McGill University is trending upward in the latest QS World University Rankings by Subject.
The University has three subjects in the global Top 10; seven subjects in the Top 20 (up from three in 2023); 35 subjects in the Top 50 (up from 28 in 2023); and 47 subjects in the Top 100 (up from 44 in 2023).
“While rankings do not offer a definitive analysis of our University, they do give an interesting perspective on the work we do here,” said McGill President H. Deep Saini. “McGill excelling in so many subjects – from mining to music to medicine – speaks to the dedication and professionalism of our staff and faculty across the entire University. As always, it is a great honour to be ranked among the very best institutions of the world.”
Released earlier today by global higher education analyst QS Quacquarelli Symonds, the rankings provide independent comparative analysis on the performance of more than 16,400 individual university programs, taken by students at more than 1,500 universities in 96 locations around the world, across 55 academic disciplines and five broad faculty areas.
The rankings are based on five indicators, including academic and employer reputation, research citations per paper, H-index (which measures productivity and citation impact of the publications of a scientist or scholar), and international research network.
Mineral and Mining: Consistently excellent
For the second consecutive year, McGill has three subjects in the Top 10. Once again, Engineering – Mineral & Mining leads the way, ranking fifth in the world (up from sixth last year). This marks the eighth straight year Mineral & Mining rates in the Top 10.
“I am delighted to see the continued success of our programs in the areas of mining and minerals in the annual QS ranking,” said Richard Chromik, Chair of the Department of Mining and Materials Engineering. “This is a reflection of the greater than 150 years history of teaching and research excellence for the McGill Mining Engineering program but also of the more recent efforts of our professors to incorporate sustainability, environmental, and societal aspects into their daily work.”
Library Information & Management also climbed up the table, moving from eighth in 2023, to sixth this year. Anatomy & Physiology holds steady in the seventh spot.
Four subjects broke into the Top 20 this year, including Environmental Sciences (18th), Linguistics (18th), Medicine (18th), and Music (18th) – a subject that appeared in the QS rankings for the first time this year.
Other top performers include Performing Arts (24th), Anthropology (25th), Education (26th), Psychology (26th), and Law (28th). Once again, all four subjects moved up the rankings.
This upward trend continued in the broad faculty areas, also ranked by QS. For the second consecutive year, McGill rates in the global Top 50 across all five faculty areas, with four of the five broad faculty areas moving up from the last ranking. Life Sciences & Medicine was the University’s top performer, moving up a spot to 25th, followed by Arts & Humanities (tied for 29th); Engineering & Technology (39th); Social Sciences & Management (39th); and Natural Sciences (47th).
The QS subject rankings follow a strong showing in the QS World University Rankings in June 2023, where McGill jumped to 30th from 31st.