McGill University or University of Toronto?

If you’ve decided to study in Canada, chances are you’ve whittled it down to two of the country’s best-performing universities: the University of Toronto and McGill University. These are the two top universities in Canada, ranked joint 26th and joint 27th in the world respectively, according to the QS World University Rankings® 2022.  

Of course, there’s much more to the Canadian higher education system than just these two schools. 28 universities in Canada are ranked among the world’s best in the QS World University Rankings, including 13 in the top 300. 

However, it’s McGill and Toronto that consistently stand out as the top two. With both schools performing at a highly impressive level, your choice is likely to be a more personal one. 

To help any lucky prospective students facing this choice, here’s a look at how these two top universities in Canada measure up on key indicators, followed by a more detailed comparison. 

*Based on the broad subject areas of the QS World University Rankings by Subject. 

QS World University Rankings® 2022 

At rankings level, the differences between the two top universities in Canada are minimal – both are clearly among the world’s leading institutions and score well across all of the indicators used to compile the rankings. Both schools perform particularly well when it comes to reputation, ranked well within the global top 50 by surveyed academics. 

Toronto has the most diversity among its faculty members, while McGill earns a higher score for international student diversity.  

McGill also has a marginally better faculty-student ratio (designed to give a rough idea of how much contact time students can expect), and takes the lead in the research citations per faculty member (which aims to assess research impact). 

Subject strengths 

In the QS World University Rankings by Subject, Toronto is ahead in each of the five broad subject areas.  

Interestingly, the rankings suggest the two top Canadian universities have similar sets of subject strengths: both score highly for arts and humanities as well as life sciences and medicine.  

The main point of divergence is in engineering and technology, for which Toronto ranks 18th in the world, while McGill trails behind at joint 40th.  

Location  

Choosing between these two top universities in Canada also means making a choice between their respective cities – Montréal and Toronto. Both are in the south-east of Canada, although Toronto’s a little further south, and both are large cities – the two largest by population in the country. 

While Toronto is accepted as Canada’s commercial and financial capital, both cities can make strong claims to be the country’s leading cultural hub. As well as vibrant music, film and nightlife scenes, both cities boast extremely high levels of international diversity.  

Though Toronto may be slightly more diverse overall, Montréal has a more internationally diverse student community, as demonstrated below. In the most recent QS Best Student Cities ranking, Montréal is ranked sixth in the world, higher than Toronto, which places in 11th.  

Montréal also achieves higher ratings than Toronto for employer activity. This indicator is based on a survey of graduate employers, domestic and international, to see which cities they prefer to recruit from. Both cities are in the top 15 for desirability, though Toronto is ahead on this indicator, ranked 10th compared to Montréal’s 11th.  

One of the main differences between the two cities is language. Toronto is English-speaking, while Montréal, where McGill is located, is in the French-speaking province of Quebec. However, most teaching at McGill is conducted in English, and proof of English proficiency is an application requirement. 

It should also be noted that while the University of Toronto’s main campus is right in the heart of the city, it also has two additional campuses, one in Scarborough (a district in the east of the city) and another in Mississauga (a neighbouring city to the west). 

Student community  

McGill's most recent figures show that they had around 39,736 students, of which around 12,228 (32 percent) were international, and about 10,265 (26 percent) were studying at graduate level. 

The University of Toronto is significantly larger, with their most recent figures showing a total of 93,081 students enrolled. Of these, 20,296 (22 percent) were studying at graduate level, and 23,019 (25 percent) were international. Toronto has one of the largest student communities among institutions featured in the QS World University Rankings.  

As well as being split across three campuses, the University of Toronto makes its huge community more manageable by using a college system, similar to that at Oxbridge (Oxford and Cambridge) in the UK. Applicants to the Faculty of Arts and Sciences choose one of seven colleges, each of which provides a smaller student community within the overall university. 

So, if your decision about where to study in Canada can’t be made based on the course that best matches your own academic interests and career plans, lifestyle factors could certainly help tip the balance. Maybe you want to practice your French, or perhaps you like the idea of being part of a smaller college community and a member of a very large student body.  

Fees & funding   

At the University of Toronto, tuition fees for undergraduate domestic students start at CA$6,100, depending on the program. For international students, prices are inevitably higher, ranging from around CA$54,900 to CA$68,750, again depending on the program chosen.  

For graduate-level studies, prices span a broad range, from CA$21,560 to as much as $64,810 depending on the program. The university does state, however, that it is committed to providing financial support for those pursuing research-based graduate programs. Partial funding is also available. Toronto also announced that since autumn 2018 most international students will pay the same fees as domestic students for PhD programs (excluding certain programs). 

At McGill University, entrance policies are slightly different, with residents of Quebec province receiving discounted fees. Prices also depend on the program. For programs within arts and sciences, residents of Quebec are charged CA$2,725 annually, non-Quebec Canadians pay CA$8,505, and international students pay CA$26,500 (2021/2022 figures). At graduate level, all students can enrol on a full-time master’s program for the same price as their undergraduate fees, while international students pay upwards of CA$20,000 for PhDs.  

To take a look at the financial aid available to international students at McGill University, visit the international student funding page. Or, for more information on fees at the University of Toronto, visit this webpage. 

This article was originally published in January 2014. It was most recently updated in June 2021 to include data from the latest QS World University Rankings® and other sources. 

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