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McGill University

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McGill University

Shield of McGill University
Grandescunt aucta labore
(By work, all things increase and grow)

Established 1821
School type Public
Principal Heather Monroe-Blum
Location Montreal, Quebec
Enrollment 22,915 undergraduate, 6,895 graduate
Faculty 1,436
Campus Urban, 80 acres (32 ha)
Sports teams 14
Mascot Martlet
Homepage www.mcgill.ca

Shield image © McGill University

McGill University, established in 1821, is in the city of Montreal, Quebec, Canada. One of the oldest universities in Canada, it has long been considered to be one of the most prestigious universities in the country and among the finest in North America.

Known to some as "The Harvard of the North", McGill is well-known for its pioneering research in the medical sciences, chemistry, physics and biology. The university is also famous for its high standard of undergraduate education and has an established history in the humanities, social sciences, law and physical education. University rankings, such as the Gourman Report and the Times Higher Education Supplement, have often compared McGill with the best U.S. schools.

Noted for being a research-intensive university, it frequently garners the most research dollars nationwide (per faculty) from federal and provincial sources of funding (including CFI, NSERC and other organizations).

After significant budget cuts in the 1990s, McGill's financial standing has been steadily improving, due to private donations and matching funds from the provincial government. In fact, McGill's endowment is number one in the country on a per capita basis.

National rankings of Canadian universities have also shown McGill rebounding to the top of the list. McGill ranked 2nd in the annual Maclean's survey of Canadian universities in 2003 and 2004. The university has also had the distinction of having the highest publication intensity of any academic institution in the country for many years. This was one of the factors, which led to the school being named Canada's "Research University of the Year" in 2003. [1] In the Times Higher Education Supplement, McGill was ranked 21st in the top universities in the world and 12th in the top universities in North America. [2]

Campus

File:Mcgill-u.jpg
The Arts Building

The main campus is situated in downtown Montreal at the foot of Mount Royal. Most of the buildings are situated in a parklike campus north of rue Sherbrooke between rue Peel and rue Aylmer, and north of avenue Docteur-Penfield west of rue Peel (near Peel and McGill metro stations). A secondary campus is located in the district of Sainte-Anne-de-Bellevue named Macdonald College, some 32 kilometres from downtown Montreal in the western tip of the Island of Montreal.

The architecture of the downtown campus is an eclectic mix reflecting the various periods in which the buildings were erected, although they are all constructed using local grey limestone, which serves as a unifying element.

Students

McGill's student population includes 22,915 undergraduates and 6,895 graduate students (as of 2002). McGill has a higher percentage of American students, out-of-province students, and international students than any other Canadian university, and it has students from over 150 countries. Admission at McGill is done in thirds: Two-thirds of available first-year seats are allocated for Quebec residents, two-thirds of the remaining seats are allocated for the rest of Canada, and the rest are left for international students. Although the university is one of two English-language universities in Montreal, 22% of students at McGill speak French as their first language.

The Quebec government has long encouraged international students from selected countries (such as some members of La Francophonie) to attend their universities over students from other Canadian provinces. Since 1996 it has been more expensive for an out-of-province student to attend McGill than it is for many foreigners from countries that have special agreements with Quebec. This, in addition to McGill's international reputation, partially accounts for why McGill has a high percentage of foreign students. Nevertheless, owing to Quebec government subsidies, some students paying out-of-province tuition find it less expensive to attend McGill than universities in their home province.

Students life is varied and vibrant, reflecting the many cultures and tastes of the students and of Montreal. While the politics of the faculty can vary, the student body is generally left-leaning.

History

In 1813, James McGill bequeathed his 46 acre (190,000 m²) estate and 10,000 pounds to "the Royal Institution for the Advancement of Learning." This institution established McGill University in 1821. Later, in 1905, Sir William Macdonald helped develop Macdonald College, which currently houses research and classes in botany, agricultural science, environmental science and the like.

Facts

  • McGill was the first non-denominational university in the British Empire.
  • It is one of only two Canadian universities holding a membership in the Association of American Universities (AAU), an organization comprising top-tier North American research universities. (The other Canadian university member is the University of Toronto.)
  • McGill boasts seven Nobel laureates and two Canadian prime ministers.
  • McGill has produced 122 Rhodes Scholars, the most of any Canadian university.
  • McGill's class of 1952 includes William Shatner, who portrayed Captain James T. Kirk in Star Trek. Students have (unofficially) named McGill's Student Union building after him.
  • The McGill Daily, founded in 1911, is the longest-running student newspaper in the British Commonwealth.
  • McGill's MBA program has been consistently been ranked among the top 40 in the world by the Economist and Financial Times.
  • McGill has consistently ranked among the top four medical/doctoral universities nationwide, in the Maclean's rankings, an annual ranking of Canadian universities.
  • McGill's Redpath Museum, commissioned in 1880 and opened in 1882, is the oldest building built specifically as a museum in North America. Its natural history collections boast material collected by the same individuals who founded the collections of the Royal Ontario Museum and the Smithsonian.
  • The Sunday Times in 1998 listed McGill as one of the 10 Centres of Excellence in the world. McGill appeared in tenth spot, behind Cambridge, Oxford, Sorbonne and Heidelberg.
  • As of November 2003, McGill has the fastest supercomputer (Beowulf cluster) in Canada.
  • The Times ranked McGill among the top 25 universities in the world, in its World University Rankings, released in 2004.
  • It is a little known fact that the inventions of hockey, basketball and North American football are all related to McGill in some way. The first game of North American football was played between McGill and Harvard Universities in 1874. During World War II, the International Labour Organization was headquartered at McGill.
  • In terms of contributions to computing, MUSIC/SP, a piece of software for mainframes, once popular among universities and colleges around the world at its time, was developed at McGill. A team also contributed to the development of Archie, one of the pre-WWW search engines. A 3270 terminal emulator developed at McGill was commercialized and later sold to Hummingbird Software.

Symbols

The university's symbol is the martlet; its motto is Grandescunt Aucta Labore (by work, all things grow). Inscribed in its arms is In Domino Confido (I trust in the Lord), James McGill's personal motto. Its sports teams are named Martlets (women) and Redmen (men), and its school colours are red and white. The school song is entitled "Hail, Alma Mater." The lyrics to the song are as follows:

Hail, Alma Mater, we sing to thy praise;
Loud in thy Honour, our voices we raise.
Full to thy fortune, our glasses we fill.
Life and Prosperity, Dear Old McGill.
Hail, Alma Mater, thy praises we sing:
Far down the centuries, still may they ring.
Long through the ages remain - if God will,
Queen of the Colleges, Dear Old McGill.

Noted alumni and professors

Academics and scholars

Current Presidents of other Canadian universities

Business and media

Politics and government

Art, music, and film

Inventors

Others

Nobel Prize winners

Hospitals

McGill University is affiliated with seven teaching hospitals in Montreal, four of which compose the McGill University Health Centre:

Other universities in Montreal

See also

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