Quick links Student fees Student enrolment Programs and degrees Student facilities and services University research International education Web site: www.ocad.ca

Ontario College of Art & Design

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100 McCaul Street
Toronto, Ontario M5T 1W1
Telephone: 416-977-6000

Profile

The Ontario College of Art & Design (OCAD) is Canada’s largest university of art and design dedicated to applying the power of imagination to education, research and creative enterprise. Since 1876, our specialized, studio-based programs have inspired students, faculty and alumni to push the boundaries of art and design, analytically, conceptually and strategically. Today, we combine the strength of that tradition with new approaches that emphasize collaboration, innovation and the integration of emerging technologies.

What we teach reflects who we teach. Cultural diversity, global citizenship, emerging technologies, health and wellness – by considering contexts like these, OCAD artists and designers are revolutionizing how we think, work, live and play. Today, 17 interdisciplinary bachelor’s and master’s degree programs allow students to benefit from an interdisciplinary university education that blends academic rigour with the experimental freedom of the studio. Intertwined with our graduate programs is a concentrated focus on research that extends beyond traditional academic inquiry. OCAD researchers apply practice-based methodologies integrating art and design with a plethora of other disciplines, from computer science to physiology to consumer demographics.

OCAD is located in the heart of Toronto, Canada’s largest centre for design, culture and business. As one of the world’s most multicultural cities, Toronto is a vibrant nexus that brings a diversity of creative forces together. Our city is home to the second highest concentration of artistically creative people in North America and the third largest design centre in North America (after New York and Boston).

OCAD supports a vibrant community life, offering special events and lectures, a variety of exhibition venues, visiting artists-in-residence programs, and informal gatherings that help students gain experience in the contemporary art and design worlds.

OCAD students enjoy a one-of-a-kind learning environment, a creative “hothouse” where faculty include many leading art and design practitioners and scholars. The comprehensive studio program integrated with a liberal studies education provides students with in-depth knowledge of the history and theory of visual culture, as well as the analytical skills to execute powerful ideas within the studio context. OCAD’s graduates are recognized for their broad skills in creativity and innovation.

History
Year of foundation: 1876
Degree granting status obtained: 2002
Former names of the institution: Ontario School of Art, Toronto Arts School, Central Ontario School of Art and Industrial Design, Ontario College of Art (OCA).

Student fees

Canadian student fees  2009 - 2010 *
Undergraduate tuition fees: $4,890 - $4,960
Graduate tuition fees: $2,340

International student fees  2009 - 2010 *
Undergraduate tuition fees: $14,660
Graduate tuition fees: $5,564 - $5,778

* Source: Statistics Canada. Fees for general programs in arts and humanities.

Note: In addition to tuition fees, universities generally charge fees for goods and services supplied to students. This includes areas such as student associations, sports and health. These additional fees vary widely per university and per student and can run from a few hundred dollars to a few thousand dollars. Check with the university for details.

Student enrolment

2009 rounded preliminary fall enrolment *
Full-time (undergraduates): 2,800
Full-time (graduates): 30
Part-time (undergraduates): 900
Part-time (graduates): 20

* Source: Council of Ontario Universities

Programs and degrees

Note: The program information is compiled by AUCC staff in cooperation with staff at member institutions. The programs are classified according to the Classification of Instructional Programs 2000. To search for the programs offered by this institution, please consult the Directory of Canadian Universities’ programs database online at http://www.aucc.ca/can_uni/search/index_e.html

Student facilities and services

Personal support services
Numerous student-run groups reflect the active student voices and associations at OCAD. Students also benefit from a volunteer program, counselling services, primary health care services, career services, financial aid, judicial affairs, diversity and equity services, support for special populations (students with disabilities, international students, mature students, native students, first generation). Students enjoy AASHE membership, AGO admittance, exhibition facilities, a bicycle-friendly campus, an on-campus yoga program and off-campus health and recreational resources. They have access to jobs on campus, security foot patrol, emergency telephones through campus, a student union, an ombudsperson, health and safety workshops, a student centre, various technology enabled study environments, including the most recently added Learning Zone as part of the library, two student galleries, a student lounge and career services area.

