Wilfrid Laurier University, Canada

WLU’s roots can be traced back to the Waterloo Lutheran Seminary founded in 1911. Currently it has 19,000 students mentored by 690 faculty

Named after Canada’s seventh prime minister, Wilfrid Laurier University (WLU, estb. 1911) is a low-profile public research-oriented institution based in Waterloo — a well-known education hub of Canada — which has an impressive aggregate enrolment of 19,000 students mentored by 690 faculty. The university’s nine faculties and 20 research centres offer 110 undergrad and postgrad programmes to students across its campuses in Waterloo, Brantford, Kitchener and Toronto. 

“Wilfrid Laurier University is devoted to excellence in learning, research, scholarship and creativity. It challenges people to become engaged and aware citizens of an increasingly complex world through our mission of advancing knowledge, supporting and enhancing high-quality education, and emphasising co-curricular development of the whole student,” says Eileen Mercier, chancellor of WLU. 

WLU’s roots can be traced back to Waterloo Lutheran Seminary founded in 1911 by the Lutheran Synod mission. In 1914, the seminary began offering secular study programmes under the name the Waterloo College School. After a series of name changes, in 1973 the Waterloo Lutheran University morphed into the Wilfrid Laurier University. In 1999, WLU inaugurated its second and third campuses in Brantford and Toronto, and the Lyle S. Hallman Faculty of Social Work moved from Waterloo to downtown Kitchener in 2006. 

Waterloo. Sited in southern Ontario, Waterloo is voted the tenth best place to live in Canada by MoneySense. With a population of 132,100, when combined with Kitchener, its twin city, Waterloo’s population rises to 365,320. Settled by German-speaking immigrants from Pennsylvania and Europe in the 19th century, Kitchener-Waterloo is currently an important centre for manufacturing and hi-tech industry, with perhaps the country’s lowest number of adult unemployed. 

Although Kitchener-Waterloo still retains much of its German heritage, today it’s a multicultural city with 20 percent of its population comprising newly-arrived immigrants from around the world. Moreover, with over 50,000 full-time students in two universities and a community college, Waterloo is a student-friendly city with numerous restaurants, low-price shops, parks, malls, coffee shops, and cinemas. Just 60 minutes to the east by road is metropolitan Toronto, which hosts the universities of Toronto, York, and Ryerson and several colleges. 

Studying in Canada is a testing experience. Winters (December-March) are bitterly cold, with regular snowfall that leaves 5-20 cm of snow on the ground, accompanied by high winds. Spring (March-June) is cool and rainy. Summer (June-September) is usually warm and sunny with temperatures ranging from 10°C to 28°C.

Campus facilities. WLU’s main Waterloo campus is sited in the heart of the Waterloo-Toronto corridor, often referred to as Silicon Valley of the North and down the road from the University of Waterloo. This campus hosts over 16,000 of the university’s 19,000 students and the faculties of arts, music, science, education, and graduate studies as well as the Lazaridis School of Business and Economics. The university’s second campus in Brantford (approx. 50 km distant) houses the faculties of liberal arts, human and social sciences and an estimated 3,000 students. The university’s three Laurier libraries (Waterloo, Brantford and Kitchener) offer access to 1 million print volumes, 312,000 electronic books, 68,000 electronic journals, and 280 databases. 

For leisure and sports, the Waterloo campus offers the 20,000 sq. ft Athletics Complex with an olympic-size pool, triple gymnasium, dance studios, and a large fitness centre which received a $5-million (Rs.30 crore) renovation and expansion grant in 2013. Outdoor sports facilities include the Alumni Field (a full-sized, FIFA-certified, football ground) and the University Stadium offering football, soccer, rugby and lacrosse play facilities. The Brantford campus offers students access to its state-of-the-art Wilkes House Recreation Centre.

Moreover, students have the option to enroll in over 200 clubs and societies. 

Admission. The minimum eligibility requirement for admission into WLU’s undergrad programmes is successful completion of Plus Two (CBSE/CISCE or equivalent). All foreign applicants are required to also submit proof of proficiency in English — TOEFL (minimum score of 89) or IELTS (minimum score of 7) scores are acceptable. Applications should be made online through the international applications website (www.wlu.ca) with students allowed to apply for three undergrad programmes. The admission application together with secondary school transcripts, English test scores, etc need to be submitted by May 1 for the academic term beginning September. 
For admission into WLU’s postgrad degree programmes, a bachelor’s degree from a recognised university and English language proficiency are minimum admission requirements. However, each Masters degree programme has its own specific admission requirements. For additional information, contact Wilfrid Laurier University, 75 University Avenue West, Waterloo, Ontario, Canada; e-mail: chooselaurier@wlu.ca or fgps@wlu.ca; website: www.wlu.ca.

Accommodation. The Waterloo campus hosts 15 student residences — co-ed and single-sex — for over 2,800 students. Nine of them offer dormitory-style accommodation while the rest are apartment complexes. WLU’s Brantford campus offers six apartment-style co-ed buildings. For those wishing to live off campus, the university in partnership with places4students.com helps find private sector housing. 

Degree programmes. WLU’s nine faculties offer more than 100 academic programmes (see box).
 

SWETHLANA SARASWAT