The University of Guelph’s Ontario Veterinary College (OVC) has placed fifth worldwide and top in Canada in the 2020 World University Rankings.

OVC moved up from seventh place last year.

The annual World University Rankings by the Quacquarelli Symonds (QS) international education network list the world’s best universities in 48 academic subjects. QS looked at some 1,300 universities from 83 locations around the world, the most comprehensive global overview by discipline of higher education.

The survey considers such factors as overall research impact and academic and institutional reputation.

The rankings are intended to help prospective students identify leading schools in their field. Schools are graded based on academic and employer reputation and research impact.

OVC is one of 18 Canadian university programs that have been named among the world’s top 10 for their discipline this year.

The top-ranked veterinary science schools this year are University of California – Davis, the University of London’s Royal Veterinary College, Cornell University and Utrecht University.

After U of G, the University of Calgary was the highest-ranked Canadian school in veterinary sciences, placing 42nd.

OVC is focused on advancing veterinary medicine and health research for the betterment of animals, people and our planet. Almost 480 DVM students and more than 375 graduate students are enrolled in the college.