• 1. Reputation
• 2. Location
• 3. Size
• 4. Co-op and Career Centre Advantage
• 5. Faculty
• 6. Facilities
• 7. Extracurricular Opportunities
• 8. Student Services
• 9. Variety of Programs and Options
• 10. Residence

Laurier consistently performs strongly in the Maclean's university rankings. Below are the results of the 2009 Maclean's University rankings of Primarily Undergraduate Universities.

Laurier is #1 Ranked University on Ontario (Primarily Undergraduate Category, Macleans) in Highest Quality, Average entering grade, proportion of students who graduate, and student retention

• - 89% of First Year Students, and 83% of Senior Year Students said that if they were

  to start over again, they would still choose to attend Wilfrid Laurier University

          - 90% of First Year Students, and 86% of Senior Year Students rated their overall

          educational experience at Laurier as Excellent or Good (National Survey of Student

          Engagement, 2009)

2009 Globe and Mail University Report Card - Laurier students gave us the following grades:

Located only 1 hour from Toronto, ON, Waterloo offers the small-town feel, with all of the amenitites of a larger community. Waterloo is part of the Technology Triangle, which allows even greater opportunity to gain experience in the working world, with leading professionals in the technology industry, such as Research in Motion, the makers of the Blackberry.

Our campus is contained almost entirely in one city block, and is easily accessible by car, bus, or train. In addition, the campus is centrally located, being only a short walk from Uptown Waterloo, where students can find a variety of shops, pubs, restaurants, festivals and other entertainment.

For students who are interested in the outdoors, Waterloo Park is just around the corner from campus, and offers a beautiful green space for students to enjoy relaxing, playing cricket, baseball, or frisbee, or simply walking on the boardwalk. In addition, there are a huge variety of hiking and biking trails located in the Waterloo area.

If you are interested in learning more about what Waterloo offers, visit the City of Waterloo Website.

With over 13, 000 students, Laurier is large enough to provide opportunities through various clubs, electives, and career activities; yet small enough to maintain the tight-knit community feel, outstanding student experience and to ensure access to faculty and resources available on campus.

Campus is located in one city block, and can be crossed on less than 5 minutes walking. The compact nature of campus allows for quick accessibility between classes, to dining options, and between residence buildings.

The faculty to student ratio at Laurier is 1:23, this allows for small classes with more opportunities for extra help, and increased discussion and student involvement. At Laurier you will also have the opportunity to attend even smaller tutorial and lab sections to allow for more individualized attention.

Laurier is a leader in providing students opportunities to integrate their academic studies with practical experience.  Participating in Co-op means you gain marketable skills; raise your potential employment rate; have access to personal assistance with employment searches; get exposure to networking opportunities; get a chance to clarify career goals; and earn a salary, to help defray school costs. Laurier students learn from the best by being involved with leading organizations like American Express, IBM Canada, and General Motors. Co-op is an option for Honours Arts, Science, Business and Economics students. Laurier has the largest Business and Economics Co-op program in Canada.

Even if students do not choose to enter the Co-op program at Laurier, the Career Development Centre offers a variety of resources including Resume and Cover Letter Writing seminars, individual career counselling, and work space for students to search for jobs both as a student and beyond. As a Laurier graduate, you will always have access to the Laurier Career Development Centre job postings as well Career Planning, and Interview Skills sessions.

Laurier Co-op and the Career Centre, can help prepare you for what to do with your degree, and set you up with all of the skills needed to help increase your chances of success, as you enter the workforce as an alumni.

Excellence in undergraduate teaching is a primary focus at Laurier, with the majority of courses taught by full-time professors. 89.7% of our faculty have PhD's or terminal degrees in their fields, and many have won National and Provincial teaching awards.

At Laurier we have 22 different research centres, which allow for opportunities to volunteer, and become involved in Faculty research as an undergraduate student. This additional experience, and opportunity to gain further understanding of program material can prove to be very beneficial.

Faculty members at Laurier, as well as being leaders in their research fields, take an interest in their students. Weekly office hours, as well as meetings by appointment are available for students who need extra help. This helps students create lasting relationships with their professors, and increase their level of success in the classroom.

Laurier's Campus has a variety of facilities to enjoy as a student, whether through athletics, academics, or socially. 

Athletic Facility Highlights

Laurier's Athletic Complex underwent construction in 2005 almost tripling in size. This complex houses the region's only Olympic length swimming pool, that underwent a $1.5 million dollar renovation in 2009. In addition, the facility houses, squash courts, dance and aerobics classrooms, a cyclefit classroom, a climbing wall, and lab space for Kinesiology students.

Just beyond the Athletic Complex is a new FIFA certified turf soccer field which allows for opportunities to hold intramurals, varsity soccer games, and community sporting events. The football stadium underwent a $5 million dollar renovation in 2007, and now contains a large gym, and updated facilities throughout.

