7 Worst Universities in Canada

In this article, you will learn about the lowest ranked universities in Canada that you may want to know about to ease your admission to a Canadian institution. These universities are not generally poor, but with regard to ranking, they are generally among the least ranked in Canada.

When it comes to Canada, the first place on your mind is your post-secondary education, as this country is one of the best places for education in the world.

Its institutions are internationally recognized for offering a first-rate education to one and all. Thousands of students from all over the world flock to Canada annually to participate in its degree programs, as the certificates are recognized throughout the world.

Due to its reputation for offering excellent post-secondary education, Canada and its institutions occupy the top positions in global education rankings.

However, even with Canada as a prestigious educational center, there are some post-secondary institutions that do not rank as highly as others that are recognized as the lowest ranked universities in Canada and therefore considered to be the worst universities in Canada, although they are still far better than some universities in some countries outside of Canada.

Being the lowest or worst ranked university in Canada based on rankings does not mean that said university is completely useless, they are just poorly ranked by popular ranking platforms within Canada, but still compete fairly in world rankings.

They also offer quality education at the best level they can, not quality and their degrees are recognized around the world just like other Canadian universities because they are accredited. It is perfectly normal for there to be lower-ranked universities if there are to be top-tier universities.

Surely not all Canadian universities are among the best in the world, there are others equally inferior and that is what this article presents to you.

Although these universities may be ranked among the worst universities in Canada, they may actually rank higher in other areas, such as in some of the degree programs they offer, in sports, or in some other extracurricular rankings.

They also receive applications from all international students on a yearly basis just like other universities in Canada.

These lowest ranked universities in Canada have their best prices, they are cheap, ie in tuition fees, hostel fees, etc., and they have a low number of students, making the resources available to all students.

So overall, these lower-ranked Canadian universities might also be good for international students, since the rankings they receive don’t make them bad options, after all, there are students there too.

Contents

How are Canadian universities ranked?

There are a variety of popular platforms that rank universities in Canada, such as US News & World Report Ranking, Macleans, World University Rankings, The Higher Education (THE), QS World University Ranking and Academic Ranking of World Universities which uses almost the same ranking factors.

There are a few factors that are taken into account when ranking Canadian universities, which are global research, reputation, publications, the quality of the programs offered, and the number of highly cited articles.

During the rankings, all universities in Canada are taken into consideration and ranked using the same factors. While some make it to the top of the list, others are well below the minimum.

The ones that make it to the top are known as the top ranked universities in Canada while the ones below the list are the lowest or worst ranked universities in Canada .

The lowest ranked colleges may also come out on top when specific program ranking factors are considered, which doesn’t make them too bad to attend. They also offer good education and research.

With this in mind, I will go on to list the worst universities in Canada, of which I have a list consisting of only 7 of them.

The worst universities in Canada

The following are the 7 worst universities in Canada, which are also the lowest ranked universities in Canada;

  • nipissing university
  • brandon university
  • Thomas University
  • Cape Breton University (CBU)
  • Laurentian University
  • Mount Saint Vincent University
  • University of Moncton

nipissing university

Founded in 1992 and located in Northern Bay, Ontario, Canada, overlooking Lake Nipissing, from which it got its name, Nipissing University is among the worst universities in Canada.

It is also ranked by Maclean (a popular platform that ranks Canadian universities) as the lowest ranked university in Canada.

Nipissing University is a primarily undergraduate public liberal arts university known for offering an individualized student experience, small class sizes, accessible faculty, and research opportunities for undergraduate students.

The university has only three faculties: the Faculty of Applied and Professional Studies, the Faculty of Applied Arts and Sciences, and the Schulich School of Education, as well as the School of Graduate Studies.

Through these faculties, Nipissing University offers more than 30 programs in undergraduate and graduate programs in full-time and part-time studies. The school also has academic research facilities and receives an annual grant of more than $350,000 for research support.

brandon university

Founded in 1889 and formerly known as Brandon College located in the city of Brandon, Manitoba, Canada. Brandon University is one of the worst universities in Canada, as it ranks lowest in Maclean’s reputation rankings.

It is also a post-secondary liberal arts and sciences institution with an approximate enrollment of 3,375 students in full-time and part-time undergraduate and graduate programs.

