University of Ottawa

About

Located in Ottawa, Canada, the University of Ottawa is best known as the world's largest bilingual English-French university, making it a prominent hub for public policy, law, and bilingual higher education. Its strongest faculties include Social Sciences, Law, Health Sciences, and Engineering, all heavily supported by comprehensive cooperative education programs that integrate paid professional placements into the curriculum. For international students, the university provides a welcoming multicultural environment bolstered by a dedicated International Office that offers visa advising, orientation programs, and specialized academic support. A vast majority of undergraduate and graduate programs are offered in English, allowing non-francophone students to study comfortably while choosing to learn French if they wish. A truly distinctive characteristic of the institution is its campus straddling downtown Ottawa, placing students directly adjacent to Canada’s Parliament, the Supreme Court, and numerous national cultural institutions, which offers unmatched experiential learning and networking opportunities in government and public affairs.

Background

The University of Ottawa (French: Université d'Ottawa), often referred to as uOttawa, is a bilingual public research university in Ottawa, Ontario, the capital city of Canada. The main campus is located on 42.5 hectares (105 acres) directly to the northeast of Downtown Ottawa across the Rideau Canal in the Sandy Hill neighbourhood. The University of Ottawa was first established as the College of Bytown in 1848 by the first bishop of the Catholic Archdiocese of Ottawa, Joseph-Bruno Guigues. Placed under the direction of the Oblates of Mary Immaculate, it was renamed the College of Ottawa in 1861 and received university status five years later through an act of the Parliament of the Province of Canada.On 5 February 1889, the university was granted a pontifical charter by Pope Leo XIII, elevating the institution to a pontifical university. The university was reorganized on July 1, 1965, as a corporation, independent from any outside body or religious organization. As a result, the civil and pontifical charters were kept by the newly created Saint Paul University, federated with the university. The remaining...

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