A five‑star review

There are many university ranking and rating systems that prospective students and others use when exploring options for higher education. One of the most noteworthy of these comes from Quacquarelli Symonds, which offers an assessment system — QS Stars — rating universities across multiple categories.

Late last year, Dalhousie became the third Canadian university currently assessed by QS Stars — and came out with rave reviews.

Dalhousie received a five-star rating. Some of the other universities who’ve received five-star ratings in the past include the likes of Oxford, Harvard, Stanford, Boston University and Yale. Other Canadian schools to receive ratings of five stars or more (“5+” stars being the include McMaster and Western.

QS Stars evaluates participating universities in dozens of indicators across up to 12 categories. The indicators span various aspects of the university including teaching, research, graduate employability, and internationalization. Because the QS Stars system is global in scope, they represent an assurance of institutional quality, particularly for students looking to come to Dalhousie from around the world.

Universities can also apply to be evaluated by QS Stars in “advanced criteria.” Dalhousie did so in all four of these — arts & culture, innovation, social responsibility and inclusiveness — and received five-star ratings in all of them.

“Dalhousie’s QS ratings reflect the high quality of teaching, research and community service that takes place across our university,” says Carolyn Watters, Provost and Vice-President Academic. “As one of Canada’s leading research universities with 200 years of academic achievement, Dalhousie continues to be a force of positive impact in our region and country.”

To review Dalhousie’s QS profile (including QS Stars ratings) visit the QS website.