UAlberta maintains strong standing among world's top 100

University moves up to 94th worldwide, remains fourth in Canada in latest QS world university rankings.

The University of Alberta secured its place as a top 100 university, jumping two spots to 94th in the 2016-17 QS World University Rankings.

"The University of Alberta has a well-deserved global reputation for leading in research and teaching," said U of A President David Turpin. "Our place in the QS World Rankings is important validation, but success in rankings is not our ultimate goal. We plant the seeds of knowledge to inspire next-generation thinkers and innovators. We build lasting partnerships to push us further in the pursuit of knowledge, truth and excellence for the public good."

This year's ranking is a continuation of the U of A's recent rise among the top 100, having moved up 14 places since 2012.

The ranking, released Sept. 5, also saw the U of A stand firm as the fourth-ranked university in Canada, just behind McGill University, the University of Toronto and the University of British Columbia.

The QS World University Rankings rate more than 700 universities worldwide based on six metrics-academic reputation (40 per cent), citations (20), student-to-faculty ratio (20), employer reputation (10), and international faculty (5) and students (5). High scores for international faculty, international students and academic reputation in particular continue to drive the U of A's standing.

The U of A has fared well in recent rankings. The Faculty of Nursing was ranked the fourth best nursing program in the world, according to QS World University Rankings released in March. The university cracked the top 50 in the world in pharmacy and pharmacology (32), education (41), archeology (42), mining engineering (44) and English language and literature (50). Other U of A subjects that made their way into the top 100 included agriculture and forestry, accounting and finance, chemistry, communications and media studies, earth and marine sciences, chemical engineering, environmental sciences, mathematics, medicine, philosophy and psychology. In all, the U of A ranked among the top 200 in 33 of the 42 subjects considered.

Atop the rankings was the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, followed by Stanford, which leapfrogged Harvard for second.