McGill University vs University of Montreal: Which one is better?

McGill University, Montreal, Quebec, is one of Canada's highest-ranking public research universities with approximately 40,000 students. McGill is globally acclaimed for its good reputation in Medicine, Law, Engineering, Computer Science, and Business. Admissions are highly competitive, and the acceptance rate is approximately 46.3%. The graduation rate of McGill is around 85%, and the average starting salary of its graduates is CAD $60,000–65,000 (INR 36–40 lakhs) per year.

The Université de Montréal – UdeM, also located in Montreal, Quebec, is a top French-language public research university with approximately 67,000 students enrolled. It has great reputation for Arts & Sciences, Health Sciences, Engineering, and Business programs with strong research focus. Admissions are fairly selective with an acceptance rate of around 57%. UdeM has a graduation rate of about 82%, and graduates of the university have an average starting salary of about CAD $55,000–60,000 (INR 33–37 lakhs) per annum.

Overview Comparison

	McGill University	University of Montreal
Collegedunia Score	6.6 Out of 10	6 Out of 10
ranking (overall)	# 27 QS World University 2026 # 27 Center for World University Rankings 2025 # 29 QS World University 2025	# 168 QS World University 2026 # 124 Center for World University Rankings 2025 # 159 QS World University 2025
Subject Strength	# 45 for Engineering by QS World University 2025 # 30 for Data Science and Analytics by QS World University 2025 # 28 for Medicine by QS World University 2025	# 133 for Engineering by QS World University 2025 # 37 for Data Science and Analytics by QS World University 2025 # 86 for Medicine by QS World University 2025
Programs	UG Programs -50 PG Programs -74 Doctorate Programs -3	UG Programs -49 PG Programs -54 Doctorate Programs -14
Acceptance Rate	46.0 %	57.0 %
Exam Score	GMAT-650 IELTS-6.5 PTE-65 TOEFL-86	GMAT-630 IELTS-6.5 SAT-1400 TOEFL-100
Cost to Study	Average Tuition Fees 55389 [For UG Program] Average Tuition Fees 19154 [For PG Program] Hostel + Meal - 41020 Per Year	Average Tuition Fees 20400 [For UG Program] Average Tuition Fees 30800 [For PG Program] Hostel + Meal - 950 Per Year
placement (average package)	McGill University is one of the top public universities in Montreal, Canada. It is ranked #31 in QS World University Rankings 2023 and #42 in graduate employability ranking. McGill University Graduates & Alumni Salaries - By Degree MBA : $97,000 Doctorate : $94,000 LLM : $89,000 Masters of Arts : $72,000 Masters in Science : $71,000 Bachelor of Science : $64,000	Average Salaries are lisited as below : Masters in Science: $94,000 MBA : $91,000 Bachelor of Science : $67,000 Other Degree: $40,000 Bachelor of Arts : $31,000
Campuses and B-Schools	Desautels Faculty of Management	Polytechnic School of Montreal HEC Montreal

Top Courses Comparison

	McGill University (MBA )	University of Montreal (M.B.A )
ranking	# 60 for Business by QS World University 2025 # 84 for Business by Times Higher Education 2025	# 79 for Business by Times Higher Education 2025 # 108 for Business by QS World University 2025
exam scores	GMAT - 670/800 IELTS - 7/9 TOEFL - 100/120	GMAT - 630/800 GRE - 312/340 IELTS - 7/9 TOEFL - 95/120 TOEIC - 781/990
documents required	#Letter of Recommendation + Statement of Purpose	#Letter of Recommendation + Statement of Purpose
application dates	Nov 1, 2025 (First Application Deadline For Fall 2026 Intake) Jan 15, 2026 (Second Application Deadline For Fall 2026 Intake) Mar 15, 2026 (Final Deadline For Fall 2026 Intake)	Sep 15, 2025 (Application Deadline For Winter 2025/26 Intake)

