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Mount Allison

Canada’s Best Primarily Undergraduate Universities for 2025

These universities are largely focused on undergraduate education, with relatively fewer graduate programs and graduate students
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#1: Mount Allison University

Tuition: $11,447
Minimum Entering Grades:

Arts: 69.8% | Science: 71.8% | Commerce: 70%

Mount Allison delivers a quality liberal arts and science education in picturesque Sackville, N.B. “Mount Allison offers a high-quality academic experience...


#2: University of Northern British Columbia

Tuition: $6,898
Minimum Entering Grades:
Arts: 65.2% | Science: 68.4% | Commerce: 58% | Engineering: 78.6%

Where else but at the University of Northern British Columbia can you study in a teaching and learning centre with a 360-degree panoramic view that stretches all the way to the foothills of the Rocky Mountains...


#3: Saint Mary’s University

Tuition: $9,230 ($10,513 out-of-province students)
Minimum Entering Grades:
Arts: 70% | Science: 70% | Commerce: 70.5%

Saint Mary’s University keeps classes small, with an average of 40 students in an introductory course. Saint Mary’s also has a strong international community...


#4: Acadia University

Tuition:$10,182 ($11,465 out-of-province students)
Minimum Entering Grades:
Arts: 70% · Science: 70% · Business: 70% · Engineering: 70%

More than a third of the students at Acadia University, located in the Annapolis Valley, live on campus, which translates to less time commuting...


#5: Lakehead University

Tuition: $7,384
Minimum Entering Grades:
Arts: 70% | Science: 70% | Commerce: 70% | Engineering: 70%

Lakehead University offers a broad range of degree and diploma programs—including programs designed for Indigenous students—across nine faculties...


#6: Trent University

Tuition: $8,018 ($8,715 out-of-province students)
Minimum Entering Grades:
Arts: 70-80% | Science: 70-85% | Commerce: 70-80% | Engineering: 80%

Born during the tumultuous ’60s, Trent University is a liberal arts and science school in the very best sense...


#7*: Ontario Tech University

Tuition: $8,371
Minimum Entering Grades:
Arts: 70-73% | Science: 70-85% | Commerce: 73-75% | Engineering: 75-85%

Signs of innovation are everywhere at Ontario Tech University. The north Oshawa campus reflects the university’s emphasis on technology...


#7*: University of Prince Edward Island

Tuition: $8,017
Minimum Entering Grades:
Arts: 71% | Science: 70% | Commerce: 72% | Engineering: 76%

The only university on Prince Edward Island, UPEI has nine faculties, including veterinary medicine...


#9: Bishop’s University

Tuition:$4,771 ($10,882 out-of-province students)
Minimum Entering Grades:
Arts: 80%; R score 24 | Science: 80%; R score 24 | Commerce: 80%; R score 24

Founded when many of the area’s residents were anglophones, Bishop’s University offers an English-language, liberal education...


#10: St. Francis Xavier University

Tuition: $10,430 ($11,713 out-of-province students)
Minimum Entering Grades:
Arts: 70.2% | Science: 72.4% | Commerce: 71.6% | Engineering: 77.2%

Tucked away in the small town of Antigonish, Nova Scotia, St. Francis Xavier caters mainly to undergraduates in arts, science, business and education...


#11: University of Lethbridge

Tuition: $8,051
Minimum Entering Grades:
Arts: 65% | Science: 65% | Commerce: 65%

The University of Lethbridge’s University Hall is surrounded by green hills that make it look like a ship on an emerald ocean—fitting for a school that is always charting new territory...


#12*: Université de Moncton

Tuition: $8,916
Minimum Entering Grades:
Arts: 74.4% | Science: 69.8% | Commerce: 70.1% | Engineering: 71.8%

The Université de Moncton might be small, but it punches above its weight. Graduates include the chief justice of the province, a former lieutenant governor...


#12*: St. Thomas University

Tuition: $9,334
Minimum Entering Grades:
Arts: 70%

St. Thomas University is an exclusively undergraduate liberal arts institution with an innovative curriculum that emphasizes cross-disciplinary learning and strong teaching...


#14*: Laurentian University

Tuition: $7,266 ($7,696 out-of-province students)
Minimum Entering Grades:
Arts: 72% | Science: 72% | Commerce: 72% | Engineering: 75%

Laurentian University serves its region and beyond with strengths in stressed watershed systems, rural and northern health, particle astrophysics...


#14* University of Winnipeg

Tuition: $6,423
Minimum Entering Grades:
Arts: 55.3% | Science: 53% | Commerce: 56.3%

The University of Winnipeg prides itself on its small class sizes and range of degree programs, which include everything from human rights to dance to neuroscience...


#16: Mount Saint Vincent University

Tuition: $9,111 ($10,394 out-of-province students)
Minimum Entering Grades:
Arts: 66% | Science: 71.6% | Commerce: 73.8%

At a time when women could not vote, Mount Saint Vincent was the only institution in Canada dedicated to higher education for women. The Mount has been admitting men since the 1960s...


#17: Brandon University

Tuition: $5,801
Minimum Entering Grades:
Arts: 57.8% | Science: 62% | Commerce or Business: 66.3%

A small school in a prairie city of about 50,000, Brandon University has a full complement of programs ranging from fine arts to business to pre-professional programs...


#18: Nipissing University

Tuition: $7,435 ($7,790 out-of-province students)
Minimum Entering Grades:
Arts: 70-75% | Science: 70-83% | Commerce: 70%

Nipissing University is located in North Bay, on a wooded escarpment overlooking the shores of Lake Nipissing. The campus boasts hiking and snowshoeing trails...


#19: Cape Breton University

Tuition: $8,836 ($10,119 out-of-province students)
Minimum Entering Grades:
Arts: 65% · Science: 65% · Commerce: 65% · Engineering: 65%

Students from more than 80 countries study at Nova Scotia’s Cape Breton University, which is dedicated to supporting local communities...


#20: Algoma University

Tuition: $6,855
Minimum Entering Grades:
Arts: 65% | Science: 65-70% | Commerce: 70% | Engineering: 70%

Algoma University is an undergraduate-only institution, offering degrees in more than 30 programs, including environmental science, business...

*Indicates a tie

All photos courtesy of their respective universities, unless otherwise noted.

PRIMARILY UNDERGRADUATE RANKING 2025

UniversityRankLast YearStudent AwardsStudent/ Faculty RatioFaculty AwardsSocial Sciences & Humanities GrantsMedical/ Science GrantsTotal Research DollarsOperating BudgetLibrary ExpensesLibrary AcquisitionsScholarships & BursariesStudent ServicesReputational Survey
Acadia456551714119618793
Algoma20191920171013131201212020
Bishop's9499315171453199111
Brandon1717174131619191251412716
Cape Breton192019111712161711132015318
Lakehead511613939417976109
Laurentian141513178410118151121715
Lethbridge1169816916159718127
Moncton121262151415126910101814
Mount Allison11231851621144144
Mount Saint Vincent16151511111371513416171612
Nipissing1818141592011181481116417
Ontario Tech78121817132201821481
Saint Mary's332141454510992136
St. Francis Xavier109510761210816511155
St. Thomas12121561719N/A203238219
Trent679196729191317542
UNBC221141183419620610
UPEI7104721818771643198
Winnipeg141417161226816613191113

* Indicates a tie

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