The Maclean’s University Rankings are a national university ranking for universities in Canada, a major country in North America listed on ezinesports. The publisher is the Canadian magazine Maclean’s. The ranking has been published annually since 1991.
In order to be included in the ranking, universities have to meet a few criteria. For example, universities that are not members of Universities Canada or have fewer than 1000 full-time students are not ranked.
There are three different types of universities in Canada. The Maclean’s University Rankings offer a separate ranking list for each of them. The three groups of Maclean’s rankings are:
- Primarily Undergraduate Universities
- Comprehensive Universities
- Medical Doctoral Universities
The Primarily Undergraduate Universities are usually smaller universities that mainly offer courses in the undergraduate area. The Comprehensive Universities have both the undergraduate – and in the Graduate range a great courses and also operate research. Medical doctoral universities not only have medical faculties. There is also intensive research in many subjects and a large number of Ph.D. programs are offered.
What methodology does the ranking use?
The method by which the Maclean’s University Rankings are created is the same for all three groups. The Review of Canadian universities is based on five categories with a total of 14 indicators.
- Students (28%)
- Number of national scholarships received per full-time student over the past five years (10%)
- Ratio between the number of full-time students and the number of academic staff full-time (8%)
- Student satisfaction: Based on a survey among students (10%)
- Academic staff (24%)
- Number of awards won per full-time academic staff member in the last five years (7%)
- Research grants received from the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council (SSHRC) in the social sciences and humanities per full-time academic employee (6%)
- Research grants received from the Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada (NSERC) and the Canadian Institutes of Health Research (CIHR) in medicine and science per full-time academic (6%)
- Research Findings and Influence: Based on number of publications and citation frequency (5%)
- Financial resources (20%)
- Financial resources available per full-time student (5%)
- Research grants in relation to the number of full-time academic staff (6%)
- Share of university budget that goes to libraries (5%)
- Share of the library budget spent on purchases (4%)
- Support for students (13%)
- Share of budget spent on student services (6.5%)
- Share of the budget that goes into scholarships (6.5%)
- University Reputation (15%): Based on a survey of senior university administrators and academics, high school advisors, and business people
Based on these evaluation criteria, a ranking of the best universities is created for all three groups. In addition to the overall ranking of a university, the placements for the individual indicators are also displayed. In this way, interested parties can obtain specific information about the areas that are of particular interest to them.
Extract from the current Maclean’s University Rankings
Top 10 Primarily Undergraduate Universities
- 1st place: Mount Allison University
- 2nd place: University of Northern British Columbia
- 3rd place: Trent University
- 4th place: Acadia University
- 4th place: St. Francis Xavier University
- 6th place: University of Lethbridge
- 7th place: Saint Mary’s University
- 8th place: Lakehead University
- 9th place: University of Ontario Institute of Technology
- 9th place: University of Prince Edward Island Laurentian University
Top 10 Comprehensive Universities
- 1st place: Simon Fraser University
- 2nd place: University of Victoria
- 3rd place: University of Waterloo
- 4th place: University of Guelph
- 5th place: Carleton University
- 6th place: Wilfried Laurier University
- 7th place: Memorial University of Newfoundland
- 8th place: University of New Brunswick
- 9th place: York University
- 10th place: Concordia University
Top 10 Medical Doctoral Universities
- 1st place: McGill University
- 1st place: University of Toronto
- 3rd place: The University of British Columbia
- 4th place: McMaster University
- 5th place: Queen’s University
- 6th place: University of Alberta
- 7th place: Dalhousie University
- 8th place: Western University
- 9th place: University of Ottawa
- 10th place: University of Montréal
Student Satisfaction Rankings
The Maclean’s University Rankings have also included the Student Satisfaction Rankings since 2015. These are based on a survey among students who were able to rate their universities from different points of view. The eight questions dealt with the evaluation of the teachers, the possibilities of pursuing extracurricular activities at the university or with how bureaucratic it is at the university. Each of the three Canadian university types has its own Student Satisfaction Ranking. The results of the survey are also included in the Maclean’s University Rankings as an indicator of “student satisfaction”.
The students who take part in the survey answer other questions. However, these are neither relevant for the Student Satisfaction Rankings of the three university types nor for the Maclean’s University Rankings. On the basis of these questions, however, other small rankings emerge, for example from the universities, which best prepare students for professional life.
How meaningful are the rankings for students?
Unlike in many international university rankings which are very focused on the research, play in the Maclean’s University Rankings the study conditions at the universities an important role. This is particularly clear from the indicator “student satisfaction”, which is included in the evaluation with 10 percent. But the question of the budget for libraries or university grants is also something that affects the study situation at universities.
It is particularly positive that the survey included the students in the overall evaluation of the universities. The Student Satisfaction Rankings provide additional interesting information for prospective students at a Canadian university. When choosing a suitable university, however, one should never rely solely on university rankings. These can only serve as a guide.