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General Facts Comparison

General Facts	McGill University	University of Montreal
Type of University	University	University
Established	1821	1878
Student:Faculty Ratio	15:1	28:1
Male:Female	0% Male, 0% Female	41% Male, 59% Female
Location Facts	Two Campuses: Downtown Campus, located between Montreal and Mount Royal Park; Macdonald Campus, located on the western tip of the island of Montreal	The university's main campus is located in the Côte-des-Neiges neighborhood of Côte-des-Neiges–Notre-Dame-de-Grâce on Mount Royal near the Outremont Summit (also called Mount Murray), in the borough of Outremont. The institution comprises thirteen faculties, more than sixty departments and two affiliated schools: the Polytechnique Montréal (School of Engineering; formerly the École polytechnique de Montréal) and HEC Montréal (School of Business). It offers more than 650 undergraduate programmes and graduate programmes, including 71 doctoral programmes.
Library	Printed books - 4,851,382; E-books: 2,707,183; Printed journals- 33,706 and E- journals - 1,15,228	Located on the Laval Campus, the library has an extensive collection including research and printed and electronic material. Students can also access teamwork rooms, a reading lounge, and a separate study area. Additionally, the Laval campus is home to printing services, teamwork rooms, the satellite neuropsychology clinic, and other student services. Across its eight campuses, the university offers its students 14 libraries based on different subjects like music, law, health, environmental design, and literature and humanities, among many others. Libraries have three million books and documents with 4.2 million documents.
Campus Life	The campus offers Macappella, Happy Geet, MAC and MAC Agro Ecology group, Robotics, Food Science Association, CERES, Gorilla Composition, Happy Belly, and Judging Club.Join/attend/enjoy 700 musical performances each year, athletic competitions, art, theatre, and other extracurricular activities.	The University of Montreal and its students host a series of exciting lectures, workshops, exhibitions, and shows, all year round including music training, choir ensembles, dance and theater workshops, and cinema screenings, among many others. Student groups recognized by the university surround areas of interest like arts and recreation, skills development, cultural diversity, academics, environment, politics, health, solidarity, and a couple others. Student-athletes compete in ten men’s and women’s sports including football, hockey, soccer, rugby, tennis, and cheerleading, among a few others. Additionally, other sports like cycling, cross-country skiing, squash, and baseball among 11 other sports clubs are also offered by the university. One of the country’s largest sports complexes, the on-campus CEPSUM provides a variety of high-caliber sports facilities including a kinesiology clinic, a physiotherapist, and a sports medicine clinic. The university offers a resto-pub and a local restaurant with tasty, eco-responsible, and affordable cuisine.
Hostel	#Double Room--Yearly - $16860 #Single Room--Yearly - $18360	#RENT AND UTILITIES-MONTHLY - $600
Famous Alumni	Justin Trudeau (Prime minister of Canada), Daliso Chaponda (Comedian), William Osler (world renowned physician), Laurent Duvernay-Tardif (American Football player), Mackenzie Davis (Actress), Ken Dryden (Former member of parliament), and Leonard Cohen (Singer).	The University of Montreal has an alumni community of 4,50,000 graduates worldwide. Famous alumni members work in fields like medicine, law, physics, and nutrition and include Antonine Maillet, Hubert Aquin, Pierre Péladeau, Pauline Marois, Lucille Teasdale, Morris Goodman, Pierre-Elliott Trudeau, Louise Arbour, Denys Arcand, Joanne Liu, Roger Guillemin, Hubert Reeves, Jean Coutu, Kim Thuy, Robert Bourassa, Jacques Parizeau, Paul Gérin-Lajoie and hundreds of others.
City Life	Main industries of Quebec are mining, manufacturing. Water is one of the significant natural resources of Quebec. Therefore a lot of industries around hydroelectric power raised around the city. Montreal has cheap rents, various parks and cycling lanes, affordable public transit, and more. For the flourishing industry, the unemployment rate is slightly higher than Canada. Women are financially independent as compared to 3/4th of men.	Quebec is in high demand as the third most popular choice for immigrants moving to the Great White North. In addition to its delicious maple syrup, Quebec is known for its low cost of living, bustling economy, and wide range of cultural activities. Quebec’s largest city, Montreal, is known as Canada’s “Cultural Capital” as it fully embraces its European and Francophone heritage. The official language of Quebec is French and many residents speak both French and English daily. Quebec even offers free and discounted French courses to any newcomers eager to learn the language. Quebec residents have many different opportunities to work in a range of industries. Their economy consists of large manufacturing and service sectors, the mining and forest industry, the aerospace industry, and even an artificial intelligence sector. The province is very future-focused, investing in research, development, and green technology. Also, the tourism and agriculture industry are both very prosperous in Quebec.
Weather

Comparison Notes

McGill University vs University of Montreal

Subject Strength & Global Rankings (2025/2026)

McGill University always ranks higher in the world compared to the Université de Montréal (UdeM). In QS 2026, McGill is at about 27 in the world, performing exceptionally in Medicine, Life Sciences, Engineering, Business, Law, and Arts & Humanities. UdeM ranks at about not ranked in QS 2026 . Both are research-oriented, although McGill is globally known to be Canada's premier English-speaking research university, and UdeM is among the world's prominent French-language universities.

General Information

McGill, established in 1821 in Montreal, Quebec, is a public English-language research university with ~40,000 students, including a sizeable international student population. UdeM, established in 1878, is a public French-language research university with ~67,000 students, among the largest in Canada. Whereas McGill has a global focus, UdeM serves an important role in Francophone higher education and research.

Acceptance Rate & Admissions

McGill is very selective 46.3%, with competitive admission to Medicine, Law, Engineering, and Business. UdeM's acceptance rate is higher 57%, providing accessibility while upholding robust admission criteria for professional and health fields of study. Instructional language varies: McGill instructs mostly in English, whereas UdeM instructs mostly in French, although there are some English-language graduate options.

Research Impact & Facilities

McGill is a U15 research university with international research excellence in medicine, neuroscience, sustainability, and engineering, and has partnerships with leading institutions. UdeM is also part of the U15, with distinction in health sciences, social sciences, linguistics, and artificial intelligence, aided by associations with CHUM (Centre hospitalier de l'Université de Montréal) and Mila (Quebec AI Institute).

Cost & Financial Aid

Both are public universities and charge less tuition to Quebec residents. McGill charges ~CAD 8,000 to Quebec residents and ~$23,000–30,000 to international students. UdeM charges ~CAD 4,000 to Quebec residents and ~$20,000 to international students, which is slightly less expensive. Both provide scholarships, need-based grants, and graduate research support.

Career Outcomes & Alumni Success

McGill graduates dominate globally in medicine, law, business, engineering, academia, and politics with the help of a vast worldwide network. UdeM graduates succeed in government, health care, AI, academia, and the arts, particularly in Francophone nations and Quebec's employment market.