Dalhousie has a rich history of excellence in research and innovation. Their researchers are recognized through the institution, across the province, the country, and on the global stage for their many achievements.

What are Dalhousie’s research strengths? Their research efforts focus on five Signature Research Clusters and are informed by two cross-cutting themes, Big Data and Innovation & Entrepreneurship.

Dalhousie combines the prestige of a big-name university with a hands-on, collaborative education — all students have access to experiential learning opportunities in their programs and nearly 90% are taking advantage of it.

Dalhousie has received a five-star rating overall, and specifically in Teaching, Employability, Learning Environment, and Innovation, from QS Stars, one of the top global university rating systems.

The combination of McGill and the research centres affiliated with the university creates a nexus of researchers, graduate students and post-doctoral fellows pursuing the next vital steps in every area of research imaginable.  

For close to two centuries, McGill University has attracted some of the world’s brightest researchers and young minds. Today, McGill remains dedicated to the transformative power of ideas and research excellence as judged by the highest international standards. The Strategic Research Plan (SRP) expresses McGill’s commitments to fostering creativity; promoting innovation; problem solving through collaboration and partnership; promoting equity, diversity and inclusion; and serving society through seven identified Thematic Areas of Research Excellence. 

With more than 70 research centres and institutes, McMaster University has a high focus on collaborative research within many faculties, and with a particular focus on experimental sciences.

McMaster is collaborating across borders in the advancement of aerospace and earth science research, joining forces with the Operational Space Medicine program at the Canadian Space Agency and the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA). They have also participated in the North American Carbon program, alongside NASA, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, the United States Department of Agriculture, and the United States Geological Survey, allowing graduate students to gain experience with field measurements and climate modeling works.

Concordia seeks to foster a vibrant and supportive research environment that values the very diverse nature of all research done by Concordia faculty. It does so through its internal funding programs as well as through strategic level investments. The university’s Canada Research Chairs (CRC) and Canada Foundation for Innovation (CFI) Strategic Research Plan seeks to further mobilize excellence in our major areas of research strength by building on established and emerging areas of critical mass where additional investment is required in order to maintain or build capacity. The plan was informed by internal policies and an analysis of Concordia’s major research strengths.

Concordia has expertise in health, cities, digital arts, AI, aerospace, and synthetic biology.

The University of Alberta is one of Canada’s top teaching and research universities, with an international reputation for excellence across the humanities, sciences, creative arts, business, engineering, and health sciences. In particular, the University of Alberta is internationally recognized as a world leader in diabetes research, energy and environment, virology, food security, nanotechnology, humanities computing, printmaking, artificial intelligence, family business research, carbohydrate chemistry, and circumpolar research.

Our expertise and strength attracts over $500 million annually from various research funders and partners including federal and provincial government, industry, foundations and other organizations.

For nearly two centuries, University of Toronto (U of T) faculty, students, postdoctoral fellows, and staff have been extending the boundaries of knowledge and providing answers to some of the world’s most important questions. U of T is home to some of the world’s most talented thinkers, inventors, innovators, and educators, who are advancing knowledge and making critical discoveries for a healthier, more sustainable, prosperous, and secure future.

Consistently ranked among the top 10 public universities worldwide, U of T has remarkable strengths in disciplines that span the humanities, social sciences, sciences, and the professions. According to Times Higher Education (THE), U of T is one of only eight universities globally to place in the top 50 in all 11 subject areas ranked by THE — demonstrating our excellence in scholarship across a wide range of fields.

Curiosity-driven research is the catalyst that expands knowledge and holds the potential to alter fundamentally how we understand ourselves and the world around us. The exploration of fundamental knowledge has been at the root of much of our long-term social progress. Without the basic research conducted at universities, many of the most life-changing discoveries and innovations would never have occurred. At the University of Toronto, fundamental research in the sciences and engineering, social sciences, humanities, and health sciences has led to the discovery of insulin and stem cells, the development of the electron microscope, and one of the world’s first operational computers, the unearthing of “Peking Man,” the understanding that the medium is the message, and breakthrough developments in deep learning and neural networks. These advances were built upon decades, often centuries, of knowledge and discovery within and across disciplines.