McGill University Ranking

McGill is a top-tier public research university in Canada, ranked #29 in the QS World Rankings 2025 and #45 in the THE Rankings 2025. It is ranked #56 among the Best Global Universities and #3 in Best Global Universities in Canada under the U.S. News Rankings 2025.

Its strong academic and research performance is further reflected in its #74 position in the ARWU Shanghai Rankings and #70 in the CWTS Leiden Rankings.

With 300+ undergraduate programs and 400+ graduate and postdoctoral programs across 80+ departments, McGill has a 30% international student presence, highlighting its truly global nature.

McGill University World Rankings 2024-25

McGill is at #29 in the QS rankings and #45 in the THE rankings, reflecting its strong academic reputation, teaching quality, and research output. Its #56 position in the US News Global Rankings indicates strong performance in criteria such as graduation rates and retention rates.

Here’s how McGill University rankings have changed over the years.

McGill University has steadily risen in QS Rankings from #31 in 2023, #30 in 2024 to #29 in 2025. This highlights its growing global reputation and academic strength.

In the THE rankings, McGill dropped slightly from #46 in 2023 to #49 in 2024 but climbed to #45 in 2025. This suggests that McGill is actively strengthening its academic environment and maintaining its global standing. 

Overall, McGill remains a top choice for students seeking a globally recognized institution with a strong academic and research foundation.

Now, let’s look at McGill University’s performance across different subjects.

Subject-Wise Ranking of McGill University 2025

Subject-wise rankings, such as those for engineering or business, help students make informed decisions based on their field of interest. McGill University’s programs, such as Engineering (#35 in QS rankings) and Medical and Health Sciences (#29 in THE rankings), perform exceptionally well.

Here’s a breakdown of McGill University rankings in different subjects:

QS Rankings 2025

QS world rankings consider criteria such as academic reputation, employer reputation, faculty/student ratio, research impact, and international diversity. 

McGill excels in professional fields like Engineering (#35), Health Sciences (#44), and Business (#66). Its strong performance in Arts and Humanities (#35) and Natural Sciences (#67) further reflects its academic excellence.

Here’s the ranking of various subjects based on QS ranking.

Times Higher Education (THE) Rankings 2025

In THE rankings, McGill’s programs in Engineering (#73), Business (#84), and Medicine (#29) rank among the world's top 100. Its Law program (#33) and Arts and Humanities (#51) also hold strong global positions.

Here’s the performance in THE rankings:

U.S. News Rankings 2025

U.S. News rankings for Engineering (#170) and Business (#189) indicate weaker performance in areas like graduation rates and student burden. However, programs such as Arts and Humanities (#40), Clinical Medicine (#54), and Life Sciences (#38) rank among the world’s best.

Here’s how different subjects perform:

After reviewing McGill University's ranking based on subjects, let's now examine McGill’s performance in other rankings.

Miscellaneous Ranking 2025

McGill also ranks in the ARWU Shanghai Rankings (#74), CWTS Leiden Rankings (#70), and QS Sustainability Rankings (#15), demonstrating its consistent performance.

Here’s how McGill stands in other rankings:

McGill ranks #74 in the ARWU Shanghai Rankings, which emphasize research excellence, faculty quality, and the number of published papers in high-impact journals.

Its #27 position in the CWUR rankings, which assess factors like education quality and faculty achievements, reflects McGill’s reputation and strong graduate outcomes.

The CWTS Leiden ranking places McGill at #70, indicating its research impact based on citation metrics, showcasing the university’s contributions to global academia.

Notably, McGill ranks #15 in the QS Sustainability Rankings, showing its leadership in environmental and social responsibility, sustainability research, and campus initiatives. 

After reviewing McGill University rankings across various agencies, let's explore its academic and extracurricular achievements.

McGill University: Excellence and Achievements

McGill University’s achievements include academic research initiatives like the D2R, community contributions such as the Canada Awards Program, and cultural initiatives like Indigenous Awareness Week.  

