Situated on the northeastern shore of lake Ontario, Queen’s University, Canada enjoys a sterling reputation for scholarship and research. It is consistently ranked among the top three universities in Canada in institutional surveys and recently the Toronto-based Maclean’s magazine rated Queen’s #1 for employing the most award-winning faculty of any institution of higher education in Canada. A public-funded varsity, Queen’s is highly selective with the average percentage of students admitted in 2006 being 89. Currently its 17 faculties and schools offer a wide range of undergrad, postgrad, and doctoral programmes to 16,817 full-time students from 129 countries.

Established by a royal charter of Queen Victoria in 1841 — 26 years before the birth of the Canadian confederation — Queen’s was the first university to grant degrees in the then province of Canada; the first university west of the maritime provinces to admit women; the first to acknowledge a student union and hosted the country’s first session of the dominion of Canada’s parliament. "Throughout its history, Queen’s has remained true to its core mission of expanding the intellectual horizons of its students in an environment of discovery, freedom of inquiry and sensitivity to the needs of society. In the years ahead, Queen’s will continue to be dedicated to shaping the lives of its students and to contributing to the life of this country and beyond," says Karen R. Hitchcock, principal and vice-chancellor of Queen’s.

Kingston. On the edge of Lake Ontario is the historic town of Kingston, midway between Toronto, Ontario and Montreal. With a population of only 114,000, Kingston often tops national surveys for its high quality of life and vibrant downtown. The first capital of the dominion Canada, it boasts some fine examples of 19th century architecture. The city is also home to one of the world’s best freshwater sailing areas and was the venue of the XXI Olympiad (1976).

The town enjoys a relatively mild climate by N. American standards with pleasant summertime temperatures of between 20oC and 30oC. However, mean temperatures can plunge to -200C in winter.

Campus facilities. Queen’s main campus sprawls across 100 acres on the southwestern edge of downtown Kingston. However, the campus is not a neat, composite unit. University buildings, especially on the peripheries of the campus, are interspersed with private homes, shops, and hospital buildings.

The main campus is renowned for its old limestone buildings, romanesque revival and neo-gothic architecture. It hosts most of the teaching and administrative buildings packed into a relatively small space; walking time from one end of campus to the other is approximately 10 minutes. Adjacent to the campus, and also within walking distance, is the Kingston General Hospital (affiliated with Queen’s), which is a designated National Historic Site as it was the locus of the first parliament of the province of Canada from 1841-1843. The main campus also houses Chernoff Hall, one of the largest chemistry research complexes worldwide and winner of Research & Development Magazine’s ‘High Honours’ in the 2003 Laboratory of the Year competition.

There is also a smaller expansion known as West Campus which is approximately a 15-minute walk from the main campus. West Campus hosts additional student residences, the faculty of education, and Richardson Memorial Stadium (home of the Queen’s Golden Gaels).

The university’s six main libraries house over 2.3 million volumes, plus almost 4 million other non-book items such as videos, maps and artefacts. Sports facilities are provided at the Physical Education Centre and students have the option to choose from 48 men’s and women’s varsity sports teams. Moreover there are over 500 students clubs and associations on campus. Construction of an ambitious project — the Queen’s Centre — which will house athletic, recreational, academic and student life facilities under one roof is currently underway.

Admission. The minimum eligibility criterion for admission is successful completion of Plus Two. Overseas students whose mother tongue is not English have to demonstrate English language ability. An IELTS score of 7 or above or a TOEFL score of 5 is the minimum requirement although some faculties are more demanding.

All admission applications must be made through the Ontario Universities’ Application Centre (OUAC), 170 Research Lane, Guelph, ON, N1G 5E2. Students can also apply online at www.ouac.on.ca. The next deadline for receiving applications is February 16, 2008. OUAC forwards admission applications to Queen’s Admission Services which subsequently acknowledges receipt of the application via e-mail to the applicant. Thereafter a March 17 deadline is given for providing documents demanded in the application form.

For further information contact the Admission Services, Gordon Hall Queen’s University, Kingston, Ontario, Canada K7L 3N6; e-mail admission@queensu.ca; website: www.queensu.ca.

Accommodation. Queen’s University guarantees housing to all first-year foreign students in one of its 13 residential buildings, including two new halls of residence. Halls of residence range from small buildings housing 68 students to larger units which accommodate upto 800 students. Most residences are designed in traditional style offering comfortably furnished double and single rooms with access to common lounges and laundry facilities, and are equipped for high-speed internet access and telephone service. A wide range of meal plans are available to students. Eight halls of residences are co-ed, while four are gender segregated.

Moreover the university’s apartment and housing service manages university owned rentals.  This includes two apartment complexes in West Campus and a number of properties (houses/apartments) located in the vicinity of the main campus.

Degree programmes. Queen’s University offers a range of undergrad and postgrad programmes across 17 faculties (see box).