Queen’s places fifth in latest Maclean’s university rankings

According to the 2020 university rankings by Maclean's, Queen’s remains among the top universities in the medical-doctoral category and is third overall in student satisfaction.

Queen’s placed fifth out of the 15 medical-doctoral universities in Canada according to the 2020 Maclean’s university rankings, which were released on Thursday.

First overall in the medical-doctoral rankings went to McGill University, followed by University of Toronto, University of British Columbia, and McMaster University. The ranking features universities with a broad range of PhD programs and research, as well as medical schools. The two other university rankings are comprehensive, and primarily undergraduate.

The rankings covered five categories: students; faculty; resources; student support; and reputation. Within those categories Queen’s highest rankings were faculty awards (2), student satisfaction (3), student awards (5), library expenses (5), scholarships and bursaries (5), as well as the reputational survey (6).

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Queen’s University once again led the way nationally in the proportion of undergraduate students who graduate (89.5 per cent), second in student retention from first year to second year (94.5 per cent), and sixth for average entering grade (89.8 per cent).

“I know that our faculty and staff take great pride in the work of this institution and what we have accomplished,” says Principal and Vice-Chancellor Patrick Deane. “We are undertaking innovative research and providing our students with an educational experience that continues to be recognized as one of the best in the country.”

Student Satisfaction Survey

As part of the rankings, Maclean’s looks at student satisfaction, with Queen’s placing third, behind Sherbrooke and Laval. Queen’s grabbed a spot in the top three in six of the 10 categories, led by a first place in extracurricular activities. The university placed fourth in steps to prevent sexual assault, second in residence living and third in experiential learning, promoting indigenous visibility, administrative staff, and academic advising staff.

National Reputational Ranking

Queen’s placed seventh out of 49 universities in the national reputational ranking, for a second year in a row. For the reputational ranking Maclean’s surveyed university faculty and senior administrators, high school guidance counsellors and a variety of businesspeople asking for their views on quality and innovation at universities. In the three categories of the ranking, Queen’s placed seventh for highest quality, eighth for most innovative, and ninth for leaders of tomorrow.

Program rankings

Maclean’s also took a look at selected programs in the sciences and social sciences, assessing research and reputation. Queen’s was ranked in each of the 10 program categories: Biology (10); Business (8); Computer Science (11); Education (8); Engineering (11); Environmental Science (10); Mathematics (13); Medicine (11); Nursing (10); Psychology (6).

Note: This article originally appeared in the Queen's Gazette.