The University of Toronto has been named the top university in Canada and among the top 20 in the world, according the 2013 Times Higher Education World University Report released on Wednesday — the second big global nod for the school in less than a month. In September, QS World University Rankings also named U of T the best Canadian university and placed it at 17 against its international peers, followed by McGill in 21st place. It marked the first time another Canadian university outranked McGill since the QS World University Rankings were launched in 2004. In August, U of T was also the best school nationally in the research-focusedAcademic Ranking of World Universities. “To consistently perform so well in these rankings is due to the excellence of our faculty, staff, and students,” U of T president David Naylor said in a statement. “And doing so in a challenging fiscal and policy climate is also a measure of the support we’ve received from alumni and friends in recent years.” The list named the California Institute of Technology, University of Oxford and Stanford University in the top three. According to the site, rankings are based on 13 performance metrics, including research, teaching, knowledge transfer and international activity. Six other Canadian universities made it into the top 200 schools including: University of British Columbia (#31), McGill University (#35), McMaster University (#92), University of Montreal (#106), University of Alberta (#109) and University of Ottawa (#185). The Globe and Mail noted that besides U of T, which climbed one spot from last year,other Canadian universities slipped. University of British Columbia and McGill University, for example, both dropped one rank. Meanwhile, McMaster University, the country’s fourth-ranked school, lost four places to the 92nd spot, while the University of Victoria fell out of the top 200 after placing 196th last year. Among the global rankings, leading Asian universities also caught up with theircompetitors in Britain and the United States, which together held the top 13 spots and more than half the top 200. Source: Education News