The University of Guelph (U of G or Guelph) is a comprehensive public research university in Guelph, Ontario, Canada. It was established in 1964 after the amalgamation of Ontario Agricultural College (1874), the MacDonald Institute (1903), and the Ontario Veterinary College (1922), and has since grown to an institution of over 30,000 students from more than 140 countries (including those at the Humber campus, Ridgetown campus, off-campus degree enrolments, diploma enrolments, and part-time students) and employs 823 full-time faculty (academic staff) as of 2025. It offers 94 undergraduate degrees, 48 graduate programs, and 6 associate degrees in many different disciplines.
The university conducts significant research and offers a wide range of undergraduate, graduate, and professional degrees. According to the Journal of Hospitality & Tourism Research, the university has the highest research index for Hospitality and Tourism Management in Canada.
The faculty at the University of Guelph holds 31 Canada Research Chair positions in the natural sciences, engineering, health sciences, and social sciences. Academic achievements include the first scientific validation of water on Mars, alpha particle X-ray spectrometer (APXS) on board the Curiosity rover, and the Barcode of Life project for species identification.
History The University of Guelph traces its origins back to when the Ontario government bought of farmland from Frederick William Stone and opened the Ontario School of Agriculture on May 1, 1874, which was renamed the Ontario Agricultural College (OAC) in 1880. The Experimental Farm has been part of the original project along with the museum of agriculture and horticulture. Its first building was Moreton Lodge, located where Johnston Hall now stands, which included classrooms, residences, a library, and a dining room. In 1874, the school started an apiculture department, teaching students about bees and beekeeping, in a dedicated building. In more recent years, the program has continued at the Honey Bee Research Centre in the arboretum, conducting research on honeybee health, offering apiculture and beekeeping courses, and providing "many other educational experiences", including informative videos for beekeepers.
The Macdonald Institute was established in 1903 to house women's home economics programs, nature studies, and some domestic art and science.Murray, David R. Hatching the Cowbird's Egg: The Creation of the University of Guelph. Guelph: University of Guelph, 1989. It was named after its financier, Sir William Macdonald, who worked to promote domestic sciences in rural Canada, and founded Macdonald College and McGill University College of British Columbia. The Ontario Veterinary College (OVC), founded in Mimico in 1862, was moved to Guelph in 1922. Economist John Kenneth Galbraith was an undergraduate at the college (graduating in 1931). In 1919, the Ontario Agricultural College aimed to recruit "farm boys" through a low-cost, two-year program ($20.00 per year) and "the lowest possible rate" for room and board.
The Ontario Legislature amalgamated the three colleges into a single body, the University of Guelph, on May 8, 1964. The University of Guelph Act also brought about the Board of Governors to oversee administrative operations and financial management, and the Senate to address academic concerns. The non-denominational graduate and undergraduate institution was, and remains, known especially for its agricultural and veterinary programs.
Wellington College was established shortly after the University of Guelph Act and, five years later, was split into three colleges: the College of Arts (COA), which exists in the present day; the College of Physical Science; and the College of Social Science. The Macdonald Institute would also be renamed the College of Family and Consumer Studies during the split. After this split, the University of Guelph started reorganizing into its present-day form, starting from the establishment of the College of Biological Sciences (CBS) in 1971. The College of Physical Science would merge with the OAC's School of Engineering in 1989, creating the College of Engineering and Physical Sciences (CEPS). The College of Social Science and the College of Family and Consumer Studies were joined to create the College of Social and Applied Human Sciences (CSAHS) in 1998. Finally, the College of Management and Economics (CME) was established in 2006 through the segregation of business, management, and economics degrees and courses.
The university is named after the city. Guelph comes from the Italian Guelfo and the Bavarian-Germanic Welf, also known as Guelf. It is a reference to the reigning British monarch at the time Guelph was founded, King George IV, whose family was from the House of Hanover, a younger branch of the House of Welf was sometimes spelled as Gwelf.
Campuses
Main campus
The University of Guelph's main campus lies in Guelph, Ontario, residing on traditional Anishinaabe and Haudenosaunee territory. The campus, approximately a 1 hour drive west of Toronto, is 412 hectares, including a 12-hectare Research Park and a 165-hectare arboretum.
The university's oldest buildings date back to the 19th century, with the oldest building on campus being Alumni House, built in 1879. Visible from much of the campus is Johnston Hall, a signature symbol of the university and one of its most recognizable landmarks. Built in 1931 as the new home for the Ontario Agricultural College's administration, it was constructed on the site of the torn-down Moreton Lodge, which had been built in the early 1870s. The portico from the original building, preserved after its demolition, remains on Johnston Green.
