Research Infosource Inc. recognizes Waterloo’s continued leadership in interdisciplinary research and partnerships to drive impact
For 18 years in a row, the University of Waterloo has been recognized as Research University of the Year in the comprehensive category by Research Infosource Inc. The achievement reflects Waterloo’s ongoing commitment to solving the world’s most pressing challenges through research collaboration, innovation and impact.
“Eighteen years as Canada’s top comprehensive research university is more than a milestone, it’s a reflection of Waterloo’s sustained excellence and leadership in research and innovation,” says Dr. Charmaine Dean, vice-president, Research and International at Waterloo.
“We are proud to excel in key metrics as identified by Research Infosource Inc. like total sponsored research income, research intensity per faculty and publication impact. Waterloo’s research strength lies in our ability to connect expertise across disciplines and borders, ensuring that our research continues to serve Canada and the world.”
Research Infosource Inc. ranks Canada’s Top 50 Research Universities by assessing research funding, publication output and commercialization. Waterloo leads the comprehensive category for research income and ranks among the top institutions for not-for-profit research income, international government research income and international government research income growth.
In addition, the University of Waterloo ranks first in the comprehensive category for publication performance in natural sciences and engineering, health sciences, cross-sector AI collaboration, international AI collaboration and climate change.
From 2024 to 2025 Waterloo secured $286 million in research funding to advance transformative projects that arefundamental to building societies grounded in trust, inclusion and evidence-based decision-making. This funding, alongside a unique creator-owned policy and robust commercialization supports, enables ideas like HeadFirst to move rapidly from the lab to the marketplace where they create positive societal and economic impact.
Waterloo connects disciplines, people and ideas to create pathways for meaningful discovery and innovation. Ourresearchers continue to be recognized for thinking differently and working across disciplines to transform societies, health, economies, technologies and the environment.
