University of Western Ontario

The University of Western Ontario (UWO; branded as Western University) is a public research university in London, Ontario, Canada. The main campus is located on 455 hectares (1,120 acres) of land, surrounded by residential neighbourhoods and the Thames River bisecting the campus's eastern portion. The university operates twelve academic faculties and schools.

The university was founded on March 7, 1878, by Bishop Isaac Hellmuth of the Anglican Diocese of Huron as The Western University of London, Ontario. It incorporated Huron College, which had been founded in 1863. The first four faculties were Arts, Divinity, Law and Medicine. The university became non-denominational in 1908. Beginning in 1919, the university affiliated with several denominational colleges. The university grew substantially in the post-World War II era, and a number of faculties and schools were added.

Western is a co-educational university, with more than 24,000 students, and over 306,000 living alumni worldwide. The university is a founding member of the U15, Canada's group of most distinguished research-intensive universities. Western's varsity teams, known as the Western Mustangs, compete in the Ontario University Athletics conference of U Sports.

History

The university was founded on March, 7 1878 by Bishop Isaac Hellmuth of the Anglican Diocese of Huron as The Western University of London, Ontario, and its first chancellor was Chief Justice Richard Martin Meredith. It incorporated Huron College, which had been founded in 1863. The first four faculties were Arts, Divinity, Law and Medicine (London Medical College). There were originally only 15 students when classes began in 1881.

Although the university was incorporated in 1878, it was not until June 20, 1881 that it received the right to confer degrees in arts, divinity and medicine. In 1882, the name of the university was revised to The Western University and College of London, Ontario. The first convocation of graduates was held on April 27, 1883. Initially affiliated with the Church of England, the university became non-denominational in 1908.

In 1916, the university's current site was purchased from the Kingsmill family. There are two World War I memorial plaques in University College. The first lists the 19 students and graduates of the University of Western Ontario who died; the second honours the men from Middlesex County who died. A third plaque lists those who served with the No. 10 Canadian General hospital during WWII, the unit raised and equipped by UWO.

In 1923, the university was renamed as The University of Western Ontario. The first two buildings constructed by architect John Moore and Co. at the new site were the Arts Building (now University College) and the Natural Science Building (now the Physics and Astronomy Building). Classes on the university's present site began in 1924. The University College tower, one of the university's most distinctive features, was named the Middlesex Memorial Tower in honour of the men from Middlesex County who fought in World War I.

In the early 20th century, a number of institutions became affiliated colleges of Western. In 1919, Brescia College was established as a Roman Catholic affiliate of Western, while Assumption College entered an affiliation agreement with the university. Other institutions that became affiliated colleges of Western includes the Waterloo College of Arts in 1925, St. Peter's College in 1939, and King's College in 1945. Waterloo College of Arts remained affiliated with Western until 1960, when the institution was reorganized into Wilfrid Laurier University; while Assumption College remained affiliated with Western until 1964, when it was reorganized into the University of Windsor. Brescia College ceased operations and was integrated into Western's main campus in 2024, while Huron and King's remain independent affiliates.

Campus

The University of Western Ontario is in the city of London, Ontario, in the southwestern end of the Quebec City–Windsor Corridor. Most of the campus is surrounded by residential neighbourhoods, with the Thames River bisecting the campus' eastern portion. Western Road is the university's major transportation artery, travelling north to south. The central campus, which includes most of the university's student residences and teaching facilities is approximately 170.8 hectares (422 acres).

The development of Western's present campus began in the 1920s. Many of the university's earliest buildings used Collegiate Gothic designs. As the campus expanded in the late 1960s, the university abandoned Gothic designs in favour of brutalist and modernist architecture. In 2000, planning for Western's central campus was re-conceptualized, with the core devoted for only academic buildings. The plan saw University College Hill as the focal point, linking the lower portion of the campus with the South Valley. The 2006 campus master plan called for the protection and renewed emphasis on Western's Collegiate Gothic buildings. The oldest academic buildings within the central campus is University College and the Physics and Astronomy Building, both completed in 1924. The Ronald D. Schmeichel Building for Entrepreneurship and Innovation opened in September 2024 and is the newest academic building on campus. The Western Interdisciplinary Research Building, or WIRB, houses state-of-the art research facilities for the study of cognitive neuroscience as well as the Brain and Mind Institute, BrainsCAN, and the Rotman Institute for Philosophy.

