Welcome to Nipissing University – where you will experience the very best undergraduate education in Canada!  We are a small, progressive and innovative undergraduate university with a reputation for excellence in a range of disciplines.  We offer a safe environment that is welcoming, respectful, personalized and supportive.  Nipissing is a young university, and its youth provides great opportunities for growth and development.  At the same time our roots in the field of teacher education go back 100 years, to the North Bay Normal School. Our nationally renowned Faculty of Education is an area of innovation, offering the Mac-based i-Teach program for all its students, and new graduate programs in the field of Education. We offer two formats of “concurrent education”, one that mixes coursework in the area of specialization and courses in education, and the other that builds most of the education courses into the final year of study (OTT).

I am very proud of our people; our faculty, staff, students, Board of Governors and other friends of the university, who are totally committed to providing you with the best educational experience possible.  The Nipissing learning experience is second to none!   Our focus on student success has been confirmed by our first-place ranking in key categories of the Globe and Mail's annual University Report Card and the Maclean's Graduate Survey, and other surveys of educational  quality and achievement. For further information on these surveys, and the latest results for Nipissing in the North American NSSE survey (National Survey of Student Engagement) in which we outrank our Canadian and US peer institutions, and far exceed the average for all Canadian and all US institutions, see: http://www.nipissingu.ca/results/.

In the Globe and Mail survey, out of all the universities in Ontario, Nipissing was the only one awarded an 'A+' for student-faculty interaction and an 'A' for our outstanding residences.  We earned an 'A+' in several other important categories, including faculty members' knowledge of subjects, class sizes and availability of faculty to students outside of classroom hours.  We also earned 'As' in overall quality of education received, satisfaction with university experience, and sense of personal safety/security.  In the Maclean's survey, we received first-place rankings in areas such as the quality of the learning environment and whether graduates would recommend the university to a friend or relative.  These scores are very gratifying because they are based on the views of our students, not advertising propaganda! Our students are receiving the integrated, holistic support they require to succeed and excel both academically and personally.

Excellence further defines our research and student learning opportunities. A philosophy of faculty as teacher/scholar provides an excellent balance between teaching and research or creative work; our undergraduates have the opportunity to collaborate on research projects supervised by their professors, and enjoy professional placements and service learning in their intended career fields. Our students receive National scholarships in Science, Social Science and Humanities at a rate that is twice that of other universities in Canada. Our faculty are becoming increasingly successful in attracting external funding to support their research and to provide research support and opportunities for both undergraduate and graduate students in a number of fields.

Nipissing University sits on the traditional lands of the Nipissing First Nation, a community that has special connections with this institution. We are proud of the many Aboriginal graduates of this university, and are committed to serving Aboriginal learners within a responsive framework that values both traditional knowledge and “western” learning. Located in the beautiful natural environment of the Near-North of Ontario, North Bay is about three hours from Toronto and four hours from Ottawa, and is a city that offers excellent amenities and opportunities for our students’ participation in community events and services. While we do not offer degrees with instruction in the French language, we have many bilingual faculty and staff and offer a welcoming environment to students from the region, the Province, and the world. We are committed to providing a high quality education for the diverse communities we serve and to delivering a unique student experience, one student at a time.

Our residence life is truly outstanding.  We provide some of the finest student accommodation in the country. Single rooms are guaranteed for all first-year, full-time students admitted directly from high school.  Good marks will guarantee an entrance scholarship at Nipissing.  For a complete listing of our entrance scholarships and bursaries, I encourage you to visit www.nipissingu.ca/financialaid.

As a university, we are unique in sharing several facilities and a campus site with our local Community College, Canadore College. We value this close relationship because it presents special opportunities for learning that are not available elsewhere. There are already several programs that allow students to earn a diploma and a degree through study at both institutions, and our student organizations are involved in many joint initiatives.

I know that you will find our website a useful resource; however, there is no doubt that the best way to experience Nipissing is to visit our university.  Take a field trip to check us out, and I’m sure you’ll fall in love with the place!  You will find a scenic campus with buildings that nestle in the setting of a 300-hectare woodland, overlooking a campus lake. We are beginning to build a new Learning Library, and have a beautiful renovated Monastery as the home of our department of Fine and Performing Arts. As of this fall, we have additional state-of-the-art research facilities as well as additional classrooms in our new research wing. You and your family or friends will be warmly welcomed by enthusiastic students, friendly professors and helpful staff.  I invite you to contact the registrar’s office at liaison@nipissingu.ca to arrange for a tour guided by one of our student ambassadors.  We look forward to meeting you!

Lesley Lovett-Doust, PhD

President and Vice-Chancellor
Nipissing University