McGill ranked 18th overall in the world in the 2012 QS World University Rankings, released Sept. 10. Although McGill moved down one spot from its 17th place finish in 2011, this latest annual ranking marks the sixth consecutive year that the university has placed in the QS top 20.
Launched in 2004, QS World Rankings is considered one of the world’s most widely known university ranking systems. It ranks universities annually based on six factors: academic reputation (40 per cent), employer reputation (10 per cent), student/faculty ratio (20 per cent), citations per faculty (20 per cent), international faculty ratio (five per cent), and international student ratio (five per cent).
In a news release, Principal Heather Munroe-Blum expressed satisfaction with the results.
“We are pleased by McGill’s continued strong performance in these rankings,” Munroe-Blum said. “It is a tribute to the talent, dedication, and hard work of faculty, staff, and students throughout our university. We are also delighted that three great Canadian schools are now listed in the top 50 of this world ranking, with two in the top 20.”
The other Canadian university to place in the top 20 was the University of Toronto, ranked in 19th place. The University of British Columbia was the third-ranked university in Canada, placing 45th.
For the first time, the Massachusetts Institute of Technology placed first in the overall rankings, followed by the University of Cambridge in second, and Harvard University in third.
According to QS Head of Public Relations Simona Bizzozero, 2,586 universities were surveyed this year. Of those, 729 universities from 72 countries were ranked.
“In [2004] we considered the top 500 universities for research citations based on a bibliometric database,” Bizzozero said. “[In subsequent years], we added to the initial group—other universities which received votes from the academics and employers we survey every year.”
According to Bizzozero, other universities were included based on specific considerations, including national rankings, survey performance, geographical balancing (recognizing the different priorities and characteristics of universities in different parts of the world), and direct case submission.
In individual department rankings, McGill placed 36th in social sciences and management, 32nd in arts and humanities, 29th in life sciences and medicine, 38th in natural sciences, and 46th in engineering and technology.
The full rankings, as well as more details about the methodology of the QS ranking system, can be found at www.topuniversities.com.
— Karen Huang
