University of Ottawa

The University of Ottawa is a public research university in Canada's capital, founded in 1848 as the College of Bytown by the Missionary Oblates of Mary Immaculate and later reconstituted as a bilingual university. Its defining fact is official English-French bilingualism across faculties, on a scale unmatched among Canadian research universities. The main campus sits downtown beside the Rideau Canal.

Faculties include arts, social sciences, science, engineering, education, health sciences, medicine, law, and the Telfer School of Management. Law is split between common-law and civil-law sections, reflecting Canada's legal dualism. Graduate health research is tied to The Ottawa Hospital, the Children's Hospital of Eastern Ontario, and the University of Ottawa Heart Institute.

About 45,000 students enroll, with a large master's population and a smaller doctoral cohort. International students are a sizable minority, from more than 140 countries, and many domestic students come from francophone communities outside Quebec. Alumni include television host Alex Trebek, former Ontario premier Dalton McGuinty, and Chief Justice of Canada Richard Wagner.

Graduate degrees include M.A. and M.Sc. programs, the Ph.D., professional master's degrees, the M.D., and both common-law and civil-law law degrees, including combined bilingual routes. Supervision is committee-based; many programs can be completed in English, French, or both. Semesters follow the North American calendar. Federal scholarships and assistantships fund many doctoral students. Campus life is urban and bilingual, with Parliament Hill a short walk or transit ride away.

In the Grad School Navigator directory, University of Ottawa lists 29 graduate programs across 21 subjects: 20 master's programs and 6 doctoral programs, with the widest choice in computer science, chemistry and communication, media & journalism. University of Ottawa holds rank 202 in the GSN Overall University Ranking.