By The Numbers
The indicators speak for themselves: U of T is the place for researchers to lead, learn, engage, influence, deliver, have impact and win. The VPRI is the place that empowers researchers to shine in a safe, fiscally responsible, diverse, equitable and inclusive environment.
Leadership in Research and Innovation
Leadership in Research and Innovation
The remarkable leadership and impact of U of T researchers and innovators is reflected across a diverse set of global rankings: U of T typically ranks first among Canadian universities in a broad range of disciplines, and is among the world’s top research- and innovation-intensive institutions. Prestigious national and international honours by U of T researchers and scholars are also important benchmarks of excellence, and our faculty continue to win a dominant share of these awards and honours in Canada. In all sectors and on all of our campuses, our researchers are having an impact on society, culture, public policy, law, health, education, quality of life, the professions, and the economy.
U of T Rankings in the Most Prominent World Rankings Systems
Each ranking system has its own provenance and methodology, including different metrics and how they are weighted:
1. National Taiwan University Ranking (NTU) Based on Web of Science™ bibliometric measures including publication and citation counts, average citations per publication, h-index, highly cited publications and articles in high-impact journals [Methodology].
2. US News Best Global Universities Began in 2014. Based on a series of Web of Science™ bibliometric measures, reputational surveys, and counts of PhDs awarded [Methodology].
3. Times Higher Education World University Rankings (THE) Based on reputational surveys, internationalization measures, average class size and metrics normalized over faculty count: PhDs awarded, publications, citations, overall institutional income and research income from all sources and industry. Bibliometric measures were from the Web of Science™ until 2014 and are now from Scopus™ [Methodology].
4. Academic Ranking of World Universities (ARWU) Conducted by researchers at the Center for World-Class Universities of Shanghai Jiao Tong University; based on faculty and alumni who are Nobel Prize and Fields medal winners, researchers named to the Thomson Reuters Highly Cited list and Web of Science™ bibliometric measures including article counts and additional weight given to articles in Science and Nature [Methodology].
5. QS World University Ranking (QS)* Based on citations normalized by faculty count, reputational surveys, average class size and internationalization. A significant methodological change was implemented with the 2015 QS overall ranking in that the citations per faculty score was segmented according to the rankings’ five faculty areas as a way to equalize the influence of each [Methodology].
U of T Major Field Ranking Results
Data sources: Each ranking organization’s website: NTU, THE, and QS.
Shanghai (ARWU) did not release field rankings in 2017-18.
US News did not release field rankings in 2017-18.
U of T Subject Ranking Results
Data sources: Each ranking organization’s website: NTU, US News, THE, ARWU (Shanghai), and QS.
Each list is limited to 15 subjects where U of T ranked highest in the world.
Heat Matrix Showing Rank on Publications in the Top 10% Most Highly Cited (2012-2016)
MG = McGill University
UT = University of Toronto
Data sources: Queried from InCites (InCites dataset) updated Jan. 24, 2018 with Web of Science™ content indexed through Dec 2017. Analysis by the University of Toronto.
- The top 20 universities and the vertical sorting is based on the sum of the ranks across the 22 fields (where the lowest sum represents the top institution).
- The heat scale shading is a on a three colour scale with the median (50th percentile) as the middle colour, and represents the count of each university's publications in the top 10% most cited relative to other universities publishing within that category (column).
- Twenty one of the fields are from the Essential Science Indicators schema; Arts & Humanities is from the GIPP schema.
- Document type limited to articles, review articles and book chapters with at least one author affiliated with a university.
- Years limited to 2012 to 2016
- Universities are limited to Canada U15 or those with a combined total of 200 or more publications in the top 10% most cited across 22 fields.
- Not shown, top university based in the top 10% cited in Agriculture: Wageningen University & Research; Chemistry: Nanyang Technological University; Computer Science: Tsinghua University; Engineering: Tsinghua University; Geosciences: University of Colorado Boulder; Materials Science: Nanyang Technological University; Mathematics: King Abdulaziz University; Physics: Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT); Plant and Animal Science: University of California Davis; Space Science: California Institute of Technology.
Major Awards & Honours U of T Market Share Among Canadian Universities (2008-2017)
For PI : Source: Division of the Vice-President, Research & Innovation.
- Data Sources: VPRI, based on individual agency records. Updated Dec 2017.
- CIHR Health Researcher of the Year includes the Michael Smith Prize in Health Research (renamed in 2011), the CIHR Health Researcher of the Year Prize (discontinued in 2014), and the CIHR Gold Leaf Prizes (first awarded in 2017).
- According to Statistic Canada's UCASS Survey, U of T pays 5.5% (6%) of all full-time faculty members (full, associate and assistant profs) paid by Canadian universities. This represents 2,238 faculty members.
Funding
Funding
U of T research and innovation is a $1.2 billion-a-year enterprise. Our researchers and innovators are successful in securing funds from a rich diversity of sources including the federal and provincial governments, the not-for-profit sector, private-sector partnerships, and national and international research and philanthropic foundations, allowing them to continue generating the knowledge and tools that are needed to address the most pressing issues confronting humanity.
Research Funds Awarded to U of T and Partner Hospitals by Sector (2016-17)
Total Funding = $1.2B
| Federal Granting Agencies |
Not-for-Profit |
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| Private Sector |
Inter-Institutional Collaboration |
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| Other Federal |
Government of Ontario |
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| Foreign Government |
Other Domestic Government |
Government of Ontario Funding
Total Funding = $92M
| Ministry of Research, Innovation and Science |
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| Advanced Education and Skills Development |
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| All Other Agencues |
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| Ministry of Health and Long-Term Care |
Data sources: VPRI.
