Faculty of Medicine’s strengths bolster uOttawa’s status as one of Canada’s elite ‘medical doctoral’ universities

By David McFadden

Research Writer, University of Ottawa

Awards and recognition
Faculty of Medicine
Rankings
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Propelled by strengths from research grants and faculty awards to excellence in scholarships and student services, the University of Ottawa has cemented itself as one of Canada's elite universities in Maclean’s annual rankings.

For the second straight year, the venerable Canadian news magazine ranks uOttawa among the top five best “medical doctoral” universities in Canada along with McGill University, University of Toronto, University of British Columbia, and McMaster.

Strengthened significantly by the Faculty of Medicine’s heavy-hitting research community, uOttawa is securely in the top three for medical/science research grants , which measures the number of peer-adjudicated grants awarded by the Canadian Institutes of Health Research (CIHR) and the Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada (NSERC).

“The research powerhouse of the Faculty of Medicine is truly a pillar of excellence for the University of Ottawa. We couldn’t be more proud of being one of Canada’s leading research-intensive institutions,” says Dr. Bernard Jasmin, dean of the uOttawa Faculty of Medicine. 

Jasmin
Dr. Bernard Jasmin, Dean of the Faculty of Medicine

Sustaining our position in this ultra-competitive grouping of Canadian universities is no small accomplishment. The medical doctoral category is comprised of Canadian universities that are strongly research focused and have a wide range of PhD programs. All of the universities in this category have medical schools.

Overall, Maclean’s highly referenced annual rankings separate 50 participating universities across the country into three groupings: medical doctoral, comprehensive, and primarily undergraduate.

Examining the University of Ottawa’s profile against its Canadian counterparts in the medical-doctoral grouping, uOttawa this year notches No. 1 in scholarships & bursaries – up from second last year. Maclean’s says uOttawa is also holding steady in its top three for overall faculty grants. It’s in the top five in total research dollars and student awards.

Taken together, the overall showings in the Maclean’s university rankings are just the latest evidence of the strength and visibility of the University of Ottawa and the Faculty of Medicine.

The continued strong results on Maclean’s data-based university rankings are no surprise at the uOttawa Faculty of Medicine.

Our Faculty has an exciting and supportive learning environment that recognizes excellence in scholarship and teaching. We boast excellent results in undergraduate and graduate student satisfaction surveys. Our successful recruitment of world-class talent and development of cutting-edge infrastructure mean our basic, translational and clinical research is thriving.

“We place a premium on innovation and world-class performance in all aspects of university life and it is nice to see that recognized,” Dr. Jasmin says.