Montréal was ranked fourth in British research institute Quacquarelli Symonds’ 2018 global ranking of best student cities based on a survey conducted among students and alumni around the world. Montréal is outranked only by London, Tokyo and Melbourne for the title of best city in the world in which to study.

On a global scale, Montréal ranks higher than Paris, Munich, Berlin, Zurich, Sydney and Seoul. In Canada, Montréal is ahead of Toronto (13th) and Vancouver (17th). In North America, the city beat out Boston (13th) and New York (18th).

Montréal performed well in most of the indicators used to establish the QS world ranking of the best student cities in 2018, specifically student view, desirability, student mix, university rankings, employer activity and affordability.

Of note, Montréal ranked first in the student view indicator, overtaking Ottawa’s position in the 2017 QS Best Student Cities ranking.

In the student mix category, Montréal ranks fifth in the world thanks to criteria such as the student population, international volume and ratio, inclusion and tolerance.

Montréal also ranked 10th in the desirability indicator, tied with Munich, based on criteria such as safety and pollution. In addition, the Québec metropolis ranked 20th in the world in the employer activity indicator, which looks at prospects available to future graduates in terms of finding a job quickly.

QS establishes its annual ranking by analyzing cities that have a population of more than 250,000 and have at least two universities listed in a world ranking of academic institutions.

The 2018 edition of the QS Best Student Cities annual ranking once again confirms the perception of Montréal held by international students attending Polytechnique Montréal to pursue their engineering degree or graduate studies.

In the 2016–2017 school year, 2,259 of the 8,205 students attending Polytechnique Montréal came from abroad (27.5%).

In 2016–2017, international students at Polytechnique made up 21.9% of the students enrolled in the bachelor’s program, 43.7% of students enrolled in the master’s program, 27.3% of students enrolled in the professional master’s and 54.5% of students enrolled in the PhD program.

To learn more

Website Website of the Polytechnique Montréal International Student Office
Vidéo: Montréal still among the best student cities in the world in 2018