B.C. university named to top 1% of best universities in the world
A new report has placed the University of British Columbia (UBC) among the best schools in the world, though it did see a slight drop compared to last year.
That is according to the 2026 World University Rankings from the Center for World University Rankings (CWUR), an annual academic ranking of global universities that assesses the quality of education, alumni employment, faculty quality, and research performance, without relying on surveys or university data submissions.
UBC placed 49 out of 21,291 schools in the world, which lands it in the top 0.3 per cent globally.
The post-secondary institution slipped down one spot from 2025, when it was ranked 48.
It is also placed 30th among universities in the U.S. and Canada, and third nationally.
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CWUR says it uses seven objective and robust indicators grouped into four areas to rank the world’s universities, including education, employability, faculty, and research.
UBC’s scores for the four assessment categories are:
- Education Rank: 113
- Employability Rank: 490
- Faculty Rank: 56
- Research Rank: 36
Its overall score in the largest academic ranking of global universities is 84.8.
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The top universities in the world are based in the United States, with Harvard taking the top spot, followed by the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and Stanford.
University of Toronto and McGill University beat out UBC for the top schools in Canada, coming in 23rd and 28th spot, respectively.
Simon Fraser University and the University of Victoria also placed in the top 500. SFU landed in spot 419 globally, and UVic placed in 449.
You can view the full World University Rankings online.
It’s not all good news for local universities, as impacts from the drastic decline in the number of international students continue to be felt at post-secondary institutions across the province.
They hit close to home last week for students, faculty, and alumni at Langara College.
Studio 58, the college’s professional theatre training program, announced on Wednesday that it had “heartbreaking news” about its long-running Theatre Arts at Studio 58 (Theatre Production) Program.
“Changes made by the federal government have required colleges and universities to adapt to a new financial climate,” said Studio 58 in posts to social media.
Langara’s Studio 58 will continue operation, as will its acting program. It is only the Production Program which is closing.