A new global ranking of universities has just dropped, and while McGill University held its own, it once again fell short of its longtime rival, the University of Toronto.
The QS World University Rankings by Subject 2025, released on March 12, evaluated 21,000 academic programs across 1,700 universities worldwide. According to QS, Canadian universities are best at engineering and biological sciences subjects.
As for McGill, the Montreal institution landed in the top 50 for 29 subjects, an impressive feat — but U of T blew past it with 46 top-50 rankings, more than any other university in Canada or the world for that matter.
How McGill stacks up in 2025
McGill made a strong showing across five major faculty areas, securing a 36th place ranking in arts and humanities, 45th in engineering, 28th in medicine, 48th in natural sciences, and 39th in social sciences and management.
But in a head-to-head comparison, U of T edged out McGill in nearly every category, placing 14th in arts and humanities, 17th in engineering and technology, 13th in life sciences and medicine, 20th in natural sciences, and 14th in social sciences and management.
McGill ranked in the top 50 in the following subjects:
- Linguistics – 27th
- Music – 14th
- Theology – 27th
- English language and literature – 43rd
- History – 44th
- Modern Languages – 37th
- Performing Arts – 21st
- Chemical Engineering – 44th
- Computer Science – 48th
- Data Science – 30
- Mechanical Engineering – 49th
- Mineral and Mining Engineering – 3rd
- Anatomy and Physiology – 5th
- Biological Sciences – 44th
- Medicine – 28th
- Nursing – 41st
- Psychology – 25th
- Earth and Marine Sciences – 46th
- Environmental Sciences – 21st
- Geology – 41st
- Geophysics – 38th
- Anthropology – 30th
- Education – 28th
- Law and Legal Studies – 41st
- Library and Information Management – 22nd
- Politics – 44th
- Social Policy and Administration – 46th
- Sociology – 48th
- Sports-Related Subjects – 36th
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