The University of Alberta’s strength in research, innovation and industry partnerships propelled it into the top six per cent in the world in an influential ranking of post-secondary institutions released today, the 2025 Times Higher Education World University Rankings.
The U of A also tied for fourth in Canada this year, moving up from fifth in 2024 after more than a decade of ranking sixth nationally.
Although the university’s overall rank fell slightly from 109th last year to 116th this year, it maintained a strong standing amid an increasingly competitive international field that included 185 more institutions than the previous year’s rankings.
“The University of Alberta’s performance in this ranking highlights how our community of researchers, educators and community partners make a difference worldwide,” says U of A president Bill Flanagan. “These results demonstrate measurable progress in our aim to be known as a university with transformational impact — progress that will continue in the coming years.”
Along with 34 other institutions from the nearly 2,100 included in the 2025 rankings, the U of A was tied for first in the world in the Industry pillar, which takes into account industry income and patents. The university attained perfect scores on both metrics, highlighting the innovative research conducted by world leaders in their fields.
Though this pillar counts for just four per cent of the total ranking score, it shows the ecosystem of entrepreneurship and innovation cultivated on campus, with more than 75,000 companies founded by the university community generating $250 billion in revenue each year.
The U of A also improved within the Research Environment pillar, which looks at research productivity, research income and research reputation. In this year’s ranking, the university’s performance rose in all three metrics within the pillar.
“The university’s strong showing in these critical areas underscores the progress we have made toward achieving the goals put forth in Shape: A Strategic Plan of Impact, to mobilize our research and innovation to solve some of the world’s greatest challenges,” says Flanagan.
The number of universities included in this year’s ranking grew to 2,092 institutions. Last year, the U of A also ranked among the top six per cent of over 1,900 institutions included.
Times Higher Education updated its methodology for the 20th edition of the rankings, increasing from 13 to 18 performance indicators to provide a more comprehensive and rigorous comparison of leading post-secondary institutions worldwide.
Earlier this year, the U of A was ranked sixth in the world in Times Higher Education’s Impact Rankings for its progress toward achieving the United Nations’ Sustainable Development Goals for 2030. The university also rose 15 places in the 2025 QS World University Rankings to place 96th in the world and fourth in Canada.