University of Toronto QS #29

University of Toronto is one of the world's leading entrepreneurial universities, ranked a Top 5 university business incubator globally by UBI Global and first in Canada on PitchBook, with a dense network of accelerators and a strong deep-tech founder culture spun out of its AI and quantum research. Its entrepreneurship network has launched thousands of venture-backed startups and produced major companies like Cohere, Deep Genomics and Xanadu.

• Creative Destruction Lab (CDL), an 8-month deep-tech accelerator founded in 2012 at the Rotman School of Management by professor Ajay Agrawal
• U of T runs 12+ accelerators and incubators across its three campuses, currently supporting more than 500 startup teams
• Ranked a World Top 5 university business incubator by UBI Global (2021-2022 study of 1,895 organizations from 90 countries)
• Over five years the network helped launch more than 1,500 venture-backed startups, raised over 14 billion dollars in funding and created more than 20,000 jobs
• Notable spinouts include Cohere (AI, co-founders Aidan Gomez and Nick Frosst), Deep Genomics (founder Brendan Frey) and Xanadu (quantum computing, founder Christian Weedbrook)
• Ranked first in Canada for entrepreneurship in PitchBook university rankings

The University of Toronto is Canada's leading research university and one of the world's top public research institutions, with landmark breakthroughs (insulin, stem cells, deep learning) and the highest research output and funding in Canada.

• 10 Nobel laureates affiliated, including Geoffrey Hinton (Nobel Prize in Physics 2024, 'godfather of AI')
• Discovery of insulin in 1921 by Frederick Banting and Charles Best, earning a Nobel Prize
• Discovery of stem cells in the 1960s by James Till and Ernest McCulloch at U of T
• Founding ties to the Vector Institute (launched 2017 with $135 million in funding, 38 CIFAR AI chairs by 2023)
• Hinton Chair in Artificial Intelligence backed by a historic $20 million investment, including $10 million from Google
• Ranked top 30 globally in all subjects in Times Higher Education 2026 and #1 in Canada

Toronto has world-class faculty (including 2024 Nobel laureate Geoffrey Hinton), but several biggest names are now emeritus or no longer teach undergraduates, while strong active teachers remain in core departments. Conservative score given uncertainty about how often top research stars actually run undergraduate courses.

• Geoffrey Hinton, godfather of AI and 2024 Nobel Prize in Physics, is University Professor Emeritus of Computer Science (emeritus, no longer regular teaching)
• Jordan Peterson, psychology, taught popular undergraduate courses for years before stepping back from teaching by 2017 and resigning his tenured post in 2022
• Andrew Dicks, organic chemistry faculty since 1997, an award-winning teacher with 97% of students saying they would retake his class
• Molly Shoichet, University Professor in Applied Science and Engineering, an active researcher and teacher in biomedical engineering and chemistry
• University Professor designation (elite top tier) holders include Stephen Scherer (genetics), Douglas Stephan (chemistry), Shana Kelley and Tania Li

University of Toronto has one of the largest and most distinguished alumni networks in the world (around 680,000 alumni globally), producing Nobel laureates, multiple Canadian prime ministers, billionaires, and leading figures across science, business, and the arts.

• Alumni network of roughly 680,000 graduates worldwide
• Five Canadian prime ministers studied at U of T, including Nobel Peace Prize winner Lester B. Pearson
• Nobel laureates include Frederick Banting (insulin, Medicine 1923), Geoffrey Hinton (Physics 2024, godfather of AI), and Alice Munro (Literature 2013)
• Billionaire alumni include Jeffrey Skoll (first president of eBay) and Peter Munk (founder of Barrick Gold)
• Cultural and literary figures include Margaret Atwood, Michael Ondaatje, and actor Donald Sutherland
• Roberta Bondar, Canada's first female astronaut, is a U of T graduate

The University of Toronto regularly hosts and houses prominent figures, including Nobel laureate and AI pioneer Geoffrey Hinton in residence and Nobel chemist John Polanyi, and runs high-profile lecture series through the Munk School that bring in world leaders and public intellectuals. Its mix of eminent in-residence faculty and recurring distinguished speaker programs places it among global leaders on this dimension.

• Geoffrey Hinton, the Godfather of AI and 2024 Nobel laureate in Physics, is University Professor Emeritus in the Department of Computer Science (in residence at U of T)
• John Polanyi, 1986 Nobel laureate in Chemistry and noted public intellectual, is a U of T professor
• The Munk School of Global Affairs and Public Policy runs the Munk School Distinguished Lecture Series and the David Peterson Public Leadership Lecture Series, hosting hundreds of public events each year
• Former Prime Minister the Right Honourable Brian Mulroney appeared at the Munk School's David Peterson lecture series
• U of T confers honorary degrees on Canadian and global leaders, recipients have included Murray Sinclair (Truth and Reconciliation Commission chief commissioner) and historian Margaret MacMillan
• Alumna Margaret Atwood (Victoria College) has returned for events including a 1983 convocation address and a Global Village Day marathon discussion

The University of Toronto sits at the heart of downtown Toronto's Discovery District, one of the densest urban innovation ecosystems in North America, surrounded by the MaRS Discovery District, the Vector Institute for AI and several major teaching hospitals. Strong internal cross-disciplinary mixing is reinforced by the Schwartz Reisman Innovation Campus and Canada's largest concentration of student and faculty led startups.

