The University of Western Ontario

About The University of Western Ontario

Campus: Facilities, Residence and Location

The institution is situated near the banks of the Thames River in London, Ontario. It is easily located within a two hour drive from Detroit, Toronto, and Windsor. The Western campus also holds a number of residence halls, ranging from traditional dorm-style residences to modern suite-type residences. The university guarantees all undergraduate students a spot in one of these residences should they choose to live in campus.

Student Services and Student Life

The campus offers personal services, such as community centres, health services, student council, student radio stations, and services for disabilities; academic support services, such as financial aid services, career centres, exchange programs, volunteers in progress and Olympic studies resource centres; and five-year student programs that help entry students adjust to the social and academic demands of college.

Student life in the university is a balance between academic and social activities in order to foster a well-rounded educational experience in the university. Various student groups like clubs, sororities, and fraternities provide venues for communal involvement and leadership opportunities. Meanwhile, the Western campus radio, student television, and student newspaper keep the community abreast with the issues and happenings in the university. Athletics are also emphasized here, with its 38 varsity sport teams and its various sport facilities dotted all over the campus. Western is home to the University of Western Ontario Mustangs.

Arts and culture in the university is in full bloom here. Events such as musical reviews of modern and classical Broadway, musical spring productions, and Western’s One-Act Play Festival are cultural events sponsored by Theater Western. The Faculty of Music, on the other hand, performs various musical concerts throughout the year. Western is also home to McIntosh Gallery, Canada’s second oldest university art gallery.

Academic Programs

Some of the academic programs offered by Western are: Education, Arts and Humanities, Information and Media Studies, Graduate Studies, Law, Social Science, Health Sciences, Don Wright Faculty of Music, Richard Ivey School of Business, Brescia University College, Schulich School of Medicine & Dentistry, Engineering, Management and Organizational Studies, Huron University College, and King’s University College.

Rankings

Western upholds its position as one of Canada’s leading universities, ranking first for overall quality of education in the 2008, 2007, and 2005 Globe and Mail University Report Card. From 2005 to 2007, Western ranked 3rd, 5th, and 7th in Maclean’s Magazine’s ranking of medical-doctoral universities.

Off-Campus Living

The normal rent for bachelor apartment are around $500. For one bedroom apartments, the price usually is around $650 (in addition to utility costs). Students who are more interested in sharing houses often pay $415 plus the utility expenses.

London Information

London is a city in Southwestern Ontario, Canada. London is the seat of Middlesex County, at the forks of the non-navigable Thames River, approximately halfway between Toronto, Ontario and Detroit, Michigan. London's economy is dominated by locomotive and military vehicle production, insurance, and information technology.

London has a humid continental climate. Because of its location in the continent and proximity to the Great Lakes, London experiences very contrasting seasons. The summers are usually warm to hot and humid, while the winters are normally quite cold but with frequent thaws. London has the most thunderstorms of any area in Canada due to the lake breeze convergence.