Laval University (English) | |
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| Latin:Universitas Laval[1] | |
Former names | Séminaire de Québec (1663-1852) |
|---|---|
| Motto | Deo favente haud pluribus impar (Latin) |
Motto in English | By the grace of God, to no one equal |
| Type | Public |
| Established | 1852; 173 years ago (1852) |
Academic affiliations | ACU,CARL,UArctic,Universities Canada,U15 |
| Endowment | CAD$377 million[2] |
| Rector | Sophie D'Amours |
| Students | 47,690 |
| Undergraduates | 33,430[2] |
| Postgraduates | 14,260[2] |
| Location | Quebec City, Quebec ,Canada 46°46′48″N71°16′29″W / 46.78000°N 71.27472°W /46.78000; -71.27472 |
| Campus | Urban/Suburban |
| Language | French |
| Colours | Red & gold |
| Nickname | Rouge-et-Or |
Sporting affiliations | CIS,QSSF |
| Website | www |
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TheUniversité Laval[a] is a publicresearch university inQuebec City, Quebec, Canada. The university traces its roots to theSéminaire de Québec, founded byFrançois de Montmorency-Laval in 1663, making it the oldest institution of higher education in Canada and the first North American institution to offer higher education in French. The university, which was founded in Old Québec, moved to a new campus in the 1950s in the suburban borough ofSainte-Foy–Sillery–Cap-Rouge. It is ranked among the top 10 Canadian universities in research funding[4] and holds four Canada Excellence Research Chairs.
The university's beginnings go back to 1663 with the founding of the GrandSéminaire de Québec and 1668 with the founding of the Petit Séminaire byFrançois de Montmorency-Laval, a member of theHouse of Laval and the firstBishop of New France.[5][6]
During the French regime, the institution mainly trained priests to serve inNew France. After theConquest of 1760, the British expanded education in Canada to include the liberal arts. French Canadians had at the time no opportunity to pursue higher education, andBishop Bourget of Montreal suggested expanding theSéminaire de Québec intoUniversité Laval.Louis Casault, a priest who taught physics at theSéminaire de Québec, went to Europe to seek aroyal charter and study the best university systems there.
TheSéminaire de Québec was granted a royal charter on December 8, 1852, byQueen Victoria, at the request ofLord Elgin, then Governor-General of the Province of Canada. Through the charter, theUniversité Laval was created with "the rights and privileges of a university".[7]Pope Benedict XV approved the plan and authorized the institution to establish chairs of theology and confer degrees.[8]
In 1878, the university opened a second campus inMontreal, which became theUniversité de Montréal on May 8, 1919, by a writ ofPope Benedict XV. In 1971, a second charter transferred all authority to theUniversité Laval council.[7]
By 1925, the university had outgrown its location. The Old City was very crowded, making it difficult to add new buildings to the campus. The university moved toSainte-Foy in the 1950s, which at the time was a semi-rural community west of the Quebec city centre. The School of Architecture returned to the old building (now affectionately referred to asLe Vieux Séminaire) in 1989.
Université Laval is governed by a board of governors and a faculty senate. This structure was modelled on the provincialUniversity of Toronto Act of 1906, which established a bicameral system of university government consisting of a senate (faculty), responsible for academic policy, and a board of governors (citizens) exercising exclusive control over financial policy and having formal authority in all other matters. The president, appointed by the board, was to serve as a link between the two bodies and lead the institution.[9]: 306
In the early part of the 20th century, the need for higher education expanded beyond the classical fields of theology, law and medicine, and the university introduced science and social-science departments such as forestry and household science.[9]: 1904 In addition, graduate training based on the German-inspired American model of specialized course work and the completion of a research thesis was introduced.[7]
"Laval", a waltz by French-Canadian ragtime composerWilfrid Beaudry, was dedicated to the students at Laval University and the University of Montreal. The music for piano was published in Quebec by J. Beaudry, circa 1906.[10]
In 1929, the Quebec Seminary was designated as a national historic site of Canada.[6]
The university opened its department of social, political, and economic sciences in 1938, signalling a change of approach that continued into the 1960s, based on an idea of higher education as the key to social justice and economic productivity for individuals and society.[11]
The royal charter that foundedUniversité Laval in 1852 was designated a National Historic Event in 1972.[12] This location, at 1 rue des Remparts, Quebec, still continues operation as a centre for educating Roman Catholic priests. A section of the Vieux Séminaire has been the location for the Université's school of architecture since 1987.[6][13] The Camille-Roy pavilion houses the restored Promotions Room, which can be rented as a venue for various types of events.[14]
In 2017, the university became the first in Canada to divest its endowment from fossil fuel companies.[15]
After it was granted a university charter, several buildings were built in Old Quebec, including the School of Chemistry (1923), the addition on Ste. Famille Street (1931), the Mining School (1938), and the cafeteria building (1945), all by architect Joseph Simeon Bergeron.[16] However, the neighbourhood was already crowded and activities later moved in nearby Sainte-Foy, which was more spacious.
