Université du Québec à Montréal

The Université du Québec à Montréal (UQAM; French pronunciation: [ynivɛʁsite dy kebɛk a mɔ̃ʁeal])[a], is a French-language public research university based in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. It is the largest constituent element of the Université du Québec system.

University of Quebec in Montreal
Université du Québec à Montréal
MottoAu centre de tout
Motto in English
At the centre of everything
TypePublic
Established1969
Academic affiliations
UACC, CARL
BudgetCA$445.1 millions (2020–2021)[1]
ChancellorPauline Marois
RectorStéphane Pallage (2023)[2]
Academic staff
1,143 professors & 2,124 instructors (2020–2021) [3]
Total staff
1,892 (support) (2021–2022)[3]
Students39 427 (2020–2021)[4]
Undergraduates30 185 (2020–2021)[4]
Postgraduates6 433 (2020–2021)[4]
2 116 (2020–2021)[4]
Location,
Canada

45°30′50″N 73°33′37″W / 45.51389°N 73.56028°W / 45.51389; -73.56028
CampusUrban
LanguageFrench
NewspaperActualités UQAM
Colours   White and blue
NicknameUQAM Citadins
Sporting affiliations
CIS, QSSF, CBIE
MascotCitadins
Websiteuqam.ca

UQAM was founded on April 9, 1969, by the government of Quebec, through the merger of the École des beaux-arts de Montréal, a fine arts school; the Collège Sainte-Marie, a classical college; and a number of smaller schools. Although part of the UQ network, UQAM possesses a relative independence which allows it to choose its rector.

In the fall of 2018, the university welcomed some 40,738 students,[5] including 3,859 international students from 95 countries, in a total of 310 distinct programs of study,[6] managed by six faculties (Arts, Education, Communication, Political Science and Law, Science and Social science) and one school (Management). It offers Bachelors, Masters, and Doctoral degrees. It is one of Montreal's two French-language universities, along with the Université de Montréal, and only 1% of its student population is of English-speaking origin.[citation needed]

History

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UQAM was created on April 9, 1969, by the Government of Quebec, following the merger of the École des beaux-arts de Montréal, the Collège Sainte-Marie and three colleges.

In mid 1970, construction on UQAM's campus began in the Saint-Jacques neighbourhood. The old Saint-Jacques Cathedral was condemned and the worshipers were moved to the Chapel of Notre-Dame-de-Lourdes. The architect of the university, Dimitri Dimakopoulos, chose to respect the plans of John Ostell and Victor Bourgeau by deciding to graft the new construction around the wall of the nave of the church overlooking Saint Catherine Street and highlighting the bell tower and its gateway. These remains are classified as historic monuments by the Quebec government. The new campus of UQAM was inaugurated in September 1979.

Before the arrival of the Université du Québec à Montréal, access to higher education was limited for the French-speaking working classes. Thanks to the policy of admitting adults with relevant professional experience, the student population was able to broaden the student population to include social categories previously excluded from higher education, thus creating a climate of openness.[7]

UQAM is the first Canadian university where faculty unionism is developing. The Université du Québec professors' union, which has been affiliated since its birth in 1970 with the Confédération des syndicats nationaux (CSN), has participated in the effort to democratize the functioning of university authorities.[8]

In November 2006, UQAM underwent a major financial crisis. It was revealed that the former president, Roch Denis, was partially responsible for the financial mismanagement of the Science Complex and the Ilot Voyageur real estate projects.[9] A recovery plan, required by the Ministry of Education, Sport and Leisure, is still in progress, raising significant challenges from groups of employees, students, lecturers and professors.