Academic Facility Highlights

Bricker Academic Building houses the Laurier Language Centre, which provides students with the latest technologies for voice recording and listening, allowing them to practice their oral language skills.

Student Labs are found in a variety of buildings across campus. The Faculty of Science labs, located in the Science Building and the Athletic Complex, allow undergraduate students an opportunity for hands-on learning, with state of the art equipment. The Geography and Archaeology deparments both have labs as well, including micro-computer labs, GIS and other graphics applications, cartographic software, and artifact collections. These techniques and technologies, only further students' understanding of the course material.

Social

The Fred Nichol's Campus Centre is a hub for student activity on campus. It is in this building that you will find the 24 hour lounge, renovated in 2009, as a social and study space for students. The Concourse and on campus restaurant and pub are also located in this building, and provide additional opportunities for students to meet, enjoy some great food, and have a fun social experience, even if they are an underage student.

Laurier students are committed to volunteerism and becoming involved with experiences outside of the classroom. Regardless of your area of interest there is a volunteer opportunity here for you.

As a First Year student, opportunities become available to get involved right from the beginning of your Laurier experience. Residences offer the opportunity for students to become in a variety of First Year programming including, House Council, Interresidence Council, Residence Athletic Council and Arts Laurier, to name a few. Whether you choose to sit on any of these councils, or just choose to attend the amazing variety of events they offer, this is a great way to start off your time at Laurier and meet some great people.

Also, in first year and beyond, there a huge variety of opportunities available through the Students Union, which has a annual operating budget of $12 million dollars to help run programming for our students. Campus clubs will offer students a chance to start their own club, if nothing existing meets their needs, or students can become involved with Student Services such as Foot Patrol, Emergency Response Team, or Peer Help Line, or with Student Activities, such as Orientation Week, or A-Team.

If you are interested in sports, 7000 Laurier students took part in Intramurals offered last year, in 16 sports. Whether you want to try your hand at Innertube waterpolo, Ultimate Frisbee, soccer, basketball, or other sports, there really are opportunities for anyone.

Students who choose to become involved outside of the classroom gain leadership skills, learn time management, make lasting friendships, learn applied skills to advance their academic learning as well as provide them with life-changing experiences. Students who gain these skills also prepare themselves for the work force, and increase their employability by having experiences within their community.

Laurier puts a large amount of funding into maintaining a high caliber, and selection of Student Services on campus. The following can be accessed by any Laurier Student, and give the opportunity to become the best student that you can be. Below is a list of the different services, to learn details about each specific service, and how it cab help you, please click the link below.

Learning Services

• Accessible Learning Centre
• Central Academic Advising Office
• Mathematics Assistance Centre
• Study Skills and Supplementary Instruction Centre
• The Writing Centre
• Headstart
• Academic Integrity 
  

 Counselling Services

• Personal Counselling
• Performance Coaching

Health Services

Student Leadership Centre

Diversity and Equity Office

• Rainbow Centre
• Women's Centre
• LSPIRG
• Association of Black Students
• Chaplain's Office
• Student Diversity Committee
• Mulit-faith Resource Team

Aboriginal Student Services

Laurier International

To learn more details about Student Services we offer at Laurier please click here.

Choose from an extensive selection of academic areas that not only stimulate your mind, but help position you for future success. Laurier has undergraduate faculties of Arts, Music, Science, and a School of Business and Economics. Available to graduate students are a faculty of  Social Work, Education, and Graduate Studies including our MBA programs.

Recently, we have introduced new programs such as Health Sciences, Ancient Mediterranean Studies and a Muslim Studies Option.

Laurier guarantees residence to all students who are attending first year for the first time*. As a special incentive, students whose average is over 90% will have the opportunity to select the room style of their choice*.

Residence at Laurier is a great opportunity to meet new people and get involved from the beginning. Residence floors are not based on academic program, so you will have the opportunity to meet other students you may not have met otherwise. Also, because we guarantee residence to all First Year Students, the majority of students you live with in residence are going to be about the same age, and going through the same experiences for the first time. It is great to have the support of others who have the same concerns and questions. 

Every floor in residence also has an upper year student, a Don, who acts as a mentor and support system for the students to help ease the transition into university life. These students are carefully selected and undergo special training to ensure that they can be the greatest support to First Year students as possible.

We offer two different types of residence, dormitory, and apartment style. In dormitory, there are single and double rooms, and likewise in apartment style. To learn more about each individual style, and costs, please visit the Residence website at the link below.

Meal plans are mandatory for students living in dormitory style residence, and optional for students who live in apartment style. A variety of food options are available for those students who are on a meal plan.

The residence experience at Laurier is a great way to branch out on your own, make friends, have new experiences, while still having the support to give you a hand when it's needed.

*This is provided the application and residence deposit are submitted before the posted deadline.

To learn all of the details about residence at Laurier, and to view the virtual tour of the residence buildings click here.