Top 10 universities in Canada 2024

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Canada is home to a number of the world’s top universities. In fact, 31 Canadian institutions are counted among the best in the world, according to Times Higher Education’s World University Rankings 2024.

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With eight universities in the top 200, Canada offers plenty of opportunities for a world-class education for international students.

Compared with the US, Canada can also provide cheaper tuition fees, a simpler application process and more opportunities for permanent residency after graduation.

Canada’s top institution – the University of Toronto – scores particularly highly for research impact, which means it produces high-quality academic work that is well respected.

Many of Canada’s universities are renowned for promoting a global outlook by recruiting international students and staff and encouraging international collaborations, so there will be a large community of overseas staff and students at any university in Canada.

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5. University of Alberta

The University of Alberta is located in Edmonton, capital of the province of Alberta. It is a public research university and was established in 1908. 

Alberta has produced one Nobel Laureate, four justices of the supreme court of Canada, including a chief justice, and housed 68 Rhodes Scholars, the highest number in Canada.

The university has five campuses across Edmonton, and 18 faculties across a range of subjects including arts, engineering, law, and nursing. 

The university has two student unions, one for undergraduates and one for graduate students. 

4. McMaster University

McMaster University is located in Hamilton, Ontario. Students and faculty come from more than 90 countries.

The university is named after William McMaster, a prominent Canadian senator and banker who donated C$900,000 to found the institution.

McMaster’s medical school is world-renowned, and there are also faculties of engineering, business, humanities, social sciences and science. The university places a strong emphasis on research working to target some of the most urgent needs in society, particularly in the field of health sciences.

The university holds some 70 international exchange agreements with institutions around the world.

3. McGill University

Students at McGill University come from more than 150 countries. 

The university was founded in 1821. Its main campus is at the base of Mount Royal in downtown Montreal. First-year students have the option to live on the park-like campus.

In 1829, McGill University founded the nation’s first faculty of medicine, and to this day the university scores particularly highly in world rankings for clinical subjects.

The university offers more than 300 degree subjects to 31,000-plus students at both the undergraduate and postgraduate level.

There is a range of services for students including the Career Planning Service, the Office for Students with Disabilities and the Academic Advising Service.

Singer-songwriter Leonard Cohen and the actor William Shatner are graduates of McGill. The university also educates more Rhodes Scholars than any other Canadian institution.

2. University of British Columbia

Some 33 per cent of students at the University of British Columbia are international.

Eight Nobelists are associated with the university, as are 71 Rhodes scholars and 65 Olympic medallists.

The University of British Columbia has two campuses: one in Vancouver and one in Okanagan.

The university is organised into 12 faculties on the Vancouver campus and a further seven on the Okanagan campus. The university offers a special joint undergraduate programme with Sciences Po in Paris.

Faculties at the university include applied science, education, music, nursing, the arts, law, and medicine.

The university offers a number of scholarships for international students, including the Donald A. Wehrung International Student Award for candidates from war-torn countries.

Three Canadian prime ministers have been educated at UBC, including current prime minister Justin Trudeau, who graduated with a Bachelor of Education degree.

1. University of Toronto

Notable alumni of the University of Toronto include five Canadian prime ministers and the writers Michael Ondaatje and Margaret Atwood. In total, 10 Nobel laureates are affiliated with the university.

The University of Toronto is structured as a collegiate system, much like prestigious institutions in the UK such as the universities of Oxford and Cambridge. The seven colleges all have distinct histories and traditions.

Some 25 per cent of students at the university are international.

More than 700 undergraduate degrees and 200 postgraduate degrees are on offer, and the university is one of the world’s best for medicine.

There are more than 1,000 associations and clubs available for students to join across the university’s three campuses.

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Best universities in Canada 2024

Click each institution to view its full World University Rankings 2024 profile