Concordia University

Concordia University (French: Université Concordia) is a public English-language research university located in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. Founded in 1974 with the merger of Loyola College and Sir George Williams University, Concordia is one of the three universities in Quebec where English is the primary language of instruction (the others being McGill and Bishop's). As of the 2024–2025 academic year, there were 48,657 students enrolled in credit and non-credit courses at Concordia, making the university among the largest in Canada by enrollment. The university has two campuses, set approximately seven kilometres (four miles) apart: Sir George Williams Campus is the main campus, located in the Quartier Concordia neighbourhood of Downtown Montreal in the borough of Ville Marie; and Loyola Campus in the residential district of Notre-Dame-de-Grâce. With four faculties, a school of graduate studies and numerous colleges, centres and institutes, Concordia offers over 400 undergraduate and over 120 graduate programs and courses.

Concordia is a non-sectarian and coeducational institution, with more than 270,000 alumni.

The university is a member of the Association of Universities and Colleges of Canada, International Association of Universities, Canadian Association of Research Libraries, Canadian University Society for Intercollegiate Debate, Canadian Bureau for International Education and Canadian University Press. The university's varsity teams, known as the Stingers, compete in the Quebec Student Sport Federation of U Sports.

History

The roots of Concordia University's founding institutions go back more than 120 years with the establishment of Loyola College in 1896 and Sir George Williams University in 1926.

Loyola College

Loyola College traces its history to an English-language program at the Collège Sainte-Marie de Montréal (today part of the Université du Québec à Montréal) at the Jesuit Sacred Heart Convent. In 1896, Loyola College was established at the corner of Bleury Street and Saint Catherine Street, and it was named in honour of Ignatius of Loyola, founder of the Society of Jesus. On March 10, 1898, the institution was incorporated by the Government of Quebec and became a full-fledged college. The same year, following a fire, the college was relocated further west on Drummond Street, south of Saint Catherine Street. Although founded as a collège classique (the forerunners of Quebec's college system), Loyola began granting university degrees through Université Laval in 1903.

The college moved into the present west-end campus on Sherbrooke Street West in Notre-Dame-de-Grâce in 1916. The School of Sociology opened in 1918. Since Loyola College never became a chartered university, it did not have the ability to grant its own university degrees. In 1920, the institution became affiliated with Université de Montréal, which began granting its degrees instead of Université Laval.

Memorial bronze honour roll plaques in the entrance hall near the administrative offices are dedicated to those from Loyola College who fought in the First World War, Second World War and Korean War.

The inter-war period was marked by the shift of education in the institution, the collège classique education was replaced by humanistic education (Liberal Arts College) in 1940, and Loyola became a four-year institution. Theology and philosophy were taught to all students until 1972.

In 1940, the Faculty of Science and the Department of Engineering were created. In addition to providing the same undergraduate programs as other colleges, the institution also offered innovative fields of study at the time, such as exercise science and communication studies. Students could enrol in academic majors starting in 1953 and honours programs in 1958. Students graduating from Loyola could afterwards pursue graduate-level education in other universities, with a few earning Rhodes Scholarships.

Starting in 1958, Loyola also began offering its first evening courses for students who were not able to go to school full-time. New courses were given in library science and faith community nursing. Since its creation, Loyola College had welcomed almost exclusively young English-speaking Catholic men as students. It became co-ed in 1959.

Campuses

The university has two campuses, set approximately 7 km (4 miles) apart: Sir George Williams Campus in the downtown core of Montreal, in an area known as Quartier Concordia (around the Guy–Concordia Metro station), and Loyola Campus in the residential west-end district of Notre-Dame-de-Grâce. They are connected by free shuttle-bus service for students, faculty and staff.

Libraries, archives and galleries

Concordia University has three main library locations. The R. Howard Webster Library is located in the J.W. McConnell Building on the Sir George Williams Campus and the Georges P. Vanier Library is located on the Loyola Campus. On September 2, 2014, the Library opened the Grey Nuns Reading Room, a silent study space for Concordia students located in the former Chapel of the Invention of the Holy Cross. The Concordia Library houses several special and unique collections including the Azrieli Holocaust Collection and the Irving Layton Collection. Most special collections are located in the Vanier Library. The Library also maintains the university's institutional repository, Spectrum. The Library is a member of the Canadian Association of Research Libraries. The Library also has partnerships with the Canadian Research Knowledge Network and the Data Liberation Initiative.