With the addition of the Télé-université in June 2005, UQAM, with a student population of close to 60,000, was the largest French-speaking university in the world.[10] On 13 January 2012, it was announced that the TELUQ would again become a separate university from UQAM, but would remain in the Université du Québec system.[11]

Campus

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Judith-Jasmin pavillon

UQAM's campus was designed by Dimitri Dimakopoulos and is located in downtown Montreal in the borough of Ville-Marie, with most of its buildings in the Quartier Latin neighbourhood near the Berri-UQAM Metro station and the newer Complexe des sciences Pierre-Dansereau near Place des Arts. The university is also involved in the troubled Îlot Voyageur project, a 13-storey student residence and intercity bus terminal, but has had to scale back its involvement due to financial problems.[12] In September 2013, the university announced that it had acquired the National Film Board of Canada's former CineRobotheque facility for its communications faculty.[13]

The university provides training on its campus in Montreal and its four regional centres: UQAM Lanaudière in Terrebonne, UQAM Laval, UQAM Montérégie in Longueuil and UQAM Ouest-de-l'île.[14]

A three part virtual exhibition was made to showcase the university's history.[15]

Academics

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Faculties

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UQAM Président-Kennedy building, Montreal.
  • Faculté des arts (Faculty of Arts)
  • Faculté des sciences de l'éducation (Faculty of Education)
  • Faculté de communication (Faculty of Communication)
  • Faculté de science politique et de droit (Faculty of Political Science and Law)
  • Faculté des sciences (Faculty of Sciences)
  • Faculté des sciences humaines (Faculty of Social Sciences)
  • École des sciences de la gestion (ESG) (UQAM's School of Management Sciences)

Schools and institutes

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Interior of the Judith Jasmin building
  • École supérieure de mode de Montréal (Montreal Graduate School of Fashion Design)
  • Institut de recherches et d'études féministes (Institute of Feminist Studies)
  • Institut des sciences cognitives (Institute of Cognitive Sciences)
  • Institut des sciences de l'environnement (Institute of Environmental Sciences)
  • Institut d'études internationales de Montréal (Montreal Institute of International Studies)
  • Institut Santé et société (Health and Society Institute)
  • École supérieure de théâtre (Graduate School of Theatre)
  • École des langues (Language School)
  • École de travail social (School of Social Work)
  • École des arts visuels et médiatiques (School of Visual Arts and Media)
  • Institut du patrimoine (Heritage Institute)
  • International Research Group on Animal Law

The university is represented in Canadian Interuniversity Sport by the UQAM Citadins.

Distance and online learning

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UQAM is part of the Université du Québec network, which has a distance learning component called Télé-université (Teluq). It offers courses and degrees in computer science, education, communication, environmental science, and management. University of Québec has improved geographical accessibility through multiple campuses spread throughout the province and by offering distance education by Télé-Université.[16]

Notable people

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Reputation

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University rankings
World rankings
ARWU World[17]701–800
USNWR World[18]745
Canadian rankings
ARWU National[17]23–24
USNWR National[18]23
Maclean's Comprehensive[19]12
Maclean's Reputation[20]26
  • Charles-Rousseau competition in international law. Third victory in a row (2007)[21]
  • NMUN Outstanding Delegation Award: 2006, 2008, 2009, 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014, 2016, 2017, 2018, 2019; Distinguished Delegation Award 2015[22][23]
  • International NATO Simulation 2014: Distinguished Delegate Award NPG, Distinguished Delegate Award DG, Superior Delegation Award[24]
  • International NATO Simulation 2015: Committee Leadership Award[25]
  • School of business is ranked sixth in Canada by EFMD-EQUIS[26]

Finances

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A commissioned report by PricewaterhouseCoopers has called for cost-cutting measures at UQAM to help the university out of a financial crisis, brought on by $100 million in construction cost overruns for its sciences centre and costs for Îlot Voyageur, which soared from $226 million to more than $400 million when the Quebec government pulled out of the project, citing unauthorized design changes. The Quebec government has said that unless UQAM cuts costs, the university's total project-related debt could be $500 million by 2012.[12] The Îlot Voyageur has been bought back by the government of Quebec in November 2010, thus solving a painful financial problem for UQAM.[27]

