McMaster ranks fourth in Canada in ‘U.S. News & World rankings’

The rankings assess the academic research of universities in more than 100 countries.

By Beth Gallagher July 22, 2024

The exterior of McMaster's University Hall.

McMaster University has ranked fourth in Canada, up one position from last year, by the U.S News & World Report, a research-focused ranking of global universities.

McMaster also ranked 127th out of 2,250 of the world’s top universities – a jump of 11 spots compared to the previous year.

“We are incredibly proud to see McMaster and its researchers recognized as among the very best in Canada and globally,” said McMaster’s President David Farrar. “Undergraduate and graduate students are important contributors to our research programs which can inspire their own career paths in the lab or as entrepreneurs.”

The U.S. News ranking placed several of McMaster’s health science subject areas in the Top 5 in Canada and Top 100 globally:

  • 2nd in Canada (17th globally) Clinical Medicine
  • 2nd in Canada (36th globally) Endocrinology and Metabolism
  • 2nd in Canada (44th globally) Gastroenterology and Hepatology
  • 4th in Canada (32nd globally) Public, Environmental and Occupational Health
  • 4th in Canada (62nd globally) Cardiac and Cardiovascular Systems
  • 4th in Canada (91st globally) Infectious Diseases

“McMaster is the birthplace of evidence-based medicine and problem-based learning,” said Paul O’Byrne, dean and vice-president of McMaster’s Faculty of Health Sciences. “This global ranking not only recognizes our research excellence, it also demonstrates the positive impact we are having on patient care and improving health outcomes for people around the world.”

The U.S. News & World Report rankings assess the academic research of universities in more than 100 countries by leveraging data collected by Clarivate™, an analytics company based in London, U.K. It considers reputation through survey responses from global researchers who share their opinions about universities and their respective disciplines.

“This rise in our rankings reflects the world-leading contributions of McMaster’s researchers,” said Susan Tighe, provost and vice-president Academic. “Recognition of our research strengths enhances our reputation which creates even more opportunities to positively impact our local and global communities.”

University of Toronto ranked first among Canadian universities, followed by the University of British Columbia, McGill University and McMaster.

McMaster recently ranked 30th in the world in the Times Higher Education University Impact Rankings which celebrates universities that excel across multiple United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). It also ranked among the top 100 universities – and 39th in clinical medicine – in the Shanghai Ranking’s Academic Ranking of World Universities 2023.

Last year, the U.S. News Best Countries ranking positioned Canada second in the world behind Switzerland. The annual rankings are based on survey responses from more than 17,000 people around the world. Canada moved up one spot in 2023 based on the nation’s strong performance in themes related to quality of life, social purpose, entrepreneurship and agility.

The U.S. News country ranking is designed to capture global perceptions of each country in areas like gender equality, racial equity, education of the population and innovation.

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