• Adjacent to the MaRS Discovery District, a 1,500,000 square foot innovation centre on University Avenue and North America's largest urban innovation hub, hosting the Vector Institute, JLABS, Uber, Medicine by Design and the Ted Rogers Centre for Heart Research
• The Vector Institute for Artificial Intelligence (located at MaRS) collaborates closely with U of T on AI research and commercialization
• Schwartz Reisman Innovation Campus at College Street and Queen's Park Crescent: West Tower opened May 2024 with 250,000 square feet over 13 storeys, funded by a $100 million gift from Gerald Schwartz and Heather Reisman
• Schwartz Reisman Institute for Technology and Society drives cross-disciplinary research across sciences, humanities and social sciences on AI and biotechnology
• Embedded in the University Health Network with major teaching hospitals (Toronto General, where insulin was first clinically tested) nearby
• Over 50 U of T-affiliated startups based in the Banting and Best buildings on College Street, across from MaRS

The University of Toronto provides substantial institutional aid, anchored by UTAPS need-based non-repayable grants that guarantee unmet financial need is met for eligible full-time domestic students, the full-ride Lester B. Pearson International Scholarship, and guaranteed multi-year PhD funding packages. Its commitment to meeting demonstrated need for Canadian students places it among the stronger global institutions on this dimension.

• University of Toronto Advanced Planning for Students (UTAPS): non-repayable grants covering the gap between education costs and recognized provincial/territorial aid for full-time domestic students
• U of T commits to meeting assessed unmet need for full-time students assessed by OSAP as requiring maximum assistance
• Lester B. Pearson International Scholarship: about 37 awards per year, full tuition, books, incidental fees and four years of residence (around CAD 350,000 total) for international undergraduates
• Guaranteed multi-year funding packages for PhD students, roughly CAD 20,000 to 35,000+ annually via fellowships, tuition support and assistantships
• University of Toronto Grants assist students facing unforeseen financial emergencies affecting academic progress
• Eligibility for UTAPS and government grants limited to Canadian citizens, permanent residents or protected persons

U of T mixes modest domestic tuition with very high international rates in an expensive city. Ontario residents pay roughly CAD 6,100 to 16,000 depending on program, but international undergraduates pay about CAD 48,000 to 70,000. Toronto is one of Canada's costliest cities at roughly CAD 30,000 to 35,000 a year to live, so the combined picture leans expensive, worse than McGill on both city and aid.

• Domestic Ontario tuition is about CAD 6,100 to 16,000 per year by program; international is roughly CAD 48,000 to 70,000
• Toronto living costs run about CAD 2,200 to 2,800 per month, roughly CAD 30,000 to 35,000 per year
• Downtown one-bedroom rents of CAD 1,600 to 2,500 per month make housing the dominant expense
• Reasonable for in-province students but high international tuition plus an expensive city pulls the blended score down

University of Toronto offers very strong infrastructure for student life with over 1,000 clubs, the historic Hart House activity centre, and extensive mental-health and wellness services, though its large size and reputation as a commuter school mean students often have to work harder to build a tight social life.

• More than 1,000 student groups and organizations across U of T's three campuses (St. George, Mississauga, Scarborough)
• Hart House, founded in 1919, is a central student activity centre with a swimming pool, theatre, art gallery, gymnasium, music rooms and clubs ranging from archery and chess to Jazz Choir
• Operates one of the largest intramural sports leagues in Canada, plus Tri-Campus leagues in hockey, soccer, basketball and volleyball under the Varsity Blues program
• Mental-health support includes same-day counselling, 24-hour TELUS Health Student Support at no cost, Navi chat-based virtual assistant, and trained student peer support
• Nearly 55 course unions in the Faculty of Arts and Science provide academic and social support
• Often described as a commuter school where students must put in more effort to craft a social life

University of Toronto integrates work and study strongly through its flagship Professional Experience Year (PEY) Co-op (Canada's largest and longest-running engineering co-op, over 45 years) plus Arts & Science and Management co-op streams, and ranks among the world's best for graduate employability (14th globally in the 2025 THE Global Employability Ranking). Outcomes are strong, with co-op participants earning meaningfully higher post-graduation salaries.

• PEY Co-op: 12 to 16 month work terms (up to about 20 months with optional summer co-op); over 700 employers and roughly 1,500 to 3,000 paid positions annually
• 1,157 PEY Co-op students in 2023-2024, with about one in ten working internationally
• PEY Co-op average annual salary about CAD 50,000 (top salaries up to CAD 90,000); graduates negotiate post-graduation salaries roughly 15% higher than peers without comparable experience
• Notable PEY employers include Apple, Tesla, Google, NVIDIA, IBM, Uber, BMO, Accenture, Bombardier and Ontario Power Generation
• Ranked 14th globally and 8th among public universities in the 2025 Times Higher Education Global Employability ranking
• Full-time MBA (Rotman): 90% placement six months after graduation, average starting salary about CAD 140,289; 95% of internship-seeking students (Class of 2024) completed an internship