USask’s latest Maclean’s rankings showcase research and reputation

The University of Saskatchewan (USask) ranked sixth out of 19 universities in the mid-sized category in the recent Maclean’s University Rankings and will carefully review its results under a significantly revised ranking system introduced for 2027.

“These results are just one indicator that shows USask is a national leader in research, scholarly and artistic works,” said Baljit Singh, vice-president research. “Our research and innovations are making stronger communities here at home and around the world and our performance in these rankings reinforces our achievements in this area.”

USask analyzes many national and international rankings to confirm areas of strength and to identify potential areas for improvement, said Patti McDougall, interim provost and vice-president academic.

Contributing to USask's strong sixth-place ranking nationally among mid-sized universities were top-five performances in research impact, library acquisitions, and reputation, underscoring the university's strength as a leading research-intensive institution with national influence.

“We understand that rankings may be a source of information for students, families and other stakeholders when they are forming a view of a university” McDougall said. “No single ranking reflects the breadth of a university’s teaching, research and community impact but rankings alongside other considerations help students and their families make important choices.”

McDougall added that while USask is pleased with its place in this year’s Maclean's Rankings and pays careful attention to the ranking landscape, rankings do not drive USask’s strategic decision-making.

“The university remains focused on providing high-quality education, advancing research with local and global impact, supporting Truth and Reconciliation, and responding to the needs of Saskatchewan and its communities,” explained McDougall. “Although rankings themselves do not drive our actions, this latest information from Maclean’s signals areas of focus, particular with regard to student experience that align directly with the work underway in our University Plan 2035.”

McDougall noted that “strategically, USask continues to focus on what is important to our students, our province and our stakeholders – including investments into student experience, interdisciplinary approaches, Indigenization, and collaborative teaching and research.”

As a member of the U15 group of Canada’s research-intensive universities, McDougall said its priorities and ongoing commitment to improvement extend beyond the measures captured by any one ranking system.

“USask ranks among the best universities in all of Canada and we are a proud member of the U15 top research-intensive universities in the country,” said McDougall. “With almost 100 universities in Canada, we are proud to be ranked among the best.”

Beginning with the 2027 rankings, Maclean’s added four performance indicators, adjusted the weighting of its measures, and replaced its traditional institutional categories with groupings based on enrolment. Because the 2027 rankings introduce significant change to methodology, the results provide a new baseline for understanding institutional performance.

The rankings moved away from the long-standing medical-doctoral, comprehensive and primarily undergraduate categories. Universities are now grouped as large (more than 30,000 full-time-equivalent students), mid-sized (10,000 to 30,000), or small (fewer than 10,000).

“USask is no longer ranked solely against other medical-doctoral institutions, but rather those with comparable student enrolments,” explained McDougall. “While there are benefits to comparing institutions based on size, the comparison doesn't fully capture variance in areas such as disciplinary mixes, health sciences footprints, and research profiles.”

USask, she continued, has been experiencing consistently strong enrolment for more than a decade.

“We attract more students every year from within the province and from across the country and globe,” the provost said. “Growth in enrolment is being experienced annually in undergraduate and graduate programs, providing a strong endorsement for the appeal of USask credentials.”

In addition to the new ranking groupings, Maclean’s introduced new measures of assessment including first-to-second-year retention, six-year graduation rates, research output per faculty member and the share of publications ranked among the top 10 per cent most cited in their fields.

Under the revised weighting, measures of student experience and success will account for 28 per cent of an institution’s score, faculty quality for 25 per cent, student resources and support for 32 per cent, and reputation for 15 per cent.

“The changes in Maclean’s rankings methodology substantially alters how universities are assessed, and comparisons with previous years' rankings should be made with caution,” said McDougall. “However, we will be examining whether the changes better highlight our strengths in student outcomes and high-impact research at USask.”