Research Facts

External support attests to the quality of our research:

• UVic researchers were awarded more than $106 million in outside research grants and contracts in 2007/08. This more than doubles the research support of the previous five-year period.
• UVic placed third among Canadian comprehensive universities in Research Infosource’s Research University of the Year rankings for 2007. The ranking reflects research income and research publishing effort.
• The success rate for UVic graduate students in attracting research funding is consistently well above the national average. In 2006/07, UVic graduate students were awarded $3.6 million in research grants from the three federal granting councils.

Our researchers are recognized leaders in their fields:

• Thirty-three UVic faculty members currently hold Canada Research Chairs, and five have received Governor General’s Literature Awards. Thirty-eight former or current UVic faculty are members of the Academies of Arts, Humanities and Sciences of Canada.
• Among those who shared the 2007 Nobel Peace Prize was a group of physical and social climate scientists in Victoria who contributed to the IPCC’s global climate assessments. Collectively, these individuals have made UVic an internationally recognized centre of excellence in climate change research.
• UVic ranks first nationally in geosciences, second in space sciences and education, and third in engineering and mathematics, says Science Watch in its latest ranking of Canadian universities (covering the period 2000–04). The ranking counts citations per published research paper.
• UVic leads NEPTUNE Canada and VENUS, two world-leading ocean observatories that are transforming ocean research and our understanding of the marine environment.
• UVic is the lead and host institution for the Pacific Institute for Climate Solutions (PICS), a collaboration of BC’s four research-intensive universities, government and the private sector.

UVic Research means business growth:

• UVic’s Innovation and Development Corporation helps researchers and students to develop the commercial potential of their ideas.
• The UVic-owned Vancouver Island Technology Park accelerates the transfer of technology from research labs to the marketplace. It houses the greatest concentration of high-tech companies and workers on Vancouver Island.
• UVic is home to Canada’s first university-wide Office of Community-Based Research, which creates and support research partnerships that enhance the social, environmental and economic well-being of communities.