History, Affiliations and Rankings 

The University of Montreal, also referred to as the Université de Montréal, was founded in the year 1878 as a satellite campus of the Université Laval. It is a publicly funded research university located in the city of Montreal, Quebec, Canada. Montreal is the largest city in the Quebec province, it is located on an island and is named after Mt. Royal, a hill located in its epicentre. It is regarded as one of Canada's most significant research universities, as well as one of the largest in terms of enrolment. The university was granted a city charter by the Legislative Assembly of Québec in 1920, and it was given the name Université de Montréal. It also legally merged the faculties and institutions that had previously been affiliated with it. The university became a public institution of higher learning and research in 1967, with possibilities for participation in its governance by professors, students, and alumni. The university established a standing committee in 1976 to assess the requirements of female students and enhance women's position on campus. The city is primarily French-speaking and is known for its low costs of living, active presence and importance of culture, and guaranteed safety. The university is proudly Canadian and reflects the multicultural city it’s been named after – so its language of instruction is French. Worldwide, the university ranks 88th and 5th in Canada according to the Times Higher Education World University Rankings. According to the QS World Rankings 2022, the university is ranked at #111. 

Infrastructure, Campuses and Courses

The university was started with three faculties — theology, law, and medicine — located in three different buildings: the Grand Séminaire de Montréal, the Sulpicians' Reading Room, and Château Ramezay. A fourth faculty, the Faculty of Arts, was created in 1887. The École Polytechnique de Montréal, which had been created in 1873, became connected with Université Laval à Montréal in the same year. The École des hautes études commerciales, Canada's first business school, which opened in 1907 and is now known as HEC Montréal, did the same in 1915. The main campus, which is located on the north slope of Mount Royal and spreads into the surrounding neighbourhoods, provides programmes on a wide range of subjects. The campus was designed by the famous architect Ernest Cormier, with international design influences and in the Art Deco style. Aside from this, the university has other outstanding campuses in Brossard which will open in Fall 2022, the MIL Campus which is home to the Science Complex, Laval Campus which will offer courses in health and education, Saint - Hyacinthe Campus (Faculty of Veterinary Medicine), Mauricie Campus that will allow students to have entire medical training, Longueuil Campus right next to the metro station, it is perfect for South Shore residents studying part-time, evenings and weekends. It also includes Lanaudiere Campus which will provide facilities geared to meet regional requests and needs. The university’s 13 faculties of education comprise more than 60 departments and 2 affiliated schools – the Polytechnique Montréal and HEC Montréal (School of Business). Its multiple educational institutions offer more than 600 programmes at undergraduate and postgraduate levels of study, as well as 71 doctoral programmes.

Accomplishments and Alumni

Research is an important component of education at the University of Montreal, it’s a member of the U15, a group that represents 15 Canadian research universities. Its education also includes 465 research departments, and it has an annual research income of approximately $500 million annually – making it one of Canada’s foremost research hubs. This is evidenced in their multiple world-famous laboratories like MILA, the world’s leading university research centre for deep learning, etc. For sustainability, the Université de Montréal has a STARS Silver grade. It is one of more than 800 colleges and universities that have been rated by the STARS system. It also has the Fair Trade Campus accreditation, indicating that it is committed to serving Fairtrade products in student cafes and other food service locations on campus. Some of the notable alumni include Pierre Trudeau (Former Prime Minister of Canada), Pierre Karl (CEO of Quebecor), Louise Arbour (Canadian Lawyer), and Denys Arcand (Canadian Film Director) among others. 

Student Diversity and Visiting Companies

Collectively, the faculties of the University of Montreal offer co-educational courses which have over 34,335 undergraduate and 11,925 post-graduate students. Including the students from the affiliated institutions, the university has 66,768 students. According to the Times Higher Education rating, the University of Montreal has about 8,500 international students, making it Canada's third most international institution. Every year, about 6,500 Canadian permanent citizens attend the Université de Montréal.