Academic support services
These include an Aboriginal student program, academic advising, career development services and resources, services for students with disabilities, one-on-one writing and learning skills tutoring, peer-led study groups, extra-curricular events and resources in the Learning Zone, scholarships and awards, and IT support.

First-year student programs
These programs include Summer Registration Assistance Days (RAD) and an orientation for new students during June/July, academic advising, a student mentor program, the STart transition program for students with disabilities, the First-Year Experience program designed to provide first-year students with additional academic and social support, ESL transition program (English for Art & Design), and a first-year learning community for ESL students in Design (English Language Pathway).

First-year students also benefit from a fall orientation and welcome activities in September, campus tours, faculty workshops and engaging social events.

Housing
Off-campus: Through partnership with the University of Toronto, OCAD students are eligible for accommodation in a downtown residence and can access a comprehensive registry of housing. A variety of rental housing is available in downtown Toronto and the surrounding area. OCAD is fully accessible by public transportation, which facilitates commuting by students who choose not to live in the downtown core. Rental rates vary but most are within the following ranges: shared accommodation, $350 - $600/month; bachelor apartment; $500 - $750/month; one-bedroom apartment, $550 - $900/month; two-bedroom apartment, $800 - $1,300/month; three-bedroom apartment, $1,200 - $1,700/month. Utilities may be extra. Please visit www.housing.utoronto.ca.

Student assistance
Undergraduate: OCAD recognizes academic excellence through its scholarship and awards programs, which total approximately $275,000 annually. A limited number of entrance scholarships ranging from $500 to $4,500 are awarded to students on the basis of high school academic standing and the results of the portfolio interviews. In-course scholarship recipients are selected at the end of each year on the basis of grades. Award recipients are selected through juried competition at the end of each year on the basis of studio work. In-course scholarships and awards range in value from $100 to $16,000.

Approximately $1 million is available annually to support OCAD students demonstrating financial need. It is allocated on the basis of application in the form of entrance, in-course and emergency bursaries ranging from $500 to $5,000, some of which are renewable each year for a maximum of four years. OCAD also offers work-study programs and short-term loans, as well as a limited number of renewable academic grants, which are given to students who demonstrate both academic excellence and financial need.

Graduate: At the graduate level, OCAD offers a variety of scholarships, bursaries and teaching/research assistantships. An OCAD Graduate Scholarship, ranging from $3,000 to $5,000 per year, is offered to all successful full-time applicants. The President’s Scholarship, which ranges from $7,000 to $10,000 per year, recognizes academic excellence and is awarded to the top applicant in each program. Bursaries are available to selected students on the basis of need and academic achievement. Graduate students are also offered additional funding through research or teaching assistantships that range from $2,100 to $3,900 per student per semester.

University research

Art and design hold unprecedented importance in media-sensitive contemporary society; art and design concepts and practices provide sources of research knowledge for understanding the world. OCAD faculty research art and design practices through a diversity of cultures, disciplines, forms of literacy, methods and approaches. Practice-based research at OCAD occurs in collaboration with other knowledge domains, in particular computer science, medicine, business applications, linguistics, ethnographic studies, psychology and sociology. Research into strategic creativity and design methodologies, as well as art, design and science studies, are strengths of OCAD.

International education

OCAD has articulation agreements with a number of art and design institutions in the Americas, the United Kingdom and Europe, facilitating the exchange of faculty and students and helping develop research collaboration. The Mobility/Exchange Program enables students to spend a semester at one of OCAD’s partner institutions and is open to full-time, third-year students who are in good academic standing.

Since 1974, OCAD has provided the opportunity each year for a selected group of students to undertake a year of studies in Florence, Italy, one of the world’s most culturally rich cities. This European campus offers a facilitated, directed study approach to learning. While in Florence, students develop a body of work in a communal studio setting and study art history amidst a backdrop of architectural and artistic treasures from the Italian Renaissance. The studio component of Florence Off-Campus Studies is coordinated each year by different faculty members, while the history component is taught by our Florence resident expert on Italian art history.