Academic Excellence and National Recognition

McGill’s researchers have received Acfas award and have been recognized as a Fellow of the AAAS. The university has also been chosen for the D2R initiative, highlighting its research excellence.

Here’s a look at its academic achievements:

Community and Lifestyle Recognitions

McGill has earned a Platinum STARS rating for its campus sustainability and provides financial support to meritorious out-of-province students from economically weaker backgrounds.

Here are the achievements:

Cultural and Creative Excellence

Cultural initiatives like Indigenous Awareness Week and the Leonardo da Vinci Award for Arts highlight McGill’s commitment to culture and creativity.

Here are McGill University’s achievements:

Now, let’s explore the acceptance rates for different programs at McGill University.

McGill University: Ranking V/S Acceptance Rate

McGill University has a competitive acceptance rate of 19.1%. Programs like Engineering (10.4%), Business (9.8%), and Health Sciences (10.3%) have even lower acceptance rates, reflecting their selectivity.

Here are the acceptance rates for different programs:

Now that you've seen the variation in acceptance rates, let’s explore the ranking methodologies.

Ranking Methodologies

QS, Times Higher Education (THE), and U.S. News & World Report are the leading university ranking systems that have become benchmarks for assessing university performance. Each ranking focuses on aspects such as academic reputation, research quality, and global outlook to gauge the performance of universities.

Here’s a detailed look at the criteria used for ranking universities.

QS World University Rankings

The QS world ranking emphasizes employer reputation and academic outcomes, obtained from surveys of thousands of academic experts and employers worldwide. It also gives importance to faculty research and international student admissions.

Here are the criteria used in QS World University Rankings.

Times Higher Education (THE) Rankings

The Times Higher Education (THE) Rankings focus on research influence, teaching reputation, and staff-to-student ratio. It also emphasizes international diversity and industry income, assessing how well universities collaborate with industries and global academic networks.

Here are the criteria used by THE rankings.

U.S. News and World Report Rankings

This indicator uses special criteria like first-year retention rates, graduation rates, and student-faculty ratio. Other criteria, like borrower debt and financial resources, measure how well universities support low-income students. 

Here are the criteria used in U.S. News and World Report Rankings

The above rankings reflect how well a university is positioned to offer quality education and outcomes to students, using indicators like employability and industry applications.

Now, let’s understand how upGrad will help you study at McGill University.

How upGrad Will Help You?

upGrad helps students and professionals boost their academic knowledge and career growth through expert mentorship, industry-relevant courses, and flexible learning. 

With bridge courses focusing on foundational knowledge, you can transition to specialization in fields like AI, machine learning, and data science. 

Additionally, the study abroad program offered by upGrad provides students with the following benefits:

• Expert Mentorship: Guidance from industry professionals and academic experts who provide personalized insights to help you succeed in your field.
• Industry-Relevant Courses: Learn practical, real-world skills through up-to-date courses designed to meet the needs of today's industry trends.
• Flexible Learning Options: Online courses and flexible schedules allow you to balance your education with other commitments.
• Career Support: Receive career coaching, job placement assistance, and networking opportunities to help you land your desired role.

Here are some study abroad opportunities offered by upGrad at McGill University:

• Bachelor of Software Engineering in Faculty of Science
• Aerospace Engineering (M.Eng.)
• Physics (M.Sc.)
• Bachelor of Physiology
• Bachelor of Statistics in Desautels Faculty of Management

Conclusion 

McGill ranks #29 in QS, #45 in THE, and #56 in US News, reflecting its global reputation. Its #3 rank in US News for domestic universities highlights its strong domestic standing.

Programs like Engineering (#73 in THE), Business (#66 in QS), and Health Sciences (#54 in US News) reflect strong academic and research performance. However, lower US News rankings for Business (#189) and Engineering (#170) indicate areas for improvement in graduation rates and peer assessments. 

Strong research impact is evident in its CWTS Leiden (#70) and ARWU Shanghai (#74) rankings. Overall, McGill is an excellent choice for students seeking academic excellence and research opportunities.