Ryerson University is located in the heart of downtown Toronto, Ontario, Canada. Ryerson is named after Egerton Ryerson and was founded in 1948.

Ryerson University today has 20,000 full-time students. Offering more than 50 undergraduate and graduate degree programs, Ryerson's growing research activities have a strong applied focus. The G. Raymond Chang School of Continuing Education is the country's largest provider of university-level adult education.

The core of Ryerson's main campus, St. James Square, goes back to The Normal School, founded there by Ryerson in 1852; it became the province's foremost teacher's academy. It also housed the Department of Education and The Museum of Natural History and Fine Arts, which became the Royal Ontario Museum. An agricultural laboratory on the site led to the later founding of the Ontario Agricultural College and the University of Guelph. St. James Square went through various other educational uses before housing a namesake of its original founder.

The Ryerson Institute of Technology was founded in 1948; the name was changed in 1964 to Ryerson Polytechnical Institute. It became a degree-granting institution in 1971, and in 1993 Ryerson received full accreditation and changed its name to Ryerson Polytechnic University. In June 2001, the school renamed itself again, assuming its present identity as Ryerson University.

The university is represented in Canadian Interuniversity Sport by the Ryerson Rams.

Faculties

• Faculty of Arts
• Faculty of Business
• Faculty of Communication & Design
• Faculty of Community Services
• Faculty of Engineering and Applied Science
• Graduate Studies
• The G. Raymond Chang School of Continuing Education

Facts & Trivia

• Received full university status in 1993
• More than 40 degree programs in its Faculties of Arts, Business, Communication & Design, Community Services, and Engineering and Applied Science
• 11 undergraduate degree programs are unique among Canadian universities: Arts and Contemporary Studies, Disability Studies, Early Childhood Education, Fashion, Graphic Communications Management, Health Services Management, Image Arts, International Economics, Occupational and Public Health (Occupational Health and Safety option), Radio and Television, and Retail Management
• 10 graduate programs, four of which lead to a Ph.D., offered through the School of Graduate Studies; two master's programs unique in Canada: Photographic Preservation and Collections Management, in partnership with George Eastman House in Rochester, New York; and Immigration and Settlement Studies
• Annual funded research has increased more than four times the amount over a decade ago, from $2.4 million to $10 million
• Home to 20,000 full-time undergraduate students, 600 graduate students, and more than 61,000 Continuing Education enrolments
• International student enrolment of more than 901, representing 90 countries
• The G. Raymond Chang School of Continuing Education, Canada's leading provider of university-based adult education, offers more than 1,000 courses, workshops, and seminars; 185 distance education courses; over 65 career-related certificate programs, and 10 advanced training designations
• Largest undergraduate Faculty of Business in Canada
• Undergoing the largest expansion in 30 years, with more than $210 million in construction
• 106,000 alumni

Noted Alumni

• Robert J. Sawyer - Hugo Award-winning science-fiction writer
• Eric McCormack - Emmy Award winner, star of Will & Grace
• Nia Vardalos - star and writer of My Big Fat Greek Wedding
• Jessica Holmes - comedian-actress on Royal Canadian Air Farce
• Tonya Lee Williams - Star of The Young and the Restless
• Isadore Sharp - Four Seasons Hotels & Resorts founder
• Doug Walker - Alias President and Oscar winner for Maya 3D software
• Rick Brace - president of CTV Inc
• Robert Gierkink - Air Miles Canada founder
• Lida Baday - award-winning fashion designer
• George Yabu and Glenn Pushelberg - international award-winning interior design
• David James Elliott - star of JAG
• Valerie Pringle - broadcaster, former co-host of Canada A.M.
• Klaus Woerner - President and CEO of ATS Automation Tooling Systems Inc. and 1997 Canadian Entrepreneur of the Year

Associations

• Association of Commonwealth Universities
• Association of Universities and Colleges of Canada
• Council of Ontario Universities
• Continuing Education Students' Association of Ryerson
• Ryerson Students' Administrative Council
• Ryerson Faculty Association
• Ontario Public Service Employee's Union
• Canadian Union of Public Employees

External links

• Ryerson University Homepage
• RyeSAC Student Union
• The Eye Opener campus newspaper