Academics

Queen's is a publicly funded research university and a member of the Association of Universities and Colleges of Canada. Full-time undergraduate programs comprise the majority of the school's enrolment, made up of 16,339 full-time undergraduate students. In 2009 the two largest programs by enrolment were the social sciences, with 3,286 full-time and part-time students, followed by engineering, with 3,097 full-time and part-time students. The university conferred 3,232 bachelor's degrees, 153 doctoral degrees, 1,142 master's degrees, and 721 first professional degrees in 2008–9.

The university operates several study abroad programs, including the "First Year Program" at Bader International Study Centre, and study abroad semester programs offered by the university's international programs office. Additionally, the university also apply for international student exchange, with Queen's having exchange agreements with over 85 universities outside Canada.

Reputationedit

University rankings
Global rankings
ARWU World	201–300
QS World	246
Times World	251–300
U.S News & World Report Global	419
Canadian rankings
ARWU National	10–12
QS National	9
Times National	11–14
U.S News & World Report National	16
Maclean's Medical/Doctoral	5

Queen's University has placed in post-secondary school rankings. In the 2020 Academic Ranking of World Universities rankings, the University ranked 201–300 in the world The 2021 QS World University Rankings ranked the university 246th in the world and the ninth in Canada; tied with the University of Calgary. The 2021 Times Higher Education World University Rankings placed the university 251–300 in the world, and 11–14 in Canada. In U.S. News & World Report 2021 global university rankings, Queen's placed 419th, and 16th in Canada. The Canadian-based news magazine Maclean's ranked the university fifth in its 2021 Medical-Doctoral Canadian university rankings.

Queen's also placed in several rankings that evaluated the employment prospects of graduates. In QS's 2019 graduate employability rankings, the university ranked 101–110 in the world and sixth in Canada. In a 2011 survey conducted by Mines ParisTech's, they found Queen's placed 38th in the world and first in Canada for number of graduates employed as the chief executive officer (or equivalent) of Fortune 500 companies. In an employability survey published by the New York Times in October 2011, when CEOs and chairpersons were asked to select the top universities which they recruited from, the university placed 74th in the world and fifth in Canada.

Researchedit

Queen's University is a member of the U15, a group that represents 15 Canadian research universities. In 2018, Research Infosource ranked Queen's as the sixth in their list of top 50 research university in Canada, with a sponsored research income (external sources of funding) of $207,034 million in 2017. In the same year, Queen's faculty averaged a sponsored research income of $266,100, while graduate students averaged a sponsored research income of $44,300. The federal government is the largest funding source, providing 49.8% of Queen's research budget, primarily through grants. Corporations contribute another 26.3% of the research budget.

Queen's research performance has been noted several bibliometric university rankings, which uses citation analysis to evaluates the impact a university has on academic publications. In 2019, the Performance Ranking of Scientific Papers for World Universities ranked Queen's 344thin the world, and 14th in Canada. In University Ranking by Academic Performance's 2018–19 rankings, the university ranked 353rd in the world, and 14th in Canada.

The university operates six research centres and institutes, the Centre for Neuroscience Studies, GeoEngineering Centre, High Performance Computing Virtual Laboratory, Human Mobility Research Centre, Sudbury Neutrino Observatory Institute, and the Southern African Research Centre. The Sudbury Neutrino Observatory's director, Arthur B. McDonald, is a member of the university's physics department. The observatory managed the SNO experiment, which showed the solution to the solar neutrino problem was neutrinos change flavour (type) as they propagate through the Sun. The SNO experiment proved a non-zero mass neutrino exists. This was a major breakthrough in cosmology. In October 2015, Arthur B. McDonald and Takaaki Kajita (University of Tokyo) jointly received the Nobel Prize in Physics for illustration of neutrino change identities and identification of mass. This is the first Nobel Prize awarded to a Queen's University researcher. In 1976 urologist Alvaro Morales, along with his colleagues, developed the first clinically effective immunotherapy for cancer by adapting the Bacille Calmette-Guérin tuberculosis vaccine for treatment of early stage bladder cancer.

Other research facilities include the Queen's University Biological Station, the largest inland field station in Canada. The Biological Station's mandate is to provide teaching and research opportunities in biology and other related sciences, as well as the conservation of the local environment. Researchers and students have gathered at the biological station to conduct research and participate in courses spanning ecology, evolution, conservation, and environmental biology. In 2002, it became part of the United Nations–recognized Thousand Islands – Frontenac Arch Biosphere Reserve.

Queen's University has a joint venture with McGill University, operating an academic publishing house known as the McGill-Queen's University Press. It publishes original peer-reviewed and books in all areas of the social sciences and humanities. While the press's emphasis is on providing an outlet for Canadian authors and scholarship, the press also publishes authors throughout the world. It has over 2,800 books in print. The publishing house was known as the McGill University Press in 1963 prior to amalgamating with Queen's in 1969.

Admissionedit

The requirements for admission differ among students from Ontario, students from other provinces in Canada, and international students due to the lack of uniformity in marking schemes. In 2018, 42.5 per cent of applications to full-time first-year studies were accepted. In 2013, the secondary school average for full-time first-year students at Queen's was 89% overall, with the Commerce, Education, and Engineering faculties having the highest entrance averages, at 91.7%, 90.8%, and 90.6% respectively. The application process emphasizes the optional Personal Statement of Experience. The statement expresses how the applicant's personal experiences may contribute to the university. It focuses on qualifications and involvement outside of academics and is an important factor in determining admission. Several faculties require applicants to submit a supplementary essay.

Students may apply for financial aid such as the Ontario Student Assistance Program and Canada Student Loans and Grants through the federal and provincial governments. The financial aid provided may come in the form of loans, grants, bursaries, scholarships, fellowships, debt reduction, interest relief, and work programs. In the 2010–11 academic year, Queen's provided $36.5 million worth of student need–based and merit-based financial assistance.