Canadian Universities are recognized all over the world as leading institutions that provide a top tier educational experience. Most universities in Canada operate under provincial government mandates and are a part of the Association of Universities and
Colleges of Canada (AUCC). AUCC works with the government to promote higher education and ensures that Universities have adequate funding to continue to provide an excellent educational experience.
Universities in Canada tend to be fairly standardized. Therefore, whichever university you decide to attend you can be rest assured that you will receive a quality education. However, even with a fairly standardized educational experience, there still exists a concept of “better universities” and “Universities with a better Reputation”. It is very easy to understand why such a gap exists, for example the quality of professors at a school can impact how great their lectures will be. Furthermore, awards per faculty member displays a schools prowess in research and attracting top talent who then pass on their knowledge to students. More importantly, a school that only accepts students with a 92% entrance average as opposed to a school that accepts anyone above a 72% average is sure to have better quality students. Reputation is not only born out of these numbers but the cost of the education itself. For example, Queens Universities business degree is much more expensive then a business degree from Ryerson University thus limiting the number of students that can afford to go to such an institution and increasing its reputation.
There are approximately 104 universities in Canada, and they are all autonomous in its academic affairs including choosing policies, procedures and instructors. Most universities provide standardized degrees in Business, English, and Psychology etc. However, there Canadian Universities that have a reputation for certain subjects. For example the University of Waterloo is well known for its Math, and engineering programs, Wilfrid Laurier University is highly regarded for its top tier Business programs and the University of Guelph provides some of the best education in Agriculture and Horticulture. Therefore, although all Canadian Universities will provide you with a valuable degree, there are some universities who specialize in certain subjects which will give you access to employers who recruit exclusively from the best.
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