Today's campus covers 1.2 km2 (0.46 sq mi; 120 ha; 300 acres) and has over 30 buildings (also calledpavillons), including many iconic exemplars ofmodern architecture. Its earliest buildings and landscapes were designed byEdouard Fiset (fr) from the 1950s, and of its lands, 56 percent are wooded areas, grasslands, and sports fields.[citation needed]
Practically all buildings are linked by 10 km (6.2 mi) of underground walkways, which are particularly useful in the winter and whose walls are mostly covered by murals painted by student associations and student visitors over the years, as well as graffiti. The campus is also home to theRoger-Van den Hende botanical garden (fr) which contains some 67 species of deciduous and coniferous trees and 60 different species of birds. The Louis-Jacques-Casault building also hosts the regional branch of theNational Archives of Quebec. The sport building is calledPEPS and is said to be the largest sport complex in eastern Canada.[17] It is adjacent to the covered TELUS stadium. Construction for the Telus stadium started in 2010 and was opened to the public in January 2012 (fr).
Apart from the school of architecture, located inOld Quebec since 1988,[18] the only out of campus facilities are the school of visual arts in the downtown neighbourhood ofSaint-Roch, and the experimentalMontmorency forest (70 km (43 mi) north of Quebec City).
As of 2002, Université Laval offered over 350 programs to more than 38,000 students. The university also attracts more than 2,500 foreign students annually, and has almost 1,000 students drawn from Canadian provinces outside of Quebec. Many students come to the university for theFrançais pour non-francophones program that offers instruction in French as a second language to students from Canada and around the world. It is also the only university in Quebec that trains forestry engineers.[19]
Since the mid-1980s, Université Laval has offered distance learning; over 30 programs and 400 courses are offered by distance learning, of which 80% are accessible from the Internet.[citation needed]
* The Département des Sciences des Aliments et de Nutrition has an accredited dietetic program. The university is accredited by a professional organization such as theDietitians of Canada, and the university's graduates may subsequently become registered dietitians.
Université Laval holds four of the 19 Canada Excellence Research Chairs awarded nationwide: Canada Excellence Research Chair in Remote Sensing of Canada's New Arctic Frontier, Canada Research Excellence Chair in the Microbiome-Endocannabinoidome Axis in Metabolic Health, Canada Excellence Research Chair in Photonic Innovations, and Communication and Canada Excellence Research Chair in Neurophotonics.[20] The university has also received research funding fromHuawei but has kept the details of the funding confidential.[21][22]
Université Laval is an active member of theUniversity of the Arctic.[23] UArctic is an international cooperative network based in the Circumpolar Arctic region, consisting of more than 200 universities, colleges, and other organizations with an interest in promoting education and research in the Arctic region.[24]
The university participates in UArctic’s mobility program north2north. The aim of that program is to enable students of member institutions to study in different parts of the North.[25]
| University rankings | |
|---|---|
| World rankings | |
| ARWU World[26] | 301–400 |
| QS World[27] | =469 |
| QS Employability[28] | 201–250 |
| THE World[29] | 251–300 |
| USNWR World[30] | 439 |
| Canadian rankings | |
| ARWU National[26] | 13–16 |
| QS National[27] | 18 |
| THE National[29] | 11 |
| USNWR National[30] | 16 |
| Maclean's Medical/Doctoral[31] | 12 |
| Maclean's Reputation[32] | 12 |
Les Presses de l'Université Laval (University Press), which was founded in 1950, deals with Canadian civilization, literature, medieval studies, law, social sciences, physical sciences and engineering.[33] It publishes some 120 books per year.[34]
The Coopérative de l'Université Laval (University Co-op) is engaged in the sale of products to customers throughout the university, such as books, lecture notes and computers. They have two locations. One is on campus in the administrative building and the other near La Fabrique, the Arts building in Old Québec.
Athletics take place at the Pavillon d'éducation physique et des sports (Physical Education and Sports Complex), in shortPEPS. Laval's varsity sports teams are named theRouge-et-Or (Red & Gold). As of 2024, the men'sfootball team of Laval have won 12Vanier Cups and has thus the most titles in the country, followed by theWestern Mustangs (8 Vanier Cups).[35]
Public figures, including Prime Ministers of Canada, Premiers of Quebec, Supreme Court Justices, federal Cabinet Ministers, Senators, and Lieutenant-Governors as well as national and international athletes have graduated from l'Université Laval. Some of the more prominent are:
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