USask Dentistry solidifies position among world’s leading dental schools

The University of Saskatchewan (USask) College of Dentistry has maintained its position among the world’s leading dental schools, holding its place in the 101–150 tier globally in the newly released 2026 Shanghai Ranking Global Ranking of Academic Subjects.

The college also remains fourth among Canadian institutions in Dentistry and Oral Sciences, consolidating the significant gains it made in last year’s rankings.

The result continues a rapid transformation in the college’s international standing. The College of Dentistry first entered the Shanghai Ranking system in 2023, debuting in the 151–200 tier and tied for sixth in Canada.

In 2025, the college advanced into the 101–150 tier and climbed to fourth in Canada. Its precise global position moved from 182nd to 115th, an improvement of 67 positions in a single ranking cycle.

Maintaining that position in 2026 represents another important milestone as the college works to build the people, programs and research infrastructure needed to support its long-term growth.

“For us, this ranking is about more than a number. It demonstrates that we are establishing the College of Dentistry as a strong and consistent presence on the international stage,” said Dr. Walter Siqueira, DDS, MBA, PhD, dean of the College of Dentistry. “The past several years have been about building the foundation for sustainable growth. We have made significant investments in our people, our research environment and our infrastructure, and we believe those investments will create opportunities for the college to reach even greater heights in the years ahead.”

Building the foundation for future growth

The latest ranking comes during a period of significant investment and expansion within the college.

In January, the college announced plans to recruit up to 15 new faculty members across a range of clinical, academic and research disciplines. The initiative is designed to strengthen established areas of research while building expertise in emerging fields including artificial intelligence in dentistry and precision oral-systemic health.

The positions include tenure-track faculty, lecturers and instructors, creating additional capacity across research, education and clinical care.

The college has also expanded its investment in the next generation of oral health researchers.

In May, it launched a special cohort of six fully funded PhD positions in its Precision Oral and Systemic Health graduate program. The initiative is designed to attract exceptional researchers while providing them with access to advanced laboratories, technology and mentorship.

Students and researchers have access to infrastructure that includes mass spectrometry, 3D bioprinting, infrared imaging, flow cytometry, fluorescence-activated cell sorting microscopy, RNA sequencing and advanced 3D imaging systems.

Those investments complement the college’s broader efforts to expand its research enterprise and strengthen collaboration within USask and around the world.

Earlier this year, the college also announced a $2-million, five-year research partnership with the São Paulo Research Foundation in Brazil. The agreement will support 50 collaborative research projects focused on oral, dental and craniofacial research and connect USask researchers with investigators across the State of São Paulo.

“The foundation we are creating is designed for the long term,” Siqueira said. “We are recruiting talented researchers, supporting graduate students, investing in advanced research infrastructure and creating international partnerships that expand what is possible. Maintaining our position among the world’s leading dental schools tells us we are moving in the right direction, but our ambition is to continue building from here.”

Measuring research impact

Shanghai Ranking’s Global Ranking of Academic Subjects is an international assessment of university performance across 57 academic subjects.

The 2026 methodology evaluates institutions using objective indicators grouped into five categories: world-class faculty, world-class research output, high-quality research, research impact and international collaboration.

For Dentistry and Oral Sciences, 300 institutions worldwide are included in the ranking.

The College of Dentistry’s continued position in the 101–150 tier places USask among a select group of dental schools internationally and reinforces the college’s growing research profile.

For the college, Siqueira says the ranking is both recognition of progress already made and motivation for what comes next.

“We have built momentum, and now our focus is on turning that momentum into sustained excellence,” he said. “Our goal is not simply to appear in international rankings. Our goal is to build an environment where outstanding people can conduct meaningful research, educate the next generation of oral health professionals and make discoveries that improve health in Saskatchewan, Canada and around the world.”