The University of Calgary has moved further into the world's top 200 universities.
U of C ranks 185th in the world in the Times Higher Education World University Rankings 2027, released Sept. 30. That's up 15 spots from 200th last year.
It also moved from ninth to eighth in Canada.
The climb is bigger over two years. U of C was somewhere between 201st and 250th in the 2025 edition.
Where Calgary scored highest
Times Higher Education ranks more than 2,000 research-focused universities, looking at teaching, research, international outlook and connections with industry.
U of C's overall score was 59.9.
Its strongest score was industry, at 88.7, followed by research quality at 84.7 and international outlook at 82.0.
Its two lowest were research environment, at 44.7, and teaching, at 39.9.
The teaching number isn't a grade on U of C's classes. THE builds it from several measures, including teaching reputation, staff-to-student ratio, doctorates awarded and institutional income.
Its best score counts the least
Industry was Calgary's highest score, but it makes up just 4 per cent of the overall ranking. It measures how much research money a university brings in from businesses, and how much of its research turns into patents.
Research quality matters far more, at 30 per cent of the ranking. It looks at how widely a university's research is cited, along with measures of research strength, excellence and influence.
So Calgary's 84.7 there did more for its ranking than its higher industry score.
Where Calgary has room to move
The two categories where U of C scored lowest carry a lot of weight. Teaching counts for 29.5 per cent of the ranking, and research environment, which looks at research reputation, income and productivity, counts for 29 per cent.
That's why a university can score very well on industry and still sit outside the top 150.
What's at U of C
The University of Calgary has 14 faculties and schools, including the Cumming School of Medicine, the Faculty of Law, the Haskayne School of Business, the Schulich School of Engineering and the Faculty of Veterinary Medicine.
The medical school was renamed in 2014 after a $100-million gift from Calgary-born philanthropist Geoffrey Cumming, which the provincial government matched.
Two years of climbing
2025: 201 to 250
2026: 200th
2027: 185th
Rankings are relative, so a 15-spot jump doesn't mean U of C improved by exactly that much. Its position also depends on what other universities do and on changes in the data. But it has now moved up in two straight editions.
Calgary vs. Edmonton
The University of Alberta still ranks higher, tied for 118th in the world and fifth in Canada.
But U of C beat it on research quality, 84.7 to 78.7.
U of A came out ahead in the other four categories, including a perfect 100 for industry. The biggest gaps were in teaching, where U of A scored 50.2 to Calgary's 39.9, and research environment, 56.1 to 44.7.
So Edmonton is well ahead overall, but Calgary scored six points higher in the category that counts most.
Eighth in Canada
34 Canadian universities made the 2027 list.
The University of Toronto leads the country at 22nd in the world, followed by McGill at 43rd and the University of British Columbia at 44th.
Globally, Oxford took the top spot, followed by MIT and Princeton.
What the ranking doesn't measure
THE's ranking leans heavily on research. Teaching, research environment and research quality together make up 88.5 per cent of the score.
It isn't a measure of student satisfaction, and being 185th doesn't mean every U of C program ranks 185th in the world. Other global rankings use different methods and can put the same school in very different spots.
On this one, U of C has gone from outside the top 200 to 185th in two years.
Sources
World University Rankings 2027, Times Higher Education
World University Rankings 2027: methodology, Times Higher Education
Best universities in Canada 2027, Times Higher Education
UCalgary Calendar, University of Calgary
Our History, Cumming School of Medicine
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