University of Lethbridge jumps to second in Research Infosource rankings, leads in graduate student intensity

Friday, October 27, 2017

The University of Lethbridge continues to trend up in the ranking of the country’s top research universities, according to the latest Research InfoSource annual Research Universities of the Year rankings list.

The U of L jumped to second in the country in the 2017 Undergraduate classification, while also maintaining its 34th-place standing in the overall rankings list. It is the third successive year the University has made a gain in the rankings.

“Our faculty are among the best in the world at attracting research dollars to the university and pushing the research envelope,” says U of L Vice-President (Research) Dr. Erasmus Okine. “Their programs are consistently respected by their peers and through ranking mechanisms such as this and the recent MacLean’s rankings. Moreover, the work they are doing significantly impacts our daily lives and improves the quality of life for people throughout southern Alberta, Canada and beyond.”

Prairie universities were highlighted by Research Infosource for combining to beat the national trend in terms of research income growth, while the U of L was singled out for leading all undergraduate universities in research intensity per graduate student.

“For the second year in a row, Prairie universities turned in performance in excess of the national growth trend,” says Ron Freedman, CEO of Research Infosource Inc. “Four universities blew past the national trend by posting research income growth three or more times the national increase. As well, this year Research Infosource spotlighted university research intensity per graduate student (research income per graduate student enrolled in 2015-2016 at full-service universities). McMaster University ($81,100 per student), University of Guelph ($60,100 per student) and University of Lethbridge ($35,800 per student) headed the Medical/Doctoral, Comprehensive and Undergraduate categories respectively.”

In 2012, the U of L was named Research University of the Year (Undergraduate), and has been consistently among the top five research universities in its class for the last decade.

“What I find impressive is that our faculty are educators first. They bring their research activities into the classroom and subsequently, provide outstanding opportunities for both our undergraduate and graduate students to participate in these programs,” adds Okine.

Looking ahead, Okine is enthused by the continued development of the Destination Project, the new Science and Academic Building, which will open in 2019.

“This new, state-of-the-art facility will create even greater opportunity for our faculty and students, enhance multidisciplinary research, further community outreach initiatives and help the University as it continues to attract top research minds to campus.”

Research Infosource is Canada’s leading provider of research intelligence for business and higher education. Canada’s Top 50 Research Universities List is released each fall. Using Statistics Canada data and the Canadian University R&D Database, the list ranks universities by their research income. Accompanying the Top 50 List each year are Research Universities of the Year rankings based on a balanced scorecard of input, output and impact measures.

To look at the full rankings, visit the Research Infosource website.

To view online: http://www.uleth.ca/unews/article/university-lethbridge-jumps-second-research-infosource-rankings-leads-graduate-student