University of Guelph

Overview

The University of Guelph (U of G) is a public university located in Guelph, Ontario, Canada. The university was founded in 1964 and is renowned for its veterinary medicine program. It also has a strong focus on life sciences and maintains numerous research-intensive programs.

The university awards bachelor’s, master’s, and doctoral degrees in a variety of study areas. For its bachelor's degrees, titles include Bachelor of Engineering, Bachelor of Computing, Bachelor of Arts, and Bachelor of Commerce. Students can choose from more than 90 undergraduate majors such as Computer Science, Software Engineering, Food and Agricultural Business, Marketing Management, and Family Studies and Human Development.

On the other hand, the university offers over 40 postgraduate programs and doctoral programs. Graduate degrees awarded include MSc, MBS, PhD, and DVSc. Examples of master’s programs are Art History and Visual Culture, Business Administration, Family Relations and Applied Nutrition, Biomedical Sciences, and Rural Planning and Development. PhD programs include Food, Agricultural and Resource Economics, Psychology, Bioinformatics, Literary Studies / Theatre Studies in English, and Plant Agriculture.

The University of Guelph also offers associate diploma programs such as Associate Diploma in Veterinary Technology, Associate Diploma in Horticulture, and Associate Diploma in Equine Care and Management. It also provides admission pathways for students who complete at least one year of their Associate Diploma in Environmental Management and Associate Diploma in Agriculture.

On the other hand, the university’s OpenEd Student Portal is where students can access distance education (DE) programs. There are more than 200 DE courses made available every year and delivered entirely online. Students can choose from DE courses such as Marketing and Consumer Studies, Advanced Design of On-Site Sewage Treatment Systems, Epidemiology, Organizational Communication, and Food Processing for Urban Gardeners.

The University of Guelph was created from the merger of the MacDonald Institute, the Ontario Veterinary College, and the Ontario Agricultural College in 1964. MacDonald Institute was established in 1903 primarily for home economics programs and other nature studies, while the Ontario Agricultural College was founded in 1874 as an associate agricultural college of the University of Toronto. The Ontario Veterinary College was founded in 1862 and is the oldest veterinary school in the country. Today, U of G is still known for its agriculture and veterinary programs—the fields of study of its predecessor institutions.

Notable alumni of the University of Guelph include prominent figures in politics, business, technology, agriculture, and science. One of them is Charles Ambrose Zavitz, who pioneered the development of commercial soybeans in Ontario. Other alumni include Roberta Bondar, Canada’s first female astronaut, and scientist Karen Beauchemin, who developed farming techniques to improve cattle raising while reducing the environmental impact of livestock production.