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Profile

Founded in 1911, Wilfrid Laurier University is known for academic excellence and a culture that inspires lives of leadership and purpose. The university focuses on integrated and engaged learning and has a distinct commitment to teaching, research and scholarship. Laurier was the first university in Canada to formally recognize the benefits of volunteer and leadership activities by offering students a co-curricular record, an institutionally recognized chronicle of student engagement and student leadership involvement.

Laurier offers a broad range of full- and part-time graduate and undergraduate degree programs through seven faculties: Arts, Music, Science, Education, Social Work, Graduate Studies and the School of Business and Economics.

Laurier’s innovative business programs include Canada’s first 12-month MBA program, the largest part-time weekend MBA program (based in Toronto), an innovation and entrepreneurship MBA, and a BBA program with streams in brand communication, entrepreneurship, financial planning and risk management.

Laurier offers doctoral and master’s programs, including the only Master of Music therapy program in Canada. Programs linked to the Balsillie School of International Affairs include Laurier’s Master’s in International Public Policy and a PhD in global governance (joint with the University of Waterloo).

Laurier is home to 34 research centres/institutes and chairs, incorporating a variety of theoretical and applied research studies. Many of Laurier’s research concentrations address current issues of societal importance, including health, environment, social work, aboriginal issues, business and finance, and criminology.

Some of Laurier’s main research centres include: the Sun Life Financial Movement Disorders Research and Rehabilitation Centre; The Cold Regions Research Centre; the Laurier Institute for Water Science; the Financial Services Research Centre; and the Centre for Cognitive Neuroscience. Laurier has recently strengthened its relationship with the government of the Northwest Territories, expanding opportunity for field research.

Laurier’s growth and innovation, combined with its energetic, research-focused faculty are key factors that attract students to Laurier to pursue their research interests. At Laurier, students at both the undergraduate and the graduate levels have the opportunity to participate in research through thesis work or research assistantships.

Located one hour west of Toronto, the university’s Waterloo, Ontario campus is part of Canada’s Technology Triangle, one of Canada’s fastest-growing economic regions known for innovation, technology, advanced manufacturing and a focus on international governance.

Laurier’s Brantford, Ontario campus was established in September 1999. Laurier Brantford is dedicated to innovative programming within the liberal arts. Its core interdisciplinary program in contemporary studies can be combined with a number of other programs including law and society, leadership, journalism, human rights and human diversity, and health studies.

Laurier’s Kitchener, Ontario campus opened in 2006 as the new home of the university’s Lyle S. Hallman Faculty of Social Work. The downtown campus has put social work students closer to many social-service agencies.

Student fees

Canadian student fees  2012-13 *
Undergraduate tuition fees: $5,505 - $5,693
Graduate tuition fees: $4,706 - $5,031

International student fees  2012-13 *
Undergraduate tuition fees: $16,484 - $20,804
Graduate tuition fees: $10,576 - $11,310

* 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

2012 rounded preliminary fall enrolment *
Full-time (undergraduates): 15,000
Full-time (graduates): 960
Part-time (undergraduates): 2,100
Part-time (graduates): 650

* Source: Council of Ontario Universities