic Ranking of World Universities (ARWU), also known as the Shanghai Ranking, released its very first ranking in 2003, and after two decades is considered one of the most influential and widely read university rankings alongside Quacquarelli Symonds (QS) and Times Higher Education.

The 2023 ranking measured 2,500 global institutions, with the ARWU publishing the top 1000. Universities were ranked on several academic and research performance indicators, including the quality of education, quality of faculty, research output and per capita performance.

While the University of Toronto led the pack as the top Canadian school, Montreal's McGill University reigns supreme as the number one university in Quebec (third in Canada and 70th globally) — receiving an overall score of 28.9. McGill's best-ranked subjects include public health, geography, dentistry and oral sciences, mining and mineral engineering and human biological sciences. The university also performed exceptionally well in mathematics, ecology, and automation and control.

The Université de Montréal ranked sixth best in Canada (and in the bracket of 151st–200th globally — the ARWU release doesn't specify individual global ranks beyond the top 100), tying with the University of Waterloo. As for the Université Laval, the school secured the 13th spot in Canada and ranked in the 301st–400th segment in the global division — tying with five other Canadian universities including Dalhousie, Simon Fraser, Western, the University Saskatchewan and the University of Victoria.

Montreal's Concordia University followed, landing 19th overall in Canada (501st-600th globally) with its best-ranked subjects including telecommunications engineering, transportation science and technology and law.

The Université de Sherbrooke came up next, landing 22nd overall. And in the 25th position is the Université de Québec à Montréal (UQAM). The university's best-ranked subjects include ecology, telecommunications engineering, atmospheric sciences and earth sciences.

If you're wondering what other Canadian schools managed to make the 2023 list, here is the complete ranking of the best universities in Canada:

1. University of Toronto
2. University of British Columbia
3. McGill University
4. University of Alberta
5. McMaster University
6. Université de Montréal
7. University of Waterloo
8. Queen's University
9. The University of Calgary
10. University of Manitoba
11. University of Ottawa
12. Dalhousie University
13. L'Université Laval
14. Simon Fraser University
15. University of Saskatchewan
16. University of Victoria
17. Western University
18. York University
19. Carleton University
20. Concordia University
21. University of Guelph
22. Université de Sherbrooke
23. Memorial University of Newfoundland
24. University of Regina
25. Université de Québec à Montréal