This Canadian university was the only one to make the top 20 in a new global ranking

A person walks past the University of Toronto campus in Toronto on Wednesday, June 10, 2020. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Nathan Denette

Three Canadian universities are among the top 100 in the world, and one is within the top 20, according to a new global ranking.

Released earlier this month, the U.S. News & World Report Best Global Universities ranking places the University of Toronto top in Canada and 20th in the world.

The school falls behind institutions including Harvard University in the U.S., the University of Oxford in the U.K., and Tsinghua University in China. A list of the top 20 is below.

The group behind the list says it looked at 2,438 universities in 105 countries, comparing indicators including global research reputation, publications and citations, and international collaboration. It used a reputation survey that asked for academics’ opinions about the schools.

It was U of T’s publication of articles and books, and citations of its research, that boosted the school in the global rankings, categories in which the university fell in the top 10.

The University of British Columbia made the top 50 with its highest scores in the categories of book publication, and global and regional research reputation. UBC ranked 42nd overall and second in Canada.

McGill University was ranked 68th globally and third in Canada.

Top universities in the world

Per the U.S. News & World Report’s 2026-27 ranking, the best global universities are:

1. Harvard University - U.S.

2. Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) - U.S.

3. Stanford University - U.S.

4. University of Oxford - U.K.

5. University of Cambridge - U.K.

6. Tsinghua University - China

7. University of California-Berkeley - U.S.

8. Yale University - U.S.

9. University College London - U.K.

10. Columbia University - U.S.

11. University of California--Los Angeles - U.S.

12. University of Washington - U.S.

13. Cornell University - U.S.

14. Imperial College London - U.K. (tie)

14. Princeton University - U.S. (tie)

16. National University of Singapore - Singapore

17. Johns Hopkins University - U.S. (tie)

17. University of Pennsylvania - U.S. (tie)

19. Peking University - China

20. University of Toronto - Canada

Here’s the full list of globally ranked universities.

Top universities in Canada

Those behind the ranking included 39 Canadian universities. They were ranked as follows, with their global rank included in brackets:

1. University of Toronto (20)

2. University of British Columbia (42)

3. McGill University (68)

4. McMaster University (150)

5. University of Alberta (164)

6. University of Montreal (193)

7. University of Waterloo (199)

8. University of Calgary (208)

9. University of Ottawa (264)

10. Western University (309)

11. Dalhousie University (410)

12. Queens University (415)

13. University of Victoria (417)

14. Simon Fraser University (444)

15. University of Manitoba (471)

16. Laval University (507)

17. York University (530)

18. University of Guelph (559)

19. University of Saskatchewan (592)

20. Carleton University (633)

Here’s the full ranking of Canadian universities.