University of Waterloo is a public research university that currently occupies the 112th rank in QS Rankings. Speaking of other leading ranking lists, the university resides at #191 and #158 positions in US News and Times Higher Education Rankings. Furthermore, it has been placed in the rank band #151-200 for the last 3 years by Shanghai Rankings. University of Waterloo also received accolades for its contributions to learning and research. It stands at #14 for being the comprehensive research university for 14 years according to Research Infosource 2023.

Being one of the top public universities in Canada, University of Waterloo caters to a wide range of top-ranked courses including “Electrical and Electronic Engineering”, “Environmental Science and Technology”, “Physics”, and “Hospitality and Tourism Management”. As per the ‘QS WUR by Subject’ list, University of Waterloo resides at #218. Moreover, it occupies the 9th position in Canada, as per CWUR. Let's explore University of Waterloo ranking Canada, world rankings and subject-wise rankings by several top agencies.

Check Out: University of Waterloo Ranking (Spanish)

World Ranking of University of Waterloo

The reputation of University of Waterloo across the world can be analysed by the following global university ranking trends:-

World Ranking of University of Waterloo

Ranking Body 2020 2021 2022 2023 2024
QS Rankings #173 #166 #149 #154 #112
US News Rankings #217 #210 #199 #191
CWUR #179 #199 #200 #204
THE Rankings #201-250 #201-250 #201-250 #201-250 #158
Shanghai Rankings #151-200 #151-200 #151-200

University of Waterloo Ranking Canada: Engineering Courses

University of Waterloo caters numerous top ranked courses in the field of engineering. As per the current Shanghai Rankings, 3 of the engineering programs rank below #20. Furthermore, the US News has placed it at 44th rank for its Engineering programs. A course-specific ranking distribution of engineering courses available at University of Waterloo is given as follows:-

University of Waterloo Ranking Canada: Engineering Courses

Ranking Body Program Ranking 2024 Ranking 2023 Ranking 2022 Ranking 2021

QS World Subject Rankings

Civil and Structural Engineering #51-100 #51-100 #51-100
Mechanical Engineering #56 #49 #76
Chemical Engineering #89 #75 #78
Electrical and Electronic Engineering #29 #33 #48
Engineering and Technology #37 #49 #38

Shanghai Rankings

Nanoscience and Nanotechnology #101-150 #101-150 #101-150
Biotechnology #301-400 #301-400 #301-400
Water Resource #25 #34 #34
Instrument Science and Technology #101-150 #151-200 #201-300
TelecommunicationEngineering #22 #11 #11
Metallurgical Engineering #151-200 #101-150 #76-100
Automation and Control #76-100 #76-100 #76-100
Biomedical Engineering #201-300 #201-300 #201-300
Instrument Science and Technology #101-150 #151-200 #201-300
Environmental Science and Technology #12 #12 #101-150
Transportation Science and Technology #19 #28 #11
Chemical Engineering #101-150 #76-100 #76-100
Mechanical Engineering #101-150 #76-100 #76-100
Remote Sensing #37 #40 #76-100
Civil Engineering #101-150 #76-100 #76-100
Electrical and Electronic Engineering #18 #18 #22
THE Rankings Engineering and Technology #69 #69 #76 #82

University of Waterloo Ranking Canada: Computer Science Rankings

The table below shows how the computer science program of University of Waterloo have been placed in the top ranking lists:-

University of Waterloo Ranking Canada: Computer Science Rankings

Ranking Body Program Ranking 2024 Ranking 2023 Ranking 2022 Ranking 2021
QS World Subject Rankings Computer Science and Information Systems #22 #25 #23
THE Rankings Computer Science #39 #43 #47 #45
Shanghai Rankings Computer Science and Engineering #51-75 #51-75 #51-75

University of Waterloo Ranking Canada: Natural Science Courses

Here are the natural sciences courses offered by University of Waterloo and their corresponding ranking trends:-

Ranking Body Program Ranking 2024 Ranking 2023 Ranking 2022 Ranking 2021

Shanghai Rankings

Earth Sciences #151-200 #151-200 #151-200
Physics #51-75 #51-75 #51-75
Atmospheric Sciences #201-300 #201-300 #201-300
Oceanography #101-150
Geography #76-100 #51-75 #51-75
Chemistry #151-200 #151-200 #151-200
Mathematics #76-100 #101-150 #101-150

QS World Subject Rankings

Biological Sciences #251-300 #251-300 #301-350
Chemistry #142 #123 #151-200
Mathematics #43 #41 #35
Earth and Marine Sciences #151-200 #151-200 #101-150
Psychology #151-200 #101-150 #95
Physics and Astronomy #85 #95 #83
Natural Science #74 #93 #79
Environmental Sciences #98 #74 #79
Geography #101-150 #101-150 #101-150
Materials Sciences #82 #66 #101-150