Campus safety at the main campus is the responsibility of the Campus Safety Office, which includes Special Constables, Dispatchers, Fire Prevention Officers, and the First Response Team.
Ontario Agricultural College (OAC) campuses The Ontario Agricultural College had a network of campuses and research stations throughout Ontario which were operated by the Ministry of Agriculture, Food, and Rural Affairs. At one time, courses were offered in English in Guelph, Kemptville and Ridgetown, and in French at Campus d'Alfred near Ottawa. From 1889 to 1961, this college published the OAC Review, a magazine for and by students, covering everything from political and social events to photographs from around campus.
In 2014, the University of Guelph announced that academic programmes at the Alfred and Kemptville campuses would close after the existing students completed their studies. In early 2017, the University of Guelph website clearly indicated that this institution was no longer offering programs at either location.
The OAC operates in Guelph and at the Ridgetown campus in Ridgetown, Ontario, at the former Ridgetown College of Agricultural Technology, on over of land. It does not offer degree programs in this location; instead, the focus is on technology transfer, with two- and three-year diploma programs. Specialties are agriculture, veterinary technology, environmental management, and horticulture. This location also offers one-year certificate programs in performance horse handling and veterinary office administration. There is also an apprenticeship program for Dairy Herdsperson (new for 2017).
University of Guelph-Humber
The University of Guelph-Humber is a satellite campus created in 2002 by a partnership between the University of Guelph and Humber College. Located on Humber's North Campus in Toronto, it offers seven four-year academic programs that grant an honours degree from the University of Guelph and a college diploma from Humber College.
As of the 2024/2025 academic year, 4,523 students were enrolled at the University of Guelph-Humber. 78% of these were full-time students and 22% were part-time students.
Academics
Joint graduate programs Guelph-Waterloo Centre for Graduate Work in Chemistry and Biochemistry (GWC2) is one of Canada's largest and most successful graduate schools. Guelph-Waterloo Physics Institute (GWPI) is a joint graduate program offered by the Departments of Physics at the University of Waterloo and Guelph.
Colleges The University of Guelph is composed of eight colleges, delivering leading teaching and research across a range of disciplines:
College of Arts College of Biological Science Gordon S. Lang School of Business and Economics College of Computational, Mathematical and Physical Sciences College of Engineering College of Social and Applied Human Sciences Ontario Agricultural College Ontario Veterinary College
Facilities and plans
The War Memorial Hall was erected in 1924 of stone-cut limestone by the Ontario Agriculture College; the landmark building was designed by architect Harry Reginald Coales as a lecture hall or theatre to honour students who had enlisted and died in the First World War. Two bronze tablets in the Memorial Chapel remember the alums who died in the First World War and in the Second World War.
Rozanski Hall (2003) is in the heart of the campus. Equipped with electronic whiteboards, laptop sound, picture, and wireless internet, and high-luminance video/data projectors, Rozanski Hall accommodates over 1,500 students in several lecture halls.
The Summerlee Science Complex (2006)Summerlee Science Complex is a classroom and research complex built with the assistance of the Province of Ontario's Super Build program primarily for student learning and scientific research.
In 2024, the Summerlee Science Complex atrium was renamed Waasamowin, which means "to be bathed in light", in support of efforts to Indigenize science at U of G and support and retain Indigenous students in STEM. Waasamowin is one of the favourite gathering spaces for students, faculty, and staff, and can accommodate a gathering of 200 students. The complex is also home to U of G's Advanced Analysis Centre (AAC), which is a group of research laboratories and is a modern, centralized, and highly serviced space for large-scale advanced analytical laboratories and provides an unequalled range of capabilities for research and advanced education at the interface of the physical and biological sciences.
Originally built in the 1940s and expanded in the 1950s, the W.F. Mitchell Athletic Centre was upgraded and expanded in the fall of 2016 to meet the university and community's needs. After a student referendum in 2010, students chose to contribute $45 million to the innovation of the W.F Mitchell Athletic Centre. One of the major focuses of the new building was being able to accommodate the growth in Guelph's population since the 1950s. The new 170,000-square-foot Athletic Centre serves as an all-purpose building, supporting students, athletes, and the public through a variety of new spaces, including a 22,000-square-foot fitness room, multiple gymnasiums, and a rock-climbing wall. It also includes multiple swimming pools, a jogging track, and a variety of fitness programs.
On June 25, 1988, No. 4 Wireless School Association erected a bronze plaque as a war memorial to the Royal Canadian Air Force No. 4 Wireless School, which was located on the campus (1941–1945); the plaque honours the memory of their comrades who died in the armed service of Canada during World War II.
Student residences
There are over 5,000 students currently living in residence, which is the largest residence system in Ontario. The on-campus residences are made up of 16 communities and 4 residence styles.