Represents funds awarded for use in 2016-17. Based on government fiscal year, April to March. Dollars shown in captions are in millions. The federal granting agencies include the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council (SSHRC), the Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council (NSERC), the Canadian Institutes for Health Research (CIHR), and four related programs: the Canada Research Chairs program (CRCs), Canada Excellence Research Chairs program (CERCs), the Canada First Research Excellence Fund (CFREF) and the Research Support Fund (RSF). Not shown: $1M (0.1%) for funding from Other Domestic Government sources.
Tri-Agency Funding to U15 Universities (2016-17)
TOGGLE
Tri-agency Funding in $Millions
Market Share of Tri-agency Funding (%)
Canadian Institutes of Health Research (CIHR) Funding in $Millions
Market Share of Canadian Institutes of Health Research (CIHR) Funding (%)
Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada (NSERC) Funding in $Millions
Market Share of Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada (NSERC) Funding (%)
Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council (SSHRC) Funding in $Millions
Market Share of Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council (SSHRC) Funding (%)
Data sources: CIHR Expenditures by University and Program Category 2016-17 report, NSERC Awards Database and SSHRC Awards Search Engine.
Funding for the Networks of Centres of Excellence nodes, the Canada Research Chairs program, the Canada First Research Excellence Fund, the Research Support Fund, the Canadian Microelectronics Corporation (NSERC funding held at Queen's) and the Canadian Light Source (NSERC funding held at U. Saskatchewan) are excluded.
For the national total, only funding for Canadian colleges and universities, and their affiliates, are counted.
Research Support Fund Expenditures by Eligible Categories (2016-17)
Recovering the full costs of research from external sponsors is of great budgetary concern. For each direct research dollar, U of T spends a further 56 cents on research-related costs that include building occupancy, information technology infrastructure, financial and human resource management, and libraries. When not recovered from external sponsors, these very real costs have to come from other revenue sources.
The Federal Government’s Research Support Fund is an important contributor to the full costs of conducting research. U of T and our U15 peers continue to advocate for additional funding for this crucial program.
Total Funding = $46M
| Facilities |
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| Management and Administration |
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| Resources |
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| Regulatory Requirements and Accreditation |
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| Intellectual Property |
Data sources: VPRI. Based on government fiscal year, April to March.
Canada Foundation for Innovation (CFI) Funding to U15 Universities (2011-12 to 2016-17)
TOGGLE
Data sources: CFI website, projects funded database December 2017.
Based on government fiscal year, April to March.
National projects excluded.
Funding to partners and affiliates included with each university.
Includes six years in order to consistently cover two cycles of the Innovation Fund.
Connaught Fund Amounts Awarded (2016-17)
Data sources: VPRI.
Based on government U of T fiscal year, May to April.
Spending includes SGS special initiatives, McLean Award, inventions revenue fund, and outreach initiatives.
Innovation & Entrepreneurship
Innovation & Entrepreneurship
U of T is where research talent, ideas, and ambition converge to generate innovation and launch the next generation of global entrepreneurs. Our faculty and students are leaders in turning ideas into products, services, jobs, and companies that boost the Canadian economy and improve lives around the world. We are a North American leader in the number of new intellectual property-based startups, in the number of new invention disclosures, and in the number of new licenses and options. On average, U of T and its partner hospitals file one patent every three days.
Start-ups, Invention Disclosures, and Licenses and Options (2013-14 to 2015-16)
New Start-up Companies Created at US and Canadian Universities (2013-14 to 2015-16)
New Invention Disclosures at US and Canadian Universities (2013-14 to 2015-16)
New Licenses and Options at US and Canadian Universities (2013-14 to 2015-16)
Data sources: Association of University Technology Managers (AUTM).
Universities reporting as systems are excluded.
U of T includes partner hospitals.
Serving the U of T Community
Serving the U of T Community
The Division of the Vice-President, Research and Innovation supports U of T as a world-leading public research and innovation-intensive university by creating an environment that enables our researchers, scholars and learners to do what they do best: advance understanding and apply new knowledge. We support, foster and promote the research and innovation activities of our faculty and students across our three campuses, through work with our partner hospitals and external agencies, and with other strategic partners.
Serving the U of T Community
Each year the VPRI manages, negotiates and supports a large research and innovation enterprise at U of T.
Research Funding
2,800
principal investigators
3,900
new funding applications
$400M
in funding awarded
8,900
research funds
1,000
funding sponsors
300+
private sector partners
1,700
funding programs
130
workshops and info sessions
Innovation & Entrepreneurship
180
invention disclosures
60
priority patent applications
35
licensing agreements & options
220
commercialization projects
200+
entrepreneurial events
30,000+
youth attendees
~200
volunteer mentors
200+
student-led startup teams/companies
$50M+
in annual startup investment
Accountability & Reporting
40
external audits
7,200
financial reports
1,300
new human ethics protocols
490
new animal ethics protocols
30
post - (ethics) approval reviews - human
35
post - (ethics) approval reviews - animal
Health & Safety
12,200
personnel trained
1,125
lab safety inspections
221
worksite assessments
1,100
occupational health assessments
Data source: VPRI.