The school is mainly made up of undergraduate students and has very few graduate students.

Academic programs are offered through its six faculties: Faculty of Arts, Faculty of Education, Faculty of Sciences, Faculty of Health Studies, School of Music (one of the best in Canada) and the Faculty of Graduate Studies. These Brandon University colleges and schools offer a variety of bachelor’s and master’s degrees and two diplomas.

This school has a small class size, which makes it easy for students to interact closely with teachers, and there are enough resources for everyone, too.

University of St Thomas

“Teach me kindness, knowledge and discipline”: the motto of the University of St. Thomas, which is a Roman Catholic-affiliated citadel of higher learning and ranks among the lowest or worst universities in Canada.

Established in 1910 and located in New Brunswick, the university is a public Catholic liberal arts post-secondary institution.

University of St. Thomas strictly offers Bachelor of Arts, Bachelor of Applied Science, Bachelor of Education, and Bachelor of Social Work degree programs that cover a wide range of academic programs.

The school has a total of 1900 students all undergraduate, this is the school for you if you want to study in an institution with less population.

Cape Breton University (CBU)

The University of Cape Breton was established in 1951 and is located in the Regional Municipality of Cape Breton, Nova Scotia, Canada. This university is one of the worst universities in Canada due to its ranking position, it is at the bottom just like the others in this post.

CBU admits undergraduate and graduate students to its four colleges: School of Arts and Social Sciences, School of Professional Studies, Shannon School of Business, and School of Science and Technology.

However, undergraduate students are more than the population at CBU and academic programs are offered in both full-time and part-time study.

Cape Breton University is home to more than 5,500 students from Canada and countries around the world.

Laurentian University

Although Laurentian University may be among the worst universities in Canada, it is the largest bilingual provider of distance education in Canada.

The university was established in 1960 and is located in Greater Sudbury, Ontario. Most of its education is focused on undergraduate programs, but it also offers some graduate degrees.

Laurentian University has six faculties for undergraduate studies offering a bachelor’s degree and a Faculty of Graduate Studies offering master’s and doctoral programs.

The faculties: Faculty of Administration, Faculty of Medicine, Faculty of Health, Faculty of Sciences, Engineering and Architecture, Faculty of Arts, Faculty of Education and the Faculty of Graduate Studies offer national and international students a wide variety of both undergraduate as graduate programs.

UPDATE: Laurentian University has vastly improved its ranking over time. Some platforms now rank it as the 34th best university in Canada.

Mount Saint Vincent University

Mount Saint Vincent University was established in 1873 and is located in Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada.

The university has a small number of students, with more than 3,300 undergraduates and 1,100 graduate students coming from Canada and various.

It offers more than 40 undergraduate degrees in Arts, Sciences, Education and Professional Studies and 13 graduate degrees in a wide range of academic areas including School Psychology, Human Nutrition, Public Relations and Women’s Studies, etc.

Mount Saint Vincent University has 16 research centers and institutes and other state-of-the-art facilities that enable students to fulfill their potential through hands-on research.

University of Moncton

Also known as U of M, the Universite de Moncton was established in 1963 as a French-language university and still is.

According to Maclean’s Reputation Rankings, U of M is on the bottom list, making it to our list of the worst universities in Canada.

It also ranks first in other factors and is recognized as the largest French-language university in Canada outside of Quebec.

If you are fluent in French or are from a French-speaking country and want to go to a university in Canada without language barriers, this is the school for you.

Universite de Moncton has three campuses located in Moncton, this is the main campus, Edmundston and Shippagan.

The main Moncton campus has eight colleges, namely; College of Administration, College of Arts and Social Sciences, College of Education, College of Engineering, College of Graduate Studies, College of Health Sciences and Community Services, College of Science, and finally the College of Law.

Through its colleges, the University of Moncton offers national and international admissions to a wide variety of undergraduate and graduate programs.

There are also world-class library and research facilities to facilitate student learning and help them develop their skills for life after school.


These are the 7 worst universities in Canada and as I mentioned above, that does not make them unsuitable for Canadian or international students as they still have their commendable good sides. There aren’t many such universities that fit this list in Canada, so we were only able to find just seven and we hope they are useful to you.

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