B.C.'s biggest university has climbed closer to the top of a prestigious list of the best post-secondary schools in the world.
The Quacquarelli Symonds (QS) World University Rankings has released its 20th annual installment, featuring 1,500 institutions across 104 locations around the world.
The England-based analytics firm has introduced three new metrics for 2023 including a school's sustainability initiatives, its employment outcomes, and its international research network.
To determine the ranking, QS draws on "the analysis of 17.5 million academic papers and the expert opinions of over 240,000 academic faculty and employers."
The Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) in Cambridge, U.S., claimed the top honour in the ranking, boasting a perfect score of 100. This is the school's twelfth year in the top spot. Following in second, the University of Cambridge in the United Kingdom had a nearly perfect score of 99.2. Another U.K. school, the University of Oxford, rounded out the top three, with a score of 98.9.
Two U.S. schools, Harvard University and Stanford University, placed fifth and sixth, respectively.
Three Canadian universities appear on QS global ranking
The University of British Columbia (UBC) tied with the Australian National University (ANU) for 34th in the global ranking, with an overall score of 81.5.
In UBC's description, the report authors praise the school for its commitment to equity and diversity, as well as for strengthening the "quality, relevance and impact of its research."
QS adds that UBC is also the first North American university to "commit to implementing the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples, and to take a human rights-based approach to our Indigenous strategic framework."
The University of Toronto placed 21st on the list, making it the highest-ranking Canadian academic institution. McGill University in Montreal placed 30th in the world and second in Canada.
UBC rounded out the top three Canadian academic institutions.
“I am very proud of UBC’s position among the world’s top universities,” said Interim President and Vice-Chancellor of UBC, Prof. Deborah Buszard.
“This ranking certainly shows that UBC is home to many of the world’s best and brightest students, faculty, and staff.”