Library and museums

The university's library system, Western Libraries, operates six libraries that house more than 6.11 million books as of September 2025, as well as electronic resources including e-books, serial titles, and databases. Libraries a part of the system include the Allyn and Betty Taylor Library, C. B. Johnston Library, the D. B. Weldon Library, the Education Library, the John & Dotsa Bitove Family Law Library, and the Music Library. Allyn and Betty Taylor Library primarily services the faculties of Engineering, Health Sciences, Science, and the Schulich School of Medicine & Dentistry, while the C. B. Johnston Library primarily serves the Ivey Business School. The D. B. Weldon Library primarily services the faculties of Arts & Humanities, Information & Media Studies, and Social Sciences. The D. B. Weldon Library also houses the university's Archives and Research Collections Centre. Western Libraries also maintains the Shared Library Catalogue, which provides common access to the collections of Western Libraries, as well as the collections from the libraries of university colleges affiliated with the Western, including Huron University College, King's University College, and St. Peter's Seminary. Access to the Shared University Catalogue is provided to students and faculty of Western, and the affiliated university colleges.

Administration

The university's governance is conducted through the Board of Governors and the Senate. The Senate was the university's first governing body, created in the university's founding document, An Act to Incorporate the Western University of London, Ontario, 1878. The Board of Governors was later established in An Act to amend the Act to incorporate the Western University of London, Ontario, 1892. The Board is responsible for the university's management, including financial matters. Ex officio governors of the Board include the university's chancellor, president, the mayor of London, the warden of Middlesex County and the secretary of the Board of Governors. The Board also consists of 26 other governors either appointed or elected by the members of the university's community and the surrounding community, including elected representatives from the student body.

The Senate is responsible for the university's academic policies. The Senate consists of 20 ex officio positions in the Senate granted to the chancellor, the president, the university's vice-presidents, the senior dean of each faculty, the university librarian and the secretary of the senate. The secretary of the senate is a non-voting ex officio member. The Senate also consists of 46 elected members from the university's faculty, 18 members from the student population, and 9 members from the Western's affiliated colleges, including their principals. The Senate also consists of 9 other members from around the university community. In all, there are 103 members of the Senate, 102 of which may vote and 10–13 official observers of the Senate.

The president and vice-chancellor acts as the university's chief executive officer, accountable to the Board of Governors and the Senate, by supervising and directing the university's academic and administrative work and its teaching and non-teaching staff. Alan Shepard is the tenth president of the university, who began his tenure as president on 1 July 2019. In 2022, Shepard was the highest paid President of any Ontario university, receiving $520,000 in salary and benefits. The chancellor of the university acts as the honorary and symbolic head of the university. The position of chancellor is a four-year, non-renewable term. The university's current chancellor is Kelly Meighen, who was appointed to the position on 1 July 2023.

Affiliated institutions

The University of Western Ontario is currently affiliated with two university colleges.

Huron University College was founded in 1863, originally established as Huron College, and renamed Huron University College in 2000. Huron's affiliation with Western was authorized in Western's first provincial charter, in 1878. Both Huron and Western share the same progenitor in Bishop Issac Hellmuth. Huron moved to its present location, adjacent to Western's central campus, in 1951. King's University College was founded in 1954, as a Catholic-based liberal arts college. Founded as Christ the King's College, it changed its name to King's College in 1966, and King's University College in 2004. Regardless of the university college's religious affiliation, enrolment in those institutions is not restricted based on the student's religious beliefs.

