McMaster University

McMaster was founded in Toronto in 1887 with a bequest from the senator William McMaster and moved to Hamilton in 1930. Its main campus lies in the Westdale neighbourhood, bordered by woodland and the wetlands of Cootes Paradise, part of the Royal Botanical Gardens. The university has six faculties and a teaching hospital on campus, run with its partner Hamilton Health Sciences.

McMaster is closely linked with problem-based learning, which its medical school developed in the late 1960s and which now shapes the Bachelor of Health Sciences and several other programmes. Students work in small groups on real cases rather than relying only on lectures. The Faculty of Engineering runs a common first year and a broad set of disciplines, including software engineering and computer science, with optional paid internships of up to 16 months.

Hamilton is a former steel city that has become a centre for health care, education and advanced manufacturing. Rents are lower than in Toronto, which is about an hour away by GO train or bus, and many students live in the streets of Westdale and Ainslie Wood around campus. Student life runs through the McMaster Students Union, a large clubs network and the university's sports facilities.

International undergraduates apply through the Ontario Universities' Application Centre, and several programmes, including engineering and health sciences, add a supplementary application with written questions and their own deadline. Graduate applicants apply to programmes through the School of Graduate Studies. Ontario issues provincial attestation letters through its universities, so admitted undergraduates receive one after accepting an offer. Tuition is set by programme and year of study and usually rises each year.