There are several organizations that produce rankings of post-secondary institutions on an annual basis. As part of York University’s commitment to continuous improvement, we welcome external assessments that provide perspectives on our performance, highlighting our areas of strength and areas of potential opportunity.
York’s overall performance across these rankings can be seen in Table 1 below.
Table 1. York 5-year Overall Performance across Major Rankings Bodies
| Year | Times Higher Education Impact Ranking | Times Higher Education World University Ranking | QS World University Ranking | Maclean’s Ranking (Comprehensive) |
| 2025 | pending | pending | 362 | pending |
| 2024 | 35th | 351-400 | 353 | 4th |
| 2023 | 40th | 401-500 | 456 | 5th |
| 2022 | 33rd | 401-500 | 494 | 6th |
| 2021 | 67th | 401-500 | 531-540 | 6th |
| 2020 | 33rd | 401-500 | 511-520 | 8th |
York focuses on three types of ranking:
Impact
The Times Higher Education (THE) Impact Ranking assesses university contributions to achieving the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), which serve to promote social, economic, and environmental sustainability both locally and internationally. York has maintained a top 100 overall ranking in the THE Impact rankings since its inception. For more information on York’s efforts towards advancing the UN SDGs, please see: https://www.yorku.ca/unsdgs/.
Summary of ranking results:
| Year | Overall Rank | Canadian Rank |
| 2024 | 35th | 9th |
| 2023 | 40th | 9th |
| 2022 | 33rd | 7th |
| 2021 | 67th | 11th |
| 2020 | 33rd | 8th |
For more information, click here.
Research-focused
The Quacquarelli Symonds World University (QS WUR) and Times Higher Education World University Rankings (THE WUR) both put primary emphasis on research reputation, output, and impact. Notable differences are that THE WUR assigns a 15% weight for teaching reputation (which is highly correlated with research reputation) and QS WUR assigns a 10% weight for employer reputation. The Academic Ranking of World Universities (ARWU; previously the Shanghai Rankings) focuses entirely on research output and awards.
Summary of ranking results:
QS WUR
| Year | QS World University Ranking |
| 2025 | 362 |
| 2024 | 353 |
| 2023 | 456 |
| 2022 | 494 |
| 2021 | 531-540 |
| 2020 | 511-520 |
For more information, click here.
THE WUR
| Year | Times Higher Education World University Ranking |
| 2025 | pending |
| 2024 | 351-400 |
| 2023 | 401-500 |
| 2022 | 401-500 |
| 2021 | 401-500 |
| 2020 | 401-500 |
For more information, click here.
ARWU
| Year | ARWU University Ranking |
| 2024 | 401-500 |
| 2023 | 401-500 |
| 2022 | 401-500 |
| 2021 | 301-400 |
| 2020 | 401-500 |
For more information, click here.
National
Maclean’s University Ranking. Maclean’s, a Canadian news magazine, provides an annual release of 49 universities in Canada separated into three categories: medical/doctoral, comprehensive, and primarily undergraduate. Because of its research activity and a wide range of programs at the undergraduate and graduate levels, including professional degrees, York University ranks in the Comprehensive category.
Summary of ranking results:
| Year | Maclean’s Ranking (Comprehensive) |
| 2025 | pending |
| 2024 | 4th |
| 2023 | 5th |
| 2022 | 6th |
| 2021 | 6th |
| 2020 | 8th |
For more information, click here.