Academics

Western is a publicly funded research university, and a member of the Association of Universities and Colleges of Canada. The full-time undergraduate programs comprise the majority of the school's enrolment, made up of 30,665 full-time, part-time undergraduate students and concurrent education students. The graduate student population is 5,297, including full-time students, part-time students and post-graduate medical residents. The university conferred 4,504 bachelor's degrees, 207 doctoral degrees, 1,427 master's degrees, and 1,180 second entry professional degrees in 2008–2009. Students may apply for financial aid such as the Ontario Student Assistance Program and Canada Student Loans and Grants through the federal and provincial governments. The financial aid may come in loans, grants, bursaries, scholarships, fellowships, debt reduction, interest relief, and work programs.

The university is divided into 11 faculties and schools including the Don Wright Faculty of Music, the Faculty of Arts & Humanities, Faculty of Education, Faculty of Engineering, Faculty of Health Sciences, Faculty of Information & Media Studies, Faculty of Law, Faculty of Science, Faculty of Social Science, Ivey School of Business, and the Schulich School of Medicine & Dentistry. In September 2016, most undergraduates at Western was enrolled in the Faculty of Social Sciences, with 7,114 full-time and part-time undergraduate students in enrolled in one of their programs. In the same year, the Faculty of Health Science held the highest enrolment among graduate students at Western, with 821 full-time and part-time graduate students enrolled in the faculty. The School Graduate and Postdoctoral Studies is the university's central administrative unit of graduate education. However, it is not considered its own faculty or academic school.

Admission requirements at Western differ depending upon the education system where the applicant originates from, due to the lack of uniformity in marking schemes. In September 2012 secondary school average for full-time first-year students at Western was 89.3 per cent. For admission in the fall of 2013, there were 45,000 applications for 4,900 spaces.

The university also offers students the opportunity to earn credits while studying abroad, through student exchange programs, and internship, faculty-led international excursions, and clinical placements.

Rankings and reputation

In the 2022 Academic Ranking of World Universities rankings, the university ranked 201–300 in the world and 9–12 in Canada. The 2024 QS World University Rankings ranked the university 114th in the world and sixth in Canada. The 2023 Times Higher Education World University Rankings ranked Western 201–250 in the world, and 8–10 in Canada. In U.S. News & World Report 2022–23 global university rankings, the university placed 300th in the world, and tenth in Canada. In Maclean's 2023 rankings, Western placed 11th in their Medical-Doctoral university category, tied with Université Laval. The university also ranked 13th in Maclean reputation category.

Student life

The two main student unions on administrative and policy issues is the University Students' Council for all undergraduate students and the Society of Graduate Students for graduate students.

The University Students' Council (USC) is a student-led organization that exists to advocate for and support the undergraduate students. The University Students' Commission was created in 1930 as a coordinating body between the existing Students' Administrative Assembly (SAA), a 22-member body including representatives from each class in Arts and Sciences Faculty Councils, and the Hippocratic Council. In 1947 the name was officially changed to "University Students' Council".

Today, USC is a nonprofit organization incorporated on March 29, 1965, under the Ontario Nonprofit Corporations Act. Its membership consists of the roughly 38,000 undergraduate students enrolled at the university. Policy papers are approved by Council, and focus on evidence-based advocacy, with recommendations informed by both research and student consultation. Part of the Ontario Undergraduate Student Alliance, the USC also engages in advocacy at multiple levels of government, and across the university.

The University Students' Council recognizes more than 220 student organizations and clubs, in which more than 15,000 students are a member. These clubs and organizations cover a wide range of interests such as academics, culture, religion, social issues, and recreation. The University Students' Council also provides additional services such as two pub/restaurants (The Spoke and The Wave), and clothing store (The Purple Store). A student run drop-in food bank addresses increasing food insecurity among students, and a Peer Support Centre provides a safe space and resource hub for students to prioritize their well-being. A USC run movie theatre named "Western Film" screened second-run movies at cheap prices from the mid-1980s until closing during the COVID-19 pandemic.

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