Right The Future is more than mere words; it reflects how our students, faculty, instructors and staff come together every day, sharing their knowledge, experience and skills to drive positive change in our local and global communities. What we do is who we are. And now, thanks to the collective effort of many, others are taking notice.

As captured in the newly released Maclean’s 2022 University Rankings, York University has been successful in advancing our vision to provide a high-quality education at a research-intensive university informed by a clear set of core values. The rankings highlight solid progress in several important areas, including an impressive sixth-place ranking against all other comprehensive universities in Canada for the second consecutive year. 

Despite the complex challenges presented by the global pandemic, the rankings reflect York’s sharp focus on empowering our community to build a better future. Guided by the University Academic Plan 2020-25, York is on a path for continued success in strengthening our impact on the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals and advancing our strategic priorities – 21st-century learning, knowledge for the future, from access to success, global engagement, working in partnership and living well together.

“York’s sixth-place ranking as one of Canada’s top comprehensive schools confirms to our students, and the broader community, that York is providing the high-quality learning experience and research needed to produce the talent and innovation that will keep Canada competitive,” said President and Vice-Chancellor Rhonda L. Lenton. “Over the past year and a half, York has demonstrated that our reputation for relevant programming, critical inquiry, scholarship, knowledge translation and internationalization extends well beyond our campus walls.”

York’s rankings are up in key priority areas, including the national Reputation category, where we climbed two spots to 18 out of 49. The Reputation score is comprised of the following three categories, and York showed improvements over last year in all of them:

• 13 out of 49 in the Leaders of Tomorrow category (up three spots);
• 17 out of 49 for Highest Quality (up five spots); and
• 20 out of 49 for Most Innovative (up one spot).

As a community, we are tackling complex global issues and preparing students for long-term success. This commitment is reflected in the Student Satisfaction section (Comprehensive University category), where there are noteworthy achievements, with York up two spots in the Mental Health Services category, up three spots in Promoting Indigenous Identity and up five spots in Steps to Prevent Sexual Assault.

Individuals drawn to York come inspired to drive positive change and are inspired by each other to do more. Many of our students pursue opportunities to strengthen their impact in their local communities and around the world, facilitated by the entrepreneurial activities and experiential education available in their programs. Looking forward, the University will continue to meet the changing needs of our students and of society through leading scholarship and research, creative new programming, and flexible learning options offered across our multiple campuses and in collaboration with partners in the private and public sectors. Together, we will relentlessly pursue our shared commitment to enhance the well-being of the communities we serve. 

There is much to be proud of and – importantly – more work to do.