If you want to study in Canada at one of the best universities in the world, your top choices will almost certainly include the University of Toronto and McGill University. These are the two top universities in Canada, ranked 20th and 21st in the world, according to the QS World University Rankings®2014/15.
Of course, there’s much more to the Canadian higher education system than just these two. There are a total of 26 universities in Canada ranked among the world’s best in the QS World University Rankings, including five within the global top 100 and another eight in the top 250. However, it’s McGill and Toronto that consistently stand out as the top two – and the competition has been particularly heated between them ever since Toronto overtook McGill in the international rankings back in 2013. With just one place between them, both are performing at a highly impressive level, so the choice between the two is likely to be a more personal one.
To help any lucky prospective students facing this choice, here’s a look at how these two top universities in Canada measure up on key indicators, followed by a more detailed comparison.
| University of Toronto | McGill University | |
| QS World University Rankings® 2014/15 | Ranked 20th worldwide in 2014/15 Ranked 13th in the world by academics and 37th by employers Stronger scores than McGill on research citations and international faculty diversity | Ranked 21st worldwide in 2014/15 Ranked 31st in the world by academics and 44th by employers Stronger scores than Toronto for faculty-student ratio and international student diversity |
| Subject strengths* | 14th in the world for arts & humanities 15th for life sciences & medicine 22nd for natural sciences 35th for engineering & technology 34th for social sciences & management | 26th in the world for arts & humanities 25th for life sciences & medicine 44th for natural sciences 59th for engineering & technology 43rd for social sciences & management |
| Location | Toronto, Canada’s largest city Additional campuses in Scarborough and Mississauga | Montréal, Canada’s second-largest city in French-speaking province Quebec (but teaching is in English) |
| Student community | 83,012 students (2013-14) 15,884 at graduate level (19%) 12,607 international students (15%) | 39,349 students (2013) 9,510 at graduate level (24%) 8,887 international students (22%) |
| Fees and funding | Undergraduate programs: from CA$5,865 to $12,363 International fees: $32,075 to $35,982 Graduate fees: $7,160 to $42,908 | Undergraduate programs: from CA$2,273 to $6,640 for Canadians International fees: $15,347 Graduate fees: $13,781 (or $2,273 for domestics or MIDAS Award winners) |
In the QS World University Rankings by Faculty, Toronto is a little ahead in each of the five broad subject areas covered. Interestingly, these rankings also suggest the two top Canadian universities have similar sets of subject strengths: both get their highest ranks for arts & humanities and life sciences & medicine, followed by natural sciences and social sciences and management. Subject strengths
The main point of divergence is in engineering & technology, for which Toronto ranks 35th in the world, while McGill trails a little further behind at 59th. With this exception, however, both are within the global top 50 across the subject spectrum, reflecting their status as research-intensive, highly reputed institutions across a broad spread of academic fields.
Closer insights into specific subject strengths are provided by the QS World University Rankings by Subject, which rank the world’s top institutions across 30 individual disciplines. Here the cross-disciplinary strength of the two top Canadian universities is reflected in the fact that both feature within the world’s top 100 for every subject covered, with the exception of accounting for McGill and communication & media studies for Toronto.
The University of Toronto’s strongest positions are for education and training (9th in the world), geography (12th), English (13th), medicine (14th), modern languages (14=), mathematics (15th) and philosophy (also 15th). It’s also within the global top 20 for pharmacy (16=), psychology (18th), computer science (19th) and history (19th).
Beyond this, Toronto places among the world’s top 50 for law and legal studies (21st), sociology (21st), electrical engineering (23rd), economics and econometrics (26=), statistics and operational research (27th), biological sciences (28th), chemistry (28=), environmental studies (28=), Earth and marine sciences (32nd), linguistics (32nd), civil engineering (33rd), politics (33rd), accounting and finance (38th), materials sciences (45th) and chemical engineering (46=).
Meanwhile, McGill’s strongest subject is psychology (20th), closely followed by medicine (26th) and linguistics (28th). It’s also with the top 50 for agriculture and forestry (32nd), law and legal studies (33rd), English (34th), philosophy (35th), modern languages (35th), pharmacy (40th), education and training (40=), biological sciences (46=), politics (48th) and mechanical engineering (48=).
Student community
As of the 2013 enrolment, McGill had 39,349 students, of which just over 8,887 (22%) were international, and about 9,510 (24%) studying at graduate level. Just over 50% of students speak English as a first language, 18% French, and about 30% have a different mother-tongue.
The University of Toronto is significantly larger, with a total of 83,012 students enrolled as of 2013. Of these, just under 15,900 (19%) were studying at graduate level, and just over 12,607 (15%) were international. That’s a lot of students by any measure – Toronto has one of the largest student communities among institutions featured in the QS World University Rankings.
As well as being split across three campuses (see above), the University of Toronto also makes its huge community more manageable by using a college system, similar to those at Oxbridge (Oxford and Cambridge) in the UK. Applicants to the Faculty of Arts and Sciences choose one of seven colleges, each of which provides a smaller student community within the overall university.
So, if your decision of where to study in Canada can’t be made based on the course that best matches your own academic interests and career plans, lifestyle factors could certainly help tip the balance. Maybe you want to practice your French, or perhaps you like the idea of being part of a smaller college community as well as a member of a very large student body. Or maybe you’re just more attracted to either red (McGill's color) or blue (Toronto's)...
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