The University of Toronto continues to be recognized as one of the world's leading research institutions, placing first in Canada and 21st globally in the latest Times Higher Education World University Rankings .
For the third consecutive year, U of T has held its position among the top 25 in the highly competitive international ranking, which assesses performance in teaching, research and international reach.
U of T also retained its rank as third among North American public universities and 10th among public universities worldwide.
"Our consistently high standing in this prestigious ranking is due to the brilliant work of our students, faculty, staff and librarians," said U of T President Melanie Woodin.
"Let me take this opportunity to congratulate the members of our University of Toronto community for the countless contributions reflected in this latest recognition."
For its 2026 edition, Times Higher Education ranked 2,191 research-intensive universities from 115 countries. Performance was measured across five broad pillars : teaching, research environment, research quality, industry engagement and international outlook. These indicators draw on data such as reputation surveys, citation counts and institutional outputs.
U of T performed particularly well in the research environment pillar, ranking 16th globally. This category includes metrics such as a university's research reputation, research income and research productivity.
The top tier of this year's rankings remained relatively stable, with only minor shifts among leading institutions. The top five were: the University of Oxford, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Princeton University, the University of Cambridge and Harvard University.
Two other Canadian universities were also ranked among the top 100: McGill University (41st) and the University of British Columbia (45th).
Overall, U of T continues to be the highest-ranked Canadian university and one of the top-ranked public universities across the five most closely watched international rankings: Times Higher Education's World University Rankings, QS World University Rankings, ShanghaiRanking Consultancy's Academic Ranking of World Universities, U.S. News & World Report's Best Global Universities and the National Taiwan University World University Rankings.
