2027 Maclean's University Rankings: Large, Mid-Size, and Small Universities

Find new Canadian university standings, in a whole new format, as ranked by Maclean's magazine.

Maclean's magazine is back with its annual rankings of Canadian universities! While university rankings aren't the end of the story when you're thinking about the right school for you, they can be a good way to quickly assess where a school stands and what it values most.

For the first time, Maclean's university rankings are sorted by school size, based on the number of full-time students. Here's how Maclean's defines university size for these rankings:

• Large: Over 30,000 students
• Mid-size: 10,000 to 30,000 students
• Small: Under 10,000 students

In this article, we'll look at large, mid-size, and small universities, per Maclean's. Curious to learn how these rankings are calculated? Explore Maclean's 2027 methodology here.

Not all public Canadian universities are included in the Maclean's rankings. Maclean's excludes certain institutions based on various criteria, so if the school you're interested in doesn't appear here, don't fret.

Large universities as ranked by Maclean's for 2027

Large universities have over 30,000 full-time students.

Mid-size universities as ranked by Maclean's for 2027

Mid-size universities have between 10,000 and 30,000 full-time students.

Small universities as ranked by Maclean's for 2027

Small universities have under 10,000 full-time students.

While university rankings can be good fun, they can't give you the full picture of a school. Don't let a list of rankings dissuade you from following your passions and choosing a school and program that speaks to you.

You can also explore Maclean's other rankings to learn about more schools, like the national reputational rankings for 2027, or the top universities based on scholarships and bursaries.