The University of Toronto (U of T) has claimed the highest research‑output score among publicly funded universities in North America in the August 2026 Academic Ranking of World Universities (ARWU).
U of T earned a PUB (research‑output) score of 75.1, placing it ahead of UCLA (fourth with 59.8) and UC Berkeley (ninth with 52.0). The PUB score is calculated from the number of papers authored by a university’s researchers that are indexed in the Science Citation Index‑Expanded and the Social Science Citation Index.
In the 23rd edition of the ARWU, published on 15 August 2026, U of T was the only Canadian institution to rank high enough to compete directly with leading U.S. state schools. When all six ARWU indicators are averaged, U of T placed sixth overall, with the remaining top spots occupied by flagship American public universities. Its overall world ranking for research and academic performance rose to 13th, up from 14th in the previous year.
ARWU indicators and weightings
- Alumni (10 %) – Number of alumni who have received Nobel Prizes or Fields Medals.
- Award (20 %) – Number of staff who have received Nobel Prizes in physics, chemistry, medicine, economics, or Fields Medals in mathematics.
- HiCi (20 %) – Number of Highly Cited Researchers identified by Clarivate.
- N&S (20 %) – Number of research articles published in Nature and Science.
- PUB (20 %) – Total papers indexed in the Science Citation Index‑Expanded and Social Science Citation Index.
- PCP (10 %) – Per‑capita academic performance.
These six factors together determine each university’s overall ARWU rank, which evaluated over 2,500 universities worldwide. U of T’s strong performance across these metrics underscores its position as Canada’s leading research university on the global stage.
Source article: www.cicnews.com
