McGill best university in Canada: Maclean’s Magazine

Like Thanksgiving and Halloween, Maclean’s Magazine’s annual university rankings have become a Canadian fall tradition. And, it would appear, McGill being named the country’s top medical-doctoral university, is part of that tradition.

For the 17^th consecutive year, Maclean’s Magazine has rated McGill best or tied for best in the Medical Doctoral category in its annual rankings of Canadian universities. The Medical Doctoral includes 15 universities with a broad range of PhD programs and research, as well as medical schools.

“Our continued success in the Maclean’s rankings speaks to the exceptionally high calibre of our students, faculty and staff,” said Principal Suzanne Fortier. “That we, and so many other universities in Canada, have been able to maintain this level of excellence – even through COVID – is an accomplishment we should all be proud of.”

The rankings in five broad areas – students, faculty, resources, student support and reputation – are based on 13 performance indicators.

One of the keys to the University’s ongoing success is excellence across the board, not just in a select few domains. This year, McGill ranked in the top three in nine of the list’s 13 performance indicators, up one from 2020.

McGill’s commitment to provide accessible education for all talented students, regardless of their financial means was recognized once again. The University ranked first in scholarships and bursaries for the twelfth-straight year. This indicator looks at the percentage of a university’s total operating expenditures devoted to student scholarships and bursaries.

This student support is one of the crucial elements in creating an environment in which students thrive. For the fifth year in a row, the University is tops in Canada for student awards. This indicator calculates the number of students, per 1,000, who have won national awards over the past five years.

McGill also ranked No.1 in library acquisitions for the seventh consecutive year in a row. This indicator measures the proportion of the library budget allocated to updating the university’s collection, including electronic access.

Finally, the University topped the field in the social sciences and humanities grants for a tenth consecutive year.

The University also moved up in several indicators, including Faculty Awards (2^nd) and Student/Faculty Ration (3^rd).

Maclean’s also issued its seventh annual program rankings, evaluating five popular programs in the sciences and social sciences based on their reputations for quality and research strength. McGill ranked in the Top 5 in all categories –Business (3^rd), Engineering (3^rd), Computer Science (4^th), Education (4^th) and Nursing (4^th).

Read the full Maclean’s rankings online.