University of Alberta

Introduction

The University of Alberta is one of Canada’s top teaching and research universities, with an international reputation for excellence across the humanities, sciences, creative arts, engineering, and health sciences. Home to more than 38,000 students and 15,000 faculty and staff, the university has an annual budget of more than $1.4 billion and attracts more than $498 million in external research funding. It offers close to 400 undergraduate, graduate and professional programs in 18 faculties on five campuses. Offering a wide array of programs and extra-curricular activities, the University of Alberta provides students with multiple opportunities to discover and explore their particular passions, talents, and skills. Located in Edmonton, Alberta, the U of A boasts the best university theatre program in Canada, the country’s second-largest library, a vibrant medical school and teaching hospital, a highly ranked business school, and programs in energy and environment that address today’s most pressing concerns. The U of A is also the only university in western Canada that offers French-language and bilingual bachelor degrees at its Campus Saint-Jean, while student looking for the small campus liberal arts, residential experience, can find it at the U of A’s Augustana Campus, about 95 kilometres south of Edmonton. Students study—and excel—under the leadership of many of Canada’s best teachers and world-class researchers, including 34 winners of the nation’s top award for undergraduate teaching. Since its founding in 1908, 64 U of A students have become Rhodes Scholars. U of A alumni have served the public at the highest levels as Governor General, Prime Minister, Premier, and Chief Justice of the Supreme Court of Canada. They have become leaders in major Canadian media corporations—from the CBC to the Globe and Mail. They have built global companies such as Stantec, PCL, Syncrude, Dofasco, EnCana and Giordano International, China’s largest retailer of casual clothing. Dedicated to the pursuit of truth for the “uplifting of the whole people,” U of A researchers have been at the forefront of research innovation for over a century. Examples of research breakthroughs include: Robert W Boyle’s invention of sonar during the First World War; James Collip’s refinement of insulin with the Nobel-prize winning team of Frederick Banting, Charles Best and John MacLeod; Karl Clark’s discovery of a method to separate bitumen from oil sands; Ray Rajotte’s Islet Transplantation Group’s development of the Edmonton Protocol for the treatment of Type 1 diabetes; and Lorne Tyrrell’s discovery of the world's first oral antiviral therapy for chronic hepatitis B. Whether it's partnering with NASA to measure the wind on Mars, doing world-renowned research on water ecology that has saved thousands of lakes around the world, producing the first full scholarly history of women's writing in the British Isles, or making breakthroughs in obesity or cardiac research, the U of A is leading the way. At the University of Alberta, we seek to be a place where individuals can become extraordinary leaders, transformed by world-class research and learning that advances knowledge, solves problems, and enriches human experience. Our vision is to inspire the human spirit through outstanding achievements in learning, discovery, and citizenship in a creative community, building one of the world’s great universities for the public good.