See also

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References

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  1. ^ lit. University of Quebec in Montreal. As with most Francophone post-secondary institutions in Quebec, the university does not have an official name in English, with the institution using the name Université du Québec à Montréal.
  1. ^ "UQAM | le nouveau recteur Stéphane Pallage entre en poste". La Presse. April 27, 2023.
  2. ^ "Rectorat" (in French). Université du Québec à Montréal. Retrieved February 2, 2018.
  3. ^ a b "UQAM | Personnel, ressources matérielles et financières".
  4. ^ a b c d "UQAM | Statistiques".
  5. ^ "La population étudiante de l'UQAM" (PDF). Retrieved January 31, 2020.
  6. ^ "L'UQAM en chiffres". Retrieved January 31, 2020.
  7. ^ "UQAM: 50 ans de démocratisation de l'éducation universitaire". Le Devoir (in French). October 5, 2019. Retrieved January 31, 2020.
  8. ^ Gill, Louis (2017). "Quelques éléments d'histoire du syndicalisme professoral universitaire au Québec". Bulletin d'Histoire Politique (in French). 25 (3): 245–257. doi:10.7202/1039754ar. ISSN 1201-0421.
  9. ^ "LaPresse.ca – Actualités et Infos au Québec et dans le monde". La Presse. Retrieved March 28, 2019.
  10. ^ Rencontre avec le recteur Roch Denis : Vers la plus grande université bimodale de la francophonie – Le Devoir, November 26–27, 2005. Retrieved, October 2006.
  11. ^ "Divorce entre la TELUQ et l'UQAM". Le Devoir. January 13, 2012. Retrieved March 28, 2019.
  12. ^ a b Hustak, Alan (March 6, 2008). "UQAM report lays out plan for downsizing". Montreal Gazette. Canwest. Retrieved August 6, 2008.
  13. ^ Lévesque, François (September 9, 2013). "L'UQAM établit ses quartiers à la CinéRobothèque". Le Devoir (in French). Montreal. Retrieved September 9, 2013.
  14. ^ "Nos campus | Étudier à l'UQAM". etudier.uqam.ca (in French). February 12, 2013. Retrieved December 4, 2019.
  15. ^ "Se laisser raconter l'UQAM - 1960 à 2008". Archived from the original on October 23, 2012. Retrieved March 26, 2012.
  16. ^ "The Canadian Encyclopedia". Thecanadianencyclopedia.ca. Retrieved March 28, 2019.
  17. ^ a b "2024 Academic Ranking of World Universities". ShanghaiRanking Consultancy. 2024. Retrieved August 15, 2024.
  18. ^ a b "Best Global Universities in Canada". U.S. News & World Report. U.S. News & World Report, L.P. June 24, 2024. Retrieved June 24, 2024.
  19. ^ "Canada's Best Comprehensive Universities for 2025". Maclean's. Rogers Media. October 10, 2024. Retrieved October 10, 2024.
  20. ^ "Canada's Best Universities in 2025 by National Reputational Ranking". Maclean's. Rogers Media. October 10, 2024. Retrieved October 10, 2024.
  21. ^ RFDI (September 18, 2007). "Palmarès". Le réseau francophone de droit international. Retrieved March 26, 2008.
  22. ^ "Simulations internationales de la Faculté de science politique et droit de l'UQAM". Simulations science politique et droit. Retrieved March 28, 2019.
  23. ^ "Archived copy" (PDF). www.nmun.org. Archived from the original (PDF) on September 5, 2015. Retrieved January 14, 2022.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
  24. ^ "Des Uqamiens se démarquent au concours de simulation de l'OTAN - UQAM". Actualités UQAM. March 11, 2014. Retrieved March 28, 2019.
  25. ^ "UQAM | Faculté de science politique et de droit | Simulation OTAN 2015: La délégation de l'UQAM se distingue par l'obtention d'une récompense remise à Jeanne Blackburn-Murray « Committee Leadership Award »". Archived from the original on April 16, 2016. Retrieved July 13, 2017.
  26. ^ UQAM (February 28, 2008). "Accréditation EQUIS : l'ESG UQAM se classe au Top 100 mondial et au Top 6 canadien des meilleures écoles de gestion". L'UQAM au quotidien. UQAM. Retrieved March 16, 2008.
  27. ^ Canoe.ca (November 17, 2010). "Montréal — L'UQAM se libère de l'Îlot Voyageur". Fr.canoe.ca. Archived from the original on July 13, 2012. Retrieved January 2, 2012.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: unfit URL (link)

Further reading

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  • Ferretti, Lucia. L'Université en réseau: les 25 ans de l'Université du Québec. Sainte-Foy: Presses de l'Université du Québec, 1994.
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