Waterloo ranked #1 school in Canada for computer science, engineering

University of Waterloo is the top school in Canada for computer science and engineering, according to the US News' Global University Subject-area Rankings.

The US News ranking rates 1,000 universities in more than 60 countries in 22 subject disciplines. Computer science at Waterloo moved up one spot to 18^th this year while engineering held strong in the 47^th spot.

The ranking is a strong endorsement of the quality of research and education happening at Waterloo’s David R. Cheriton School of Computer Science, says Stephen Watt, dean of the Faculty of  Mathematics at Waterloo.

“As the largest concentration of academic computer science researchers in Canada, our faculty members and graduate students are consistently publishing transformational research that is integrated into the everyday lives of Canadians. From cybersecurity & privacy and data science, to fundamental innovations in machine learning and algorithms, researchers in the David R. Cheriton School of Computer Science are changing the science, technology and application of computing,” says Watt.

Pearl Sullivan, dean of  the Faculty of Engineering, says the ranking confirms Waterloo’s strength as a national leader in the discipline.

“We are not only the largest undergraduate engineering school in Canada, but we also produce the largest number of PhD graduates. The ranking is a testament to the depth of talent and calibre of original ideas published by our faculty members and graduate students,” said Sullivan. “In the past decade, we have worked with over 1,000 industry partners and are now an international leader in the areas of wireless communications, machine intelligence, robotics and autonomous vehicles, additive manufacturing and 3D printing, biomedical sensors, nanotechnology, smart infrastructure and water resource technologies.”

These subject-based rankings are based on Thomson Reuters’ Essential Science Indicators subject categories, which reflect journal classifications. More details on the methodology used are available.

Waterloo Computer Science facts:

• Waterloo has the largest academic concentration of computer science researchers in Canada with 16 research groups, 86 faculty, more than 40 staff and more than  3,000 students at the undergraduate and graduate levels.
• Thomson Reuters and the University of Waterloo have joined forces to fuel breakthroughs in data science and entrepreneurial leadership, with the establishment of the Thomson Reuters-funded Research Chair in Data Cleaning from Theory to Practice. The chair is initially held by Professor Ihab F. Ilyas from the Cheriton School of Computer Science, who researches new methods for storing, cleaning, and curating data.
• In 2015, the David R. Cheriton School of Computer Science welcomed data systems researcher Jimmy Lin as a professor and David R. Cheriton Chair in Software Systems. Lin's arrival at Waterloo was the catalyst for merging the Information Retrieval and Database Systems research groups into the new Data Systems Group, of which he is a member. Lin's research aims to build tools that help users make sense of large quantities of data. 
• Faculty and graduate students in the School of Computer Science are known for developing fundamental research results, publishing in top scientific journals and conferences, and moving research into practice by working with industrial partners and starting spin-off companies.

Waterloo Engineering facts:

• Canada’s largest school of engineering is recognized as one of the top 50 throughout the world with 305 faculty, 227 staff and 9,150 students at the undergraduate and graduate levels.

• Waterloo Engineering has 19 Canada Research Chairs, 6 Industrial Research Chairs and 14 other Research Chairs leading the areas of intelligent systems, medical imaging, robotics and autonomous vehicles, wireless communications, software, additive manufacturing, clean energy and bio-engineering. These are just some of the 44 areas of research in which the Faculty is advancing knowledge for the scientific community, addressing the critical shortage in highly skilled engineering talent, and powering growth in Canadian companies.

• The Faculty’s strong entrepreneurial culture is reflected in the over 650 companies founded by engineering students, faculty and alumni that are shaping the future of engineering and high tech.