Rankings & reputation
UVic is one of Canada’s leading universities. We are widely recognized for leadership in research, inspired teaching and community engagement. We provide innovative undergraduate and graduate programs and dynamic learning experiences in our diverse and welcoming West Coast setting.
#1
Among Canadian comprehensive universities for preparing career-ready students.
(2021 Times Higher Education Global University Employability Ranking)
Ranking highlights
#2 university in the world for climate action (2022 THE Impact Rankings)
#1 Canadian university for responsible consumption and production (2022 THE Impact Rankings)
#1 university in Canada for promoting Indigenous visibility (Maclean’s 2022)
#1 among comprehensive universities in medical/science grants per faculty (Maclean’s 2023)
#3 among all Canadian universities in citation impact per faculty member (QS rankings, 2021)
#4 in the Air and Climate category of the 2019 Sustainable Campus Index, compiled by the international Association for Advancement of Sustainability in Higher Education (AASHE), and Gold Certified in AASHE’s Sustainability Tracking, Assessment and Rating System.
Rankings by external bodies
The University of Victoria is recognized annually as one of Canada’s top universities.
Leiden University rankings
#1 in North America for international research collaborations
The Leiden Rankings show that UVic-based researchers consistently write a higher proportion of top-performing papers based on international collaborations than any other university in North America. UVic has claimed this spot eight times in the last 12 years.
#1 in Canada for mathematics and computer science (#50 globally).
#2 in Canada for research in physical sciences and engineering.
UVic is ranked 210 globally for research impact across all sciences.
UVic retains its place in the top one per cent of universities in the world and among the top-ranked in Canada for scientific impact.
#1 in Canada for Open Access publications
UVic is the top school in Canada for its performance in making science and scholarship findings accessible and affordable. Leiden’s Open Access category shows that more than half of UVic’s publications (57.8 per cent) circulate legally and sustainably in open access journals and repositories.
In addition to efforts in making the latest research free and available, UVic faculty and libraries are also spearheading efforts to reduce the cost of education by creating and sharing open access textbooks and other open educational resources.
Maclean's
#2 among Canadian comprehensive universities (2023)
UVic was also ranked as the top school for promoting Indigenous visibility—a position it’s held since this category was introduced in 2018.
UVic is consistently ranked among the top Canadian comprehensive universities by Maclean's magazine.
In addition to information from two subjective reputational surveys, Maclean’s weighs 11 key performance indicators to arrive at its rankings, including funding data on research and student services. UVic’s performance is among the top three performers in six of those 11 categories.
#1 in faculty awards and medical/science grants.
Maclean's comprehensive category comprises the 15 Canadian universities that combine a significant amount of research activity with a wide range of programs at the undergraduate and graduate level, including professional degrees.
The 2022 QS World University Rankings by Subject recognize UVic's leadership in a broad range of academic fields. The QS rankings also suggest that UVic's rising international reputation stems from extraordinary programs across the institution.
UVic is identified in the top 300 institutions globally for research in 15 QS subject areas:
- Earth and marine sciences
- Education
- English language and literature
- Environmental sciences
- Geography
- Geology
- Geophysics
- Hospitality & leisure management
- Linguistics
- Mathematics
- Philosophy
- Physics and astronomy
- Psychology
- Sociology
- Sports-related subjects
The 2022 Academic Ranking of World Universities (ARWU), created by Shanghai Jiao Tong University, also ranks UVic as one of Canada's leaders in research intensity across many fields.
Of the 54 individual subjects ARWU considers, UVic is among the world’s top 300 performers in 18 areas:
- Atmospheric science
- Business administration
- Civil engineering
- Earth sciences
- Electrical and electronic engineering
- Geography
- Hospitality and service management
- Instruments science and technology
- Law
- Mathematics
- Nursing
- Oceanography
- Physics
- Political science
- Psychology
- Telecommunication engineering
- Transportation science and technology
- Water resources
The Times Higher Education Impact Rankings evaluate the work of universities around the globe to support and achieve the United Nations’ Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). In our teaching, research and operations—advanced through extensive local, national and international partnerships—UVic is recognized by the Impact Rankings as a global leader in pursuit of those goals, ranking 12th globally.
UVic is in the top five colleges and universities around the world in advancing and living up to the commitments of:
- SDG 13: Climate action — #2 globally
- SDG 14: Life below water — #5 globally
- SDG 15: Life on land — #2 globally
UVic was also ranked in the top 25 in the world for:
- SDG 1: No poverty — #19
- SDG 6: Clean water and sanitation — # 22
- SDG 8: Decent work and economic growth — #25
- SDG 12: Responsible consumption and production — #12
UVic is one of the world’s leading institutions in eight of the 11 broad academic fields ranked by Times Higher Education (THE).
In psychology and in the physical sciences—which encompass mathematics and statistics, physics and astronomy, chemistry, geology, environmental sciences, and earth and marine sciences—UVic is among the top 150 schools in the world.
In law, UVic is ranked in the global top 200, and well-positioned to climb in future years thanks to its establishment of the world’s first joint degree program in common law and Indigenous legal orders.
UVic is also ranked among the world’s top 300 schools in the arts and humanities, engineering, computer science and the life sciences. Arts and humanities include the subject areas of art, performing arts, design, languages, literature, linguistics, history, philosophy, theology, architecture and archaeology. Life sciences span agriculture and forestry, biological sciences, veterinary science and sport science. And social sciences encompass communication and media studies, politics and international studies, sociology and geography.
UVic’s performance in clinical and health areas is also outstanding, with a top 500 global ranking in an area dominated by schools with large-scale research hospitals.
U-Multirank shows that UVic is the top university in North America for producing research based on international joint publications. UVic is among the top 10 Canadian universities for research overall.
UVic also placed among the top four schools in Canada for international joint publications.
In the news
UVic 2023 best diversity employer
The University of Victoria has been recognized as one of Canada's Best Diversity Employers for the 12th year in a row. Winners of the 2023 competition were announced March 7, with UVic among two BC...
2022 Leiden Rankings
International research rankings released today by the Centre for Science and Technology Studies at Leiden University in the Netherlands once again show that UVic researchers consistently publish a...
UVic's economic impact
The University of Victoria’s activities, students and alumni help generate $3.3 billion to BC’s economy and overall prosperity, an independent study and analysis has determined. The independent...
UVic named as one of Canada’s Greenest Employers
The University of Victoria has been selected as one of Canada’s Greenest Employers for the eighth time. The national awards recognize Canadian employers that lead the nation in creating a culture...
Honours & awards
47 UVic faculty members have been elected fellows of the Royal Society of Canada, the nation’s highest academic honour for career achievement.
UVic has an allocation of 37 Canada Research Chairs. UVic instructors are also well-represented among the winners of acclaimed national 3M teaching awards.
Our Co-operative Education Program and our Peter B. Gustavson School of Business have both received Association of Universities and Colleges of Canada ScotiaBank Awards for Excellence in Internationalization.