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Top Universities in Canada for Masters Study – 2025
Written by Mark Bennett
There are 98 universities throughout Canada’s 13 provinces and territories. These are mainly public universities. Private institutions also exist and are accredited by the province’s authorities. Check out a list of registered universities in your province on the Government of Canada website.
There are also a number of other higher education institutions such as colleges, but only universities offer Masters degrees.
Universities in Canada educate around 1.4 million students annually. They perform 40% of Canada’s research and development, and represent a total turnover of CAD $38 billion!
The Canadian education system is characterised by its diversity. Canadian universities vary greatly in size, history and their portfolio of courses and specialisms.
However, universities subscribe to provincial government charters and quality assurance frameworks. This ensures Canadian qualifications are recognised worldwide. The Canadian Information Centre for International Credentials also provides resources to ensure this. There are many organisations that accredit professional programmes in subjects like Law and Engineering.
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We've pulled together three globally recognised university league tables to help reveal the top universities in Canada for Masters study. We've also looked at Canada's own domestic league tables.
Global rankings
The following table gives the top 10 universities in Canada in 2025. Information is based on the current rankings published by Times Higher Education, QS and the Academic Ranking of World Universities.
| University | THE 2025 | QS 2026 | ARWU 2024 |
|---|---|---|---|
| University of Toronto | 21 | 29 | 26 |
| University of British Columbia | 41 | 40 | 47 |
| McGill University | 45 | 27 | 74 |
| McMaster University | =116 | =173 | 101-150 |
| University of Alberta | =116 | =94 | 101-150 |
| University of Montreal | 125 | 168 | 151-200 |
| University of Waterloo | =163 | =119 | 151-200 |
| University of Ottawa | =191 | =219 | 201-300 |
| University of Calgary | 201-250 | 211 | 151-200 |
| Western University | 201-250 | 151 | 201-300 |
How do rankings work for Masters study?
International rankings use all sorts of metrics to assess universities and they aren't all equally relevant to postgraduate study. That's why we've put together a guide to university rankings for Masters students.
Domestic rankings
Domestic rankings
If you've already settled on studying a Masters in Canada, you’ll probably be more interested in domestic Canadian university rankings.
As their name suggests, these rank universities within Canada. This approach can offer more of a 'level playing field'. Instead of comparing universities across very different national higher education systems, a domestic ranking includes universities operating under similar circumstances.
One of the most widely recognised rankings of Canadian universities is produced by Maclean's, a news and education publisher. They produce annual Canadian university rankings, including a league focussing on postgraduate medicine and research.
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Our database includes plenty of Canadian Masters degrees and our listings provide lots of helpful information about specific programmes. Why not take a look?
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Mark Bennett
Mark joined FindAMasters to develop our first ever advice articles in 2013 and now serves as our Director of Audience & Editorial, making sure our websites and information are as useful as possible for people thinking about Masters and PhD study. He has a PhD in English Literature from the University of Sheffield, as well as Bachelors and Masters degrees from the University of Kent and the University of South Wales.
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