UW leaps forward In Global rankings

The recently released 2014 Quacquarelli Symonds (QS) World University Rankings placed the University of Waterloo at 169th in the world, up 11 spots from its 2013 ranking.

The UK firm ranks universities based on academic peer review, faculty-student ratio, citations per faculty, recruiter review, and international orientation.


UW scored behind other Canadian institutions, including the University of Toronto, McGill University, the University of British Columbia, Université de Montréal, University of Alberta, and McMaster University. The top Canadian scorer was the University of Toronto at 20th with McGill following closely behind at 21st.


In subject categories, the University of Waterloo ranked third in Canada in the engineering and technology fields and fifth in Canada for the natural sciences.


The UW administration referred <em>Imprint</em> to its news release for comment.&nbsp; &ldquo;This ranking shows we are making progress to being recognized as one of the world&rsquo;s top innovation universities and we remain focused on that goal,&rdquo; said Feridun Hamdullahpur, president and vice-chancellor of UW.


In addition to the ranking system, QS also gives universities a star rating based on achievement in research, employability, teaching, facilities, internationalization, innovation, engineering and technology, and access.&nbsp; UW received a five star plus rating, putting it on par with the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT).


&ldquo;Only 10 other institutions in the world have achieved this rating and we hope that it will help students as they make decisions on where to study,&rdquo; Hamdullahpur said.


Feds&rsquo; VP Education Stephane Hamade said he&rsquo;s &ldquo;happy to see an increase in our world rankings, Waterloo is a very strong academic institution.


&ldquo;The Federation of Students will continue to work with the university to create the best academic experience for students,&rdquo; he concluded.


MIT topped the list, with the University of Cambridge and Imperial College London tying for second, and Harvard University coming in fourth. The University of Oxford came in fifth.