It’s official: Montreal is the best city in North America to be a student.
That’s according to global higher education analytics firm Quacquarelli Symonds (QS), which published the latest edition of the QS Best Student Cities ranking on June 18.
Montreal jumped three places from last year, surpassing both Toronto as the highest-ranking Canadian city and Boston as the highest-ranking North American city. Internationally, Montreal ranked 10th out of 150 cities.
“Montreal’s vibrant and cosmopolitan nature creates an inspiring environment for people from all corners of the globe looking to join a thriving hub of knowledge, creativity and innovative thinking,” says Anja Geitmann, McGill University’s Interim Vice-President (Global Engagement).
“The excellence of our institutions of higher education and research, combined with the welcoming, diverse and multilingual community here provide an ideal setting for academic pursuits and cultural enrichment, offering unique opportunities for students and scholars to flourish.”
Praised for friendliness and diversity
Earlier this year, McGill University had moved up in QS’s World University Rankings, to 29th globally.
The top-ranked Montreal university also had three subjects in the global top 10 of QS Rankings by Subject and ranks 13th in the QS Sustainability Rankings.
QS highlighted Montreal’s “laidback yet lively lifestyle, attractive boulevards, thriving creative industries, and electric range of arts venues,” while students praised the city’s arts and culture scene as well as its friendliness and diversity.
In ranking cities, QS considers findings in six categories: the QS World University Rankings, student environment, desirability, employer activity, affordability and survey results. Its annual student survey asks respondents to rate their city’s affordability, and asks whether they will stay in the city after graduation.