McGill University has once again secured the top spot in Maclean’s annual ranking of Canadian medical doctoral universities — marking its 21st year at No. 1.
In her profile, Maclean’s reporter Rosemary Counter praised McGill’s global impact, cutting-edge research and strong international appeal. “The school… secures some of the highest amounts of research funding of all universities across the country and has had more Rhodes Scholars and Nobel Prize laureates than any other school in Canada,” she wrote.
McGill’s legacy grew even stronger on Oct. 13, when alumnus Peter Howitt (BA’68) was named co-winner of this year’s Nobel Prize in Economics.
Excellence across the board
Maclean’s ranks universities in five key areas – students, faculty, resources, student support and reputation – using 12 performance indicators. This year, McGill ranked in the top three for eight of the 12 indicators and was the only medical doctoral university to place in the top 10 in all of them.
“This recognition reflects overall excellence across the University, not just in a few select areas,” said President Deep Saini. “It’s a credit to our entire community – faculty, staff, students and alumni – and their commitment to the University’s mission of academic excellence, research and service to society.”
Top marks for student awards and resources
For the ninth straight year, McGill led the country in student awards – a measure of how often students win prestigious national honours. These include Rhodes Scholarships, awards from professional associations and funding from Canada’s three federal granting agencies.
McGill also topped Maclean’s list for library acquisitions for the 11th consecutive year. This indicator tracks how much of the library’s budget is invested in expanding its collections, including digital resources – a vital factor in student success.
This has been a good rankings month for McGill. On Oct. 9, the University moved up the Times Higher Education World University Rankings.