THE Rankings

Psychology #101-125 #101-125 #85 #78
Physical Sciences #101-125 #126-150 #126-150 #101-125
Life Sciences #301-400 #301-400 #301-400 #301-400

University of Waterloo Ranking Canada: Medical Science Courses

University of Waterloo caters to a wide variety of courses in the medical stream. Some of those medicine courses at University of Waterloo have been ranked as follows:-

Ranking Body Program Ranking 2024 Ranking 2023 Ranking 2022 Ranking 2021

QS World Subject Rankings

Pharmacy and Pharmacology #251-300 #301-350
Anatomy and Physiology #51-100 #48 #51-100

Shanghai Rankings

Public Health #151-200 #301-400 #301-400
Clinical Medicine #401-500 #401-500 #401-500
THE Rankings Clinical, pre-clinical, and health #201-250 #251-300 #151-175 #201-250

University of Waterloo Ranking Canada: Business Courses

The US News has placed University of Waterloo’S business-related programs at #194. A more detailed version of such business courses at University of Waterloo and their rankings is provided as follows:-

University of Waterloo Ranking Canada: Business Courses

Ranking Body Program Ranking 2024 Ranking 2023 Ranking 2022 Ranking 2021

QS World Subject Rankings

Business and Management Studies #201-250 #251-300 #201-250
Accounting and Finance #101-150 #101-150 #101-150
Economics and Econometrics #201-250 #251-300 #301-350

Shanghai Rankings

Management #151-200 #151-200 #151-200
Finance #151-200 #101-150 #101-150
Economics #301-400 #201-300 #201-300
THE Rankings Business and Economics #151-175 #201-250 #201-250 #176-200

University of Waterloo Ranking Canada: Humanities Courses

For the last 3 years, the “‘Hospitality and Tourism Management’” program of ‘University of Waterloo’ has been occupying a rank below #25 in Shanghai Rankings. The following table consists of the ranking trends of the humanities-related programs of the University of Waterloo:-

Ranking Body Program Ranking 2024 Ranking 2023 Ranking 2022 Ranking 2021

Shanghai Rankings

Hospitality and Tourism Management #24 #21 #23
Education #401-500 #401-500
Sociology #51-75 #76-100 #51-75
Political Sciences #201-300 #201-300 #201-300
Law #201-300 #201-300 #151-200

QS World Subject Rankings

Hospitality and Leisure Management #51-100 #51-100 #51-100
Arts and Humanities #341 #307 #261
Politics #201-230 #151-200
Social Sciences and Management #218 #234 #212
English Language and Literature #301-330 #301-320
Philosophy #201-210 #151-200 #101-150

THE Rankings

Social Sciences #151-175 #126-150 #151-175 #176-200
Arts and Humanities #301-400 #301-400 #301-400 #301-400

University of Waterloo Ranking Canada: US News Subject Rankings

Over 10 courses of the University of Waterloo has been ranked below #100 in the current US News subject rankings, which is evident from the following table:-

Subject Rankings 2023
Artificial Intelligence #88
Electrical and Electronic Engineering #24
Chemical Engineering #100
Clinical Medicine #413
Engineering #44
Energy and Fuels #29
Economics and business #194
Computer Science #51
Chemistry #125
Social Sciences and Public Health #126
Condensed Matter Physics #69
Biology and Biochemistry #367
Space Science #185
Geosciences #169
Optics #109
Environment/ Ecology #233
Psychology #282
Mathematics #82
Materials Science #91
Physics #190
Physical Chemistry #85
Mechanical Engineering #39
Polymer Science #134
Civil Engineering #78
Nanoscience and Nanotechnology #80

University of Waterloo Ranking Canada: : Miscellaneous

The following table demonstrated how the University of Waterloo has been praised for its non-academic services:-

Ranking Body Parameter Ranking 2023-24

QS WUR

Sustainability Ranking #68
QS WUR By Subject #218

US News

Best Global Universities #191
Best Global Universities in Canada #8

THE World University Rankings

World University Rankings #158
Impact Rankings: Gender Equality #301-400
Impact Rankings: Quality Education #401-600
Impact Rankings: Life on Land #41
Impact Rankings: No Poverty #16
Impact Rankings: Reducing Inequalities #91

CWUR

National Rank #9
Employability Rank #214
Research Rank #212
Education Rank #210

Macleans’ 2024 rankings consider the University of Waterloo among the top 3 Canadian universities. Furthermore, its “Physics” and “Environment Science and Engineering” programs are currently placed as #1 in Shanghai Rankings. As per the ranking trends, the University is more likely to witness growth in the coming years as per QS World University Rankings.