Concordia's Henry F. Hall Building houses the Leonard and Bina Ellen Art Gallery. Samuel Schecter, an art enthusiast and businessman, set up two funds in 1962 to be used for the purchase of Canadian art at Sir George Williams University and at Loyola College (Montreal). When Sir George Williams University and Loyola College merged to form Concordia in 1974, their respective art collections were also combined. The collection of the Leonard and Bina Ellen Gallery consists of 1,800 paintings, sculptures, prints, photographs and videos, many of the works by 20th-century Canadian artists.

Concordia's Engineering, Computer Science and Visual Arts Complex houses the FOFA Gallery, a primary venue for exhibiting works by faculty, students and alumni of the Faculty of Fine Arts.

Concordia's Visual Arts Building on René Lévesque Boulevard houses the VAV Gallery, a student-run exhibition space seeking to highlight the work of undergraduate students in the Fine Arts department.

Concordia's Records Management and Archives stores official records of, or relating to, or people/activities connected with Concordia University and its two founding institutions. The collection consists of manuscripts, texts, photographs, audio-visual material and artifacts.

Administration and governance

Governance

Concordia is led by its president and vice-chancellor (referred to as the president), provost and vice-presidents. The Board of Governors and the Senate manage the university's affairs and academic integrity. The president and the senior leadership ensure transparency and accountability of the administration. The administration is supervised by the Board of Governors and Senate. Under the Charter of Concordia University, the university's highest governing body is the Board of Governors, which has final authority over the affairs of the university. The Senate derives its authority from the Board of Governors.

Academic units

The university has four faculties — Faculty of Arts and Science, Faculty of Fine Arts, Gina Cody School of Engineering and Computer Science and John Molson School of Business — as well as the School of Graduate Studies. In 2021, Concordia's Board of Governors approved the creation of the School of Health, an interdisciplinary unit that serves as a hub for the university's health-related research, education and community engagement. The respective faculties supervise the academic departments/institutes. For example, the Faculty of Art and Science oversees the Department of Applied Human Sciences and Simone de Beauvoir Institute.

Finances

In 2024–2025, Concordia received $643.9 million in operating revenue. Fifty-two per cent of the university's revenue comes from grants by the Government of Quebec, which are given based on the student population. As of 2024-2025, the university's foundation had $426.8 million in its endowment. In November 2017, Concordia launched the Campaign for Concordia. The campaign's original target was $250 million, since raised to $350 million. Its goal is to support the university's nine strategic directions that will advance Concordia's position as "Canada's next-generation university." In September 2025, the university closed its campaign by announcing it had surpassed its goal and raised $365 million.

Academics

Students begin their university studies in September or, in some cases, in January or May. An undergraduate degree normally requires three or four years of full-time study, a master's one to three years, and a PhD at least four years. Diplomas and certificates usually take no longer than a year and a half to complete.

Concordia has more than 400 undergraduate programs under the Faculty of Arts and Science, the Gina Cody School of Engineering and Computer Science, the Faculty of Fine Arts and the John Molson School of Business. Students are normally enrolled in one of these faculties but may take courses from any of the others as part of their studies. Class sizes vary from 30 to 400 students.

The School of Graduate Studies offers about 120 programs leading to master's and doctoral degrees, and graduate diplomas and certificates for professionals seeking to upgrade their knowledge and skills.

Concordia Continuing Education offers university-level studies and training to those from diverse backgrounds and stages of life.

The Institute for Co-operative Education administers more than 70 bachelor's and master's programs in an alternating co-op work-study format. Concordia's co-op programs enable students to enrich their learning by participating in career-relevant 12–17-week full-time, paid work terms. Depending on their faculty and major, co-op students will usually graduate with a minimum of 12 months of academically relevant work experience. There are also Industrial Experience and Professional Experience options in certain disciplines that enable students to participate in a summer-only work term. Concordia is a member of the Canadian Association for Co-operative Education (CAFCE).

