Queen's University Rankings

Queen's University ranking varies across major global ranking systems. Each system uses different criteria to measure the rankings. And that is the reason that the numbers shift depending on the requirement.

Here's how Queen's University stacks up across the major global ranking systems.

• QS World University Rankings 2027: =179
• Times Higher Education 2026: #301–350
• U.S. News Best Global Universities 2026–27: #415
• CWUR 2025: #333
• ARWU/ShanghaiRanking 2026: Band #201–300

In the sections below, we'll break down Queen's University rankings in detail. Like Global standing, Subject rankings, Achievements, and how rankings connect to acceptance rate.

Queen's University in QS, THE, and Other Global Rankings

Each ranking body looks at different things. QS cares about research and employer reputation. THE focuses on teaching and research environment. US News leans on citations. That's why Queens University shows different numbers everywhere you look.

Here's where things stand right now:

QS is the one Indian students check most, and Queen's has genuinely been on a good run lately. Take a look at the last four years, it's not just one lucky jump, it's steady movement upward each time.

Course Wise Rankings of Queen's University

Your overall rank doesn't tell you everything. Queen's runs 184 programs in total, spread across bachelor's, master's, MBA and PhD levels. Some of these beat the university's main number by a mile, while others don't.

So really, your course matters more than that one headline figure everyone quotes. Let's go subject by subject.

QS Subject Wise Rankings of Queen's University

QS scores every subject on its own scale. It's got nothing to do with the overall university rank. Queen's offers 76 bachelor's programs and 103 at the master's level, and honestly, strength varies a lot depending on what you pick.

Here's how the major subjects stack up:

A few quick takeaways:

• Law is Queen's strongest subject, sitting inside the global top 100
• Business and Management follows close behind, landing a top 5 spot in Canada
• Computer Science trails the rest by a good margin

THE Subject Wise Rankings of Queen's University

THE skips exact numbers and works in bands instead. Queen's covers over 170 disciplines across 53 departments, and the 2026 data shows business-related fields pulling ahead.

Here's where each subject lands:

Worth noting:

• Business, Economics and Computer Science sit in the tightest band, Queen's strongest zone here
• Engineering and Physical Sciences fall a bit further back at 401-500

US News Subject Wise Rankings of Queen's University

US News digs deeper than most ranking bodies. Queen's runs 19 dedicated research centres on campus, and that shows clearly in how well its medical subjects perform.

Here's the full subject breakdown:

A couple things stand out:

• Medical and health subjects rank far ahead of engineering or physics here
• Neuroscience and Oncology are genuinely strong global picks for anyone interested in that field

Suggested Read: Queen's University Courses and Fees 

Queen's University: Excellence and Achievements

Rankings are just numbers. Queen's backs it up with real work too, 19 research centres, five Nobel Laureates linked to the school, and over 180 years of academic history.

Let's look at what actually stands behind those numbers.

Academic and Research Excellence

Queen's runs 19 specialized research centres on campus. That's a big number for a school this size. It's also home to the legacy of the 2015 Nobel Prize in Physics, won by Arthur B. McDonald for neutrino research carried out at SNOLAB, tied closely to Queen's. 

People in physics still bring that up today. Five Nobel Laureates and one Turing Award winner have been connected to Queen's over the years.

Where Queen's research is strongest right now:

• Cancer detection and treatment
• Geoengineering and materials science
• AI and supercomputing, through its Centre for Advanced Computing
• Particle astrophysics, tied to SNOLAB, the world's deepest clean laboratory

Its biggest gains in the latest QS results came in two spots, and those are Citations per Faculty, and International Research Network. 

Student Success and Employability

Queen's sits in Canada's top 5 for graduate employment outcomes, according to QS. Employers see its grads as job-ready from day one, no long training curve needed.

A few numbers worth knowing:

• Over 150,000 alumni across 119 countries
• Active alumni network known for strong mentorship and hiring links
• Smith School of Business ranked No. 1 in Canada for career services by the Financial Times, six years running

Good to know if job outcomes matter more to you than the name on the degree alone.

Awards and Recognition

Sustainability is where Queen's really pulls ahead of other Canadian schools. Here's the quick version:

• #4 globally, THE Sustainability Impact Ratings 2026
• #1 in Canada, two years running
• 6 years straight in the global top 10, a streak going back to 2019
• No other Canadian school has matched that run

The ratings measure how well universities work toward the UN's Sustainable Development Goals, covering more than 2,100 institutions from 125 countries. Six years in a row, out of that many schools, isn't luck. That's consistent, deliberate work.

Miscellaneous Rankings of Queen's University

QS, THE, US News, they're not the only ones that are giving good rankings to the Queen's. A couple more respected ranking bodies track it too, each using their own scoring methods. 

CWUR weighs things like research output, faculty quality, and alumni employment pretty heavily, so a top 1.6% spot out of that many schools puts Queen's firmly in the upper tier globally.

Queen's University Rankings vs Acceptance Rate

A good rank doesn't always mean it's hard to get in. Queen's proves that pretty well actually. Overall acceptance rate sits around 42%. That's moderately selective and nowhere near as brutal as some top US schools with similar global rankings.

That number's just an average though. Break it down by program and the picture changes a lot:

A few things stand out here:

• Health Sciences is by far the toughest program to crack, sitting under 10%
• Smith Commerce isn't far behind, competitive but not impossible
• Computer Engineering direct entry sits in the middle
• Science stays the most open option, over half of applicants get through

So don't just glance at Queen's overall acceptance rate and stop there. Check your specific program's number instead. That's the one that actually decides your odds.

Conclusion

Queen's University keeps climbing in the QS rankings, year after year. It sits comfortably in the global top 200, and honestly, it's one of Canada's strongest performers on sustainability, no contest there.

Rankings differ across bodies simply because each one measures something different:

• QS leans heavily on research output and reputation
• THE focuses more on teaching quality and research environment
• US News digs deep into subject-specific data

None of these numbers alone give you the full picture though. Your decision should really come down to a few things:

• Your specific program's rank, not just the university average
• That program's acceptance rate
• What actually fits your goals and budget

If Queen's checks those boxes for you, its overall standing gives you a solid, well-recognized degree to build a career on.

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