For the sixth consecutive year, McMaster has ranked fourth in Canada in Maclean’s annual university rankings.  

This ranking is driven by a nation-leading performance in student services, as well as strong showings in total research dollars (2nd in Canada), library acquisitions (2nd in Canada) and institutional reputation (4th in Canada).  

“At McMaster, we have an unwavering commitment to providing our students and researchers with the tools they need to have a transformative impact on the world around us,” says President and Vice-chancellor David Farrar. “Our performance in this year’s Maclean’s ranking reaffirms our dedication to innovation, creativity and teaching excellence at all levels.” 

The university also showed improvement in Medical and Science grants, as well as Social Sciences and Humanities grants, which indicates a research strength in the liberal arts. 

These results are part of the Medical Doctoral category, which is one of the rankings produced by Maclean’s each year. Measuring the performance of higher education institutions that offer a broad range of PhD programs and research, as well as a medical school, these rankings are informed by five key areas: students, faculty, resources, student support and reputation. The scores in these areas are based on 12 weighted performance indicators, ranging from student awards and scholarships to library services and research grants. 

Maclean’s also publishes rankings of individual programs. In these, McMaster’s Nursing program ranked fifth overall, while the Faculty of Engineering ranked seventh in the nation.  

Earlier this year, McMaster ranked 33rd in the world for global impact in the Times Higher Education Impact Rankings. The university also ranked among the top 100 universities in the world for the 20th year in a row in the Shanghai Rankings, and Times Higher Education further identified McMaster as first in the world in industry impact.