Every year, a new batch of rankings is released, comparing McGill to its peers around the world. We know rankings are important, but what do they really mean, and why do they matter?
This year, McGill was ranked 18th in the world by the QS World University Rankings, making this the ninth consecutive year that McGill has ranked among the top 25 schools. Just last week, McGill ranked or tied for first in four categories in the Globe and Mail’s annual Canadian University Report in which current undergraduates rate their university on everything from quality of teaching to residences to research opportunities.
We spoke to some McGill experts to try to make sense of the plethora of annual rankings.
Don Bargenda, Senior Planning Analyst in McGill’s Planning & Institutional Analysis unit (PIA), not only helps interpret rankings as they are released each year, but he and his colleagues actually gather and send the information which several organizations use to grade McGill.
How does McGill go about considering the different rankings as they are released each year?
DB: We assess all rankings to understand the methodology employed, the quality of data used to compile them and what the results tell us. Many rankings are compiled using publicly available data only, such as the Maclean’s University Ranking and the Shanghai Academic Ranking of World Universities. Others, like the QS World University Rankings and the Times Higher Education (THE) World University Rankings, request data directly from universities.
What would you say are the rankings that are seen to be the most prestigious, and why?
DB: Some rankings are aligned with commercial interests. Maclean’s, for example, is in the business of selling magazines. Thomson Reuters, who compile the data for the THE ranking, and QS both offer peer benchmarking services using the data that produce the rankings. The most prominent rankings also tend to be those that are well marketed.
Do you find there is a lot of variation year to year in terms of how rankings are decided?
DB: Each ranking uses a different set of indicators and applies a level of importance, or weighting, to each indicator to produce an overall “score.” For a given ranking, results can vary from year to year due to changes in methodology. If one looks closely at the results you will often see that 1/10th or even 1/100th of a point on a 100 point scale can separate many universities.
What should McGill grads bear in mind about university rankings, and McGill’s place within them?
DB: In the rankings, size matters. The amount of research funding a university attracts or the number of publications attributed to a university’s researchers is influenced by the number of researchers a university has. Research funding and publication culture among academic disciplines also has an effect on the results. Also, health researchers receive larger research grants and publish more often on average, so it makes sense that the top tiers of most world rankings tend to be populated by universities with medical schools.
What, from your analysis, appear to be some of McGill’s strengths?
DB: McGill performs very well in rankings that attempt to measure performance relative to size, such as Maclean’s and QS. Both of these rankings include surveys to compare academic reputation, while QS also compares reputation among employers. The strength of McGill’s reputation, well-earned by its alumni and academics, are reflected in the results.
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We also asked two experts in student recruitment, Jocelyne Younan, Assistant Registrar and Director, Service Point, and Lauren Penney, Enrolment Manager, Graduate and Postdoctoral Studies, how McGill’s standing is incorporated into recruitment efforts.
Why do you think rankings matter?
LP: Although McGill has a very strong standing, we are always looking to increase our performance – for recruitment, research showcasing, partnership building, or otherwise.
How much (if at all) do university rankings matter in terms of recruiting students?
JY: Rankings are a very important element to the overall recruitment picture, as [positive rankings] validate our strong reputation and world renown.
LP: At the graduate level of study, rankings can influence whether a student knows about us, and can influence whether they apply and accept their offer. Of course, there are other factors. Graduate students are often looking for the best quality researchers and leaders in their fields to work with, not simply the overall reputation of the school.
How are rankings used to attract students through websites, in-person recruitment or other marketing collateral?
LP: We point to rankings on our own websites and social media networks geared to recruiting graduate students. In presentations to future students and in online webinars, we showcase strong rankings for our particular research areas and programs.
JY: We use results as a marketing tool in advertising… [but] we focus more on programs offered, admission requirements, location, services, residences and so on.
In your experience, do prospective students ask about how McGill ranks or is this something that they are already aware of?
LP: When we ask our own admitted students to rate the importance of features of the graduate program to which they applied, being a ‘recognized leader in students’ field of concentration’ always ranks high. When we ask them what influenced their decision to accept McGill’s offer, the following four are the top responses: program quality, program reputation, McGill’s reputation, quality of professors.
Are there regions of the world that appear to place more importance on rankings?
LP: Reputation, especially for international students, is an undeniable influencer in the area of student recruitment, especially in fields such as science and technology, and especially in Asia, particularly in countries like China, India, and South Korea, and as well in South America.
Hear from current students about how McGill’s place in the rankings affected their decision to study here.
McGill grads: what are your thoughts?
We were curious how McGill grads felt about university rankings. When we asked the question on Facebook, 94 per cent of you stated that you feel “intensely proud” when McGill does well in the rankings. If you didn’t get a chance to vote on Facebook, please share your thoughts in the comment section below!
