A new ranking of university programs by Maclean’s has Queen’s making the top 10 in all 10 categories.

Offered for the first time alongside the magazine’s annual university rankings, Maclean’s ranked universities in 10 different undergraduate programs – biology; business; computer science; education; engineering; environmental science; geology; mathematics; nursing and psychology.

“Queen’s continues to be recognized as one of Canada’s leading universities,” says Alan Harrison, Provost and Vice-Principal (Academic). “To be ranked in the top 10 of all 10 categories speaks to the diversity of strengths that help set Queen’s apart.”

Large research-intensive universities, such as the University of Toronto, the University of British Columbia and McGill University, all had strong results as the indicators with the most weight measured research impact. Despite being a medium-sized university, Queen’s was ranked in the top 10 for all the programs, with the best result being second place for geology.

Jean Hutchinson, Head of the Department of Geological Sciences and Geological Engineering, says that the rankings have “validated” the department’s efforts.

“We work very hard in Geology at Queen's both in the classroom and in the field to ensure what we are doing has impact. The incredible dedication and hard work of our faculty, staff, students, and alumni have resulted in a superb learning environment,” Dr. Hutchinson says.

Queen’s Program Rankings

• Geology – 2
• Education – 5
• Business – 6
• Engineering – 7
• Psychology – 7
• Biology – 8
• Computer Science – 9
• Nursing – 9
• Environmental Science – 10
• Mathematics – 10

Maclean’s program rankings combine five indicators that are assigned a weight to come up with an overall score. Three indicators are based on data provided by Amsterdam-based Elsevier from their Scopus database, one of the most comprehensive compendiums of peer-reviewed literature in the world, with metrics calculated by its SciVal Analytics. The other two indicators are based on a survey of more than 1,200 deans, chairs, and professors at more than 80 schools asking them to list which schools offered the best programs and were doing the best research.

In the Maclean’s 2016 university rankings, released earlier, Queen’s led the way in student satisfaction among Canada’s medical-doctoral universities, while holding its fourth-place overall position within the category.