TORONTO - The University of Toronto is the world's ninth strongest university as judged by academics at other institutions around the world. The finding was released as part of the "Times Higher Education - QS World University Rankings" at 12:01 a.m GMT Oct 8.

The survey asked nearly 10,000 academics around the world to rank 621 universities worldwide by reputation, not including their own. For the second year in a row, U of T placed ninth - alongside top private universities in the United States and elite universities in Europe and Asia.

"Very few publicly funded universities reach this level anywhere in the world. This is a measure of our faculty's relentless focus on academic excellence and discoveries of global rank as well as the wonderful caliber of our students," said Prof. David Naylor, President of the University of Toronto. "One of the terrific things about U of T is this confluence of great minds across generations; top researchers working with outstanding students - undergrads and grads alike."

The THE-QS World University Rankings also asked academics worldwide to rank other universities' performance in specific fields. U of T stood out globally on these measures as well. Of 621 universities, academics worldwide ranked U of T:

- eighth worldwide in Engineering
- 11th worldwide in Life Sciences
- 15th worldwide in Social Sciences
- 11th worldwide in Arts and Humanities
- 14th worldwide in Natural Sciences

"U of T's global strength is the breadth of our leadership," Prof. Naylor added. "Many research universities build their reputation on one or two areas of strength. That's why it's gratifying that academic peers rank us in the top 15 across all major fields surveyed."
Today's THE-QS World University Rankings results confirm U of T's other top results this year. In July, the University was 11th in rankings compiled by the Higher Education Evaluation and Accreditation Council of Taiwan (HEEACT). A week later, U of T placed 13th overall in tracking by ScienceWatch.com. More recently, the SCImago Institutions Rankings (SIR) placed U of T 4th amongst institutions of higher learning.

Now in their 6th edition, the Times Higher Education - QS World University Rankings eceived a record level of responses from both the academic community and employers in 2009. In total 9,386 academics (compared to 6,354 in 2008 - an increase of 47%) and 3,281 employers (compared to 2,339 in 2008 - an increase of 40%) responded to the surveys reflecting the growing influence and importance of the rankings.

For full result of the Times Higher Education - QS World University Rankings 2009, go to: www.topuniversities.com