October 31st, 2012 at 8:02 pm
I am happy to see that McGill scores relatively high in the QS and THE ratings, as both seem to take into account many factors that reflect university excellence. I do believe, however, that general rankings alone may not be important for someone intent on applying to a particular department of faculty.
When I started in engineering at McGill, medecine had a very high rating, as did chemical engineering and specific departments in other faculties. These high regards were based a lot on the quality of the professors in those departments or faculties. When I went to England on the Athlone Fellowship I interviewed at Cambridge which had (and still has) a very high general global rating, but I was not particularly impressed by the professor or the research topic (in extractive or chemical metallurgy), and I consequently chose a pretty small school in London, then part of the University of London, principally for the reknown of one of their professors in high temperature metallurgy and for their research group sponsored by the Lord Nuffield (automobile industrialist) Foundation. I didn’t know at the time that Imperial College was then, and also to since mature as, a powerhouse in British higher education, now embracing medicine as well as science and technology, and placing between 6th and 9th annually in the QS and THE ratings.
The Asian rating you mention in the article is for me too skewed to the concentration of Nobel prize winners as a major criteria. Students should look at what they want from a university education. Often the smaller universities have a lot to offer in that regard (I consult for a company near Peterborough Ontario and the local Trent University is a fine place for a young student. When in London I had some trouble divorcing myself from the absorbing cultural activities (a voracious appetite of a young engineer having been exposed mainly to technology) in that marvelous city and concentrating on my formal education, something that is easier to come to terms with in the smaller university-town.
November 1st, 2012 at 12:31 am
I am very proud to be AcGill Graduate. I got my Ph.D 1962. I feel very happy that my University is keeping its old tradition of excellence.
November 1st, 2012 at 8:32 am
Rankings of colleges and universities has become a big business, leading to increased scrutiny of employed methodologies. This scrutiny has pushed ranking organizations to rely heavily on easily quantifiable data, e.g., number of peer reviewed published papers and research funding. This results in a de-emphasis on teaching and the classroom experience. Potential students and parents should keep this in mind when deciding which higher education institution is a ‘best fit’.
November 1st, 2012 at 9:56 am
I received an outstanding graduate education at McGill receiving a M.Ps.Sc. in psychology–an unusual degree with its own chartreuse hood at graduation. The department had a distinguished international reputation. The chair, Dr.Donald O. Hebb, was president of both the American and Canadian psychological associations. When I later was teaching at a university I used his basic textbook. It was the smallest, yet most profound textbook ever written in the field, and scientists with new technology are only now able to test his theories.
But, there is another aspect of McGill. Education is not just an academic exercise, but an immersion in the culture of the university’s home city that goes beyond bilingualism. McGill in Montreal is a good example of the global world of the future. where languages and cultures will regularly mix.
McGill and Montreal make a great combination.
November 2nd, 2012 at 9:59 am
When my son Adam graduated from McGill in electrical engineering, he represented the 4th generation of my family to do so. Both my mother’s parents, both my mother and father, and all three of my siblings graduated from McGill.
The tradition started when my maternal grandfather, Douglas Bayne got off a ship from his native Barbados and walked up from the port of Montreal to the gates of McGill in what he always told us was the coldest weather he had ever experienced, with 20 gold guineas sewn into the lining of his greatcoat, to start his studies in medicine, in the first years of the twentieth century.
McGill was a lodestone then, and still is.
November 2nd, 2012 at 10:57 am
My daughter is in her first year at McGill. We’re from the US, and McGill was the only Canadian school she applied to. McGill’s high ranking–and what I knew of McGill’s reputation–led me to encourage her to apply to McGill over other Canadian universities. She’s found it challenging to move 3,000 miles from home and adapt to a new city and environment, but she’s having a wonderful time, working hard, and learning from some excellent professors.
November 2nd, 2012 at 10:59 am
One more thought. In terms of US applicants, people on the East Coast are more familiar with McGill than are people here on the West Coast. Publicizing McGill’s ranking to college counselors in the US would raise awareness of and interest in McGill. To my knowledge, my daughter is the only person from her graduating class who applied.
November 3rd, 2012 at 12:27 pm
I am always happy to see McGill’s name very prominently featured on any university ranking. It demonstrates the world class education McGill has to offer, and gives a prestige to all alumni.
November 11th, 2012 at 2:04 am
As a B.Eng., EE grad in 1970, I am as humbled as I am proud to learn that my first Alma Mater is ranked 25th among ALL global institutions for higher learning. Then, after being well fortified with my world-class McGill education, I could leap-frog to, and earn my MSEE degree a year later from, another world-class institution, which is ranked No. 1. More than being humbled once again, I might be one of the happiest old retired E.E. in this world today.