During the 2024–2025 academic year, there were 35,577 undergraduate students, 8,345 graduate students and 4,735 continuing education students enrolled at Concordia.

Faculty of Arts and Science

Concordia's Faculty of Arts and Science consists of 21 departments and seven colleges, schools and institutes in the humanities, sciences and social sciences at the undergraduate and graduate levels. There are 257 programs, offering more than 2,400 courses. There are 869 full-time and part-time faculty members. During the 2022–23 academic year, there were 18,502 undergraduate and graduate students enrolled in the faculty.

In addition to regular academic programs, the Faculty of Arts and Science also includes three colleges, two schools and two institutes. These are the Liberal Arts College, the Loyola College for Diversity and Sustainability, the School of Community and Public Affairs, the School of Irish Studies, the Science College, the Simone de Beauvoir Institute and the Concordia Institute for Canadian Jewish Studies.

Student life

Student housing

Four residence buildings are available for students who wish to live on campus: Grey Nuns Residence, Jesuit Residence, Hingston Hall (HA) and Hingston Hall (HB).

For students who choose to live off campus, the Concordia Student Union's Off-Campus Housing and Job Bank (HoJo) offers classified ads, legal advice and safety resources.

Athletics

Concordia University's athletic teams are called the Concordia Stingers. They compete with other schools in U Sports, and more specifically, in the Quebec Student Sports Federation and the Quebec University Football League. The university has 10 varsity teams. In the fall, teams compete in Canadian football, men's and women's soccer, men's and women's rugby union and college wrestling. There are female and male wrestlers on the team from year to year, and they compete as one team. In the winter, teams compete in men's and women's ice hockey and men's and women's basketball.

The Concordia Stingers women's ice hockey team won the Canadian national championships in 1998, 1999, 2022 and 2024. In 2025-2026, the team won the provincial championship and finished second in the national championship.

Student organizations

The Concordia Student Union (CSU) represents undergraduate students. Its membership totals more than 35,000 students. Concordia students voted in favour of accreditation of their student union in a referendum in December 2000. As a result, the CSU is now legally accountable only to its student constituents.

Concordia University is home to local and international fraternities and sororities.

Student media

Concordia University has a campus radio station, CJLO, and a television station, CUTV. Concordia also has two student-run newspapers, The Link and The Concordian (which includes French-language pages run by L'Organe). The Concordian is a member of Canadian University Press (CUP); The Link left the CUP network in 2012.

Student activism

Sir George Williams affair

The Sir George Williams affair (also referred to as "The Sir George Williams Computer Centre Incident") was a 1969 event at Sir George Williams University, now a part of Concordia University. It was the largest student occupation in Canadian history, and resulted (in 1969 currency) in $2 million of property damage. Among those arrested and convicted were Roosevelt Douglas, who later became Prime Minister of Dominica, and who was a son of one of the richest men in Dominica. Also arrested was Anne Cools, who later became a Canadian Senator. Deeply involved also was student Cheddi "Joey" Jagan Jr., who was of Indo-Guyanese and Ashkenazi Jewish descent, and the son of Cheddi Jagan, an American-educated dentist and former Premier and Chief Minister of British Guiana at the time, and his American wife Janet Jagan.

Strike of 1999

As the 1990s progressed, student activism began growing, coming to a head in 1999 with the election of the first in a series of radical slates to the Concordia Student Union. Under the presidency of Rob Green, a referendum regarding a strike garnered 2,284 votes of support. This was an unusually strong show of support, as student governments at Concordia are often elected on the basis of less than 1,000 votes in their favour. The strike lasted from November 3 to 5 and targeted a range of issues, including student representation in the university senate, corporate presence and advertising on campus, and government. There were several demonstrations, where both protesters and police were reported to be injured.

Anti-Netanyahu riot

On September 9, 2002, a scheduled speech from the former (and later subsequent) Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu was cancelled following violent pro-Palestinian riots inside the Henry F. Hall Building. Protestors raised concerns about Israeli human rights abuses in the Palestinian territories, namely in the West Bank and the Gaza Strip. Netanyahu accused protestors of being supporters of terrorism. The event is depicted in a documentary named Confrontation at Concordia.

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