Advanced Essay Writing for Wilfrid Laurier University

Vital Statistics

• Motto: Veritas Omnia Vincit
• No. of Faculty: 553
• No. of Undergraduates: 18,541
• No. of Postgraduates: 1,610
• Location: Waterloo, Ontario
• Sport Teams: Golden Hawks
• Colour: purple and gold
• Mascot: Golden Hawk

Faculty & Academics

Among universities focusing primarily on undergraduate education, Wilfrid Laurier University ranks among Canada's best, routinely topping the rankings for Ontario and appearing in the top five for the country as a whole. Undergraduate education is offered through six faculties: Arts, Science, Education, Music, Social Work, and the Laurier School of Business & Economics.

The school is internationally famous for its Faculty of Music, one of the top ranked programs in the country and highly regarded around the world. The Faculty of Music offers programs in music education, composition, music history, church music, theory, and music therapy. Among all the faculties of WLU, the Faculty of Music attracts the greatest number of non-local students, testifying to its national reputation. It also offers the only master's program in music therapy in Canada. Second to the music program, the business program at WLU is also highly regarded both in Ontario and across Canada.

As part of the university's commitment to research, it houses several research centres, including the Laurier Institute for the Study of Public Opinion and Policy, the Laurier Centre for Military, Strategic and Disarmament Studies, the Cold Regions Research Centre, and several others. It also recently became a partner in the Balsillie School of International Affairs, opened in 2008.

Student Life

Students at WLU attend courses at one of the school's four campuses. The majority, 15,000, attend courses at the main campus at Waterloo. This campus offers male-only, female-only, and co-educational residences. Single-sex residences are offered in dormitory style accommodations, while co-ed facilities offer dormitory-style or apartment-style living. More than 3,600 students attend the Brantford campus, which has its own residence halls. The Faculty of Social Work is located at the Kitchener campus.

Students are represented by a union, which offers bus passes, prescription plans, an emergency response team, a food bank, foot patrol, health and dental, a peer help line, a student life line, and tech share. The student union sponsors more than 130 clubs and associations covering a range of academic, professional, and recreational activities and interests.

Athletics are offered at the intramural, junior varsity, and varsity levels, including varsity football, soccer, ice hockey, lacrosse, and curling. Both men's and women's varsity soccer and curling teams have won national championships, as have the women's lacrosse and hockey teams and the men's football team. The teams did not have an official name until 1951, when they became the Mules. The name proved unpopular because of the mule's association with the term jackass, and in 1960, with the promotion to university status, the team changed to the Golden Hawks.