Université du Québec à Montréal

The Université du Québec à Montréal (UQAM) is one of four universities in Montreal, Quebec, Canada.

Basic facts

The UQAM is the largest constituent element of the Université du Québec (UQ), a public university system with other branches in Gatineau (near Ottawa), Rimouski, Rouyn-Noranda, Quebec City, Chicoutimi, and Trois-Rivières. UQAM was founded on April 9, 1969 by the government of Quebec, through the merger of the École des Beaux-Arts de Montréal, a fine arts school; the Collège Sainte-Marie, a classical college; and a number of smaller schools. Although part of the UQ network, UQAM possesses a relative independence which allows it to print its own diplomas and choose its rector.

In 2004, UQAM had a student population of 42,257 in six faculties (Arts, Education, Communication, Political Science and Law, Science and Social science) and one school (Management). It offers Bachelors, Masters, and Doctoral degrees. It is one of Montreal's two French-language universities, along with the Université de Montréal, and only 1% of its student population is Anglophone. With the addition of the Télé-université in June 2005, UQAM, with a current student population of about 60,000, is the largest French-speaking university in the world.^[3] It is the only university in the world to offer a bachelor’s degree and a master’s degree in sexology.^[4]

Campus

UQAM's campus was designed by Dimitri Dimakopoulos and is located in downtown Montreal, with most of its buildings in the Quartier Latin neighbourhood near the Berri-UQAM metro station and the newer Complexe des sciences Pierre-Dansereau near Place des Arts. The University is also involved in the troubled Îlot Voyageur project, a 13-storey student residence and intercity bus terminal, but has had to scale back its involvement due to financial problems.^[5]

Organization

Faculties

• Faculté des arts (Faculty of Arts)
• Faculté des sciences de l'éducation (Faculty of Education)
• Faculté de communication (Faculty of Communication)
• Faculté de science politique et de droit (Faculty of Political Science and law)
• Faculté des sciences (Faculty of Sciences)
• École des sciences de la gestion (School of Management Sciences)
• Faculté des sciences humaines (Faculty of Social Sciences)

Schools and institutes

• École supérieure de mode de Montréal (Montreal Graduate School of Fashion Design)
• Institut de recherches et d'études féministes (Institute of Feminist Studies)
• Institut des sciences cognitives (Institute of Cognitive Sciences)
• Institut des sciences de l'environnement (Institute of Environmental Sciences)
• Institut d'études internationales de Montréal (Montreal Institute of International Studies)
• Institut Santé et société (Health and Society Institute)
• École supérieure de théâtre (Graduate School of Theatre)
• École des langues (Language School)
• École de travail social (School of Social Work)
• École des arts visuels et médiatiques (School of Visual Arts and Media)
• Institut du patrimoine (Heritage Institute)
• École de technologie supérieure

The University is represented in Canadian Interuniversity Sport by the UQAM Citadins.

Distance and online learning

UQAM has a distance learning component called Télé-université (Teluq) offering courses and degrees in computer science, education, communication, environmental science, and management. University of Québec has improved geographical accessibility through multiple campuses spread throughout the province and by offering distance education by Télé-Université.^[6]

Notable academics

• Daniel Langlois, Founder of Softimage, Ex-Centris
• Louise Beaudoin, former Quebec minister of international relations
• Pierre Bourgault, former leader of the RIN party and Quebec independence activist
• Yvan Conoir, programme Coordinator for the E-Learning for Peacekeepers (ELP) UNITAR
• Charles-Philippe David, political scientist (Holder Raul-Dandurand Chair)
• Pierre Dansereau, pioneer of ecology
• Pierre Fortin, Economist
• Michel Freitag, Sociologist
• Alexandre Gauthier, Software Engineer, co founder of Crusader Technologies and DecisionPoint Software
• Stevan Harnad, Open Access activist
• Bernard Landry, former Quebec Prime Minister
• Léo-Paul Lauzon, left-wing activist and former NDP candidate
• Gérald Larose, union leader
• Peter Leuprecht, Director of the "Institut d'études internationales de Montréal", United Nations Special Representative on Human Rights in Cambodia, Director of Human Rights (Council of Europe) 1980-1993,
• Jacques Lévesque, political scientist
• Gilbert Paquette, former Quebec minister of science and technology
• Régine Robin, well-known novelist
• Yves Séguin, former Quebec minister of finance
• Léa Pool, filmmaker
• Jovette Marchessault, writer
• Nancy Desjardins, writer
• Michel Cartier, communication expert

Reputation

• Charles-Rousseau competition in international law. Third victory in a row (2007)^[8]
• School of business is ranked 6th in Canada by EFMD-EQUIS^[9]
• A "lipdub" video made by a number of UQÀM students has become a popular Internet meme, scoring millions of hits on sites such as YouTube. It features over a hundred students performing to "I Gotta Feeling" by the Black Eyed Peas in one continuous take. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-zcOFN_VBVo

Finances

A commissioned report by PricewaterhouseCoopers has called for cost-cutting measures at UQAM to help the university out of a financial crisis, brought on by $100 million in construction cost overruns for its sciences centre and costs for Îlot Voyageur, which soared from $226 million to more than $400 million when the Quebec government pulled out of the project, citing unauthorized design changes. The Quebec government has said that unless UQÀM cuts costs, the university's total project-related debt could be $500 million by 2012.^[5] The ilot Voyageur has been bought back by the government of Quebec in November 2010, thus solving a painful financial problem for UQAM.^[10]

See also

• List of universities in Quebec
• Education in Montreal
• Higher education in Quebec
• Canadian Interuniversity Sport
• Canadian government scientific research organizations
• Canadian university scientific research organizations
• Canadian industrial research and development organizations

Further reading

• Ferretti, Lucia. L'Université en réseau: les 25 ans de l'Université du Québec. Sainte-Foy: Presses de l'Université du Québec, 1994.

References

1. ^ ^{a b} See Téluq
2. ^ UQAM | À propos de l'UQAM
3. ^ Rencontre avec le recteur Roch Denis : Vers la plus grande université bimodale de la francophonie - Le Devoir, November 26 -27, 2005. Retrieved, October 2006.
4. ^ Jacqueline Comte. What is Sexology? Accessed 2011-07-07.
5. ^ ^{a b} Hustak, Alan (2008-03-06). "UQàM report lays out plan for downsizing". Montreal Gazette (Canwest). http://www.canada.com/montrealgazette/news/story.html?id=3012fa5d-a59d-4f55-801b-c6084e3dd9a7. Retrieved 2008-08-06. 
6. ^ University
7. ^ "Maclean's 2011 University Rankings". Maclean's. 2011. http://oncampus.macleans.ca/education/2011/10/26/macleans-2011-university-rankings-2/. Retrieved 26 October 2011. 
8. ^ RFDI (2007-09-18). "Palmarès". Le réseau francophone de droit international. http://www.rfdi.net/rousseau-palm.html. Retrieved 2008-03-26. 
9. ^ UQÀM (2008-02-28). "Accréditation EQUIS : l'ESG UQAM se classe au Top 100 mondial et au Top 6 canadien des meilleures écoles de gestion". L'UQÀM au quotidien (UQÀM). http://www.quotidien.uqam.ca/index.php?article=422. Retrieved 2008-03-16. 
10. ^ Canoe.ca (2010-11-17). "Montréal - L'UQAM se libère de l'Îlot Voyageur". Fr.canoe.ca. http://fr.canoe.ca/infos/quebeccanada/archives/2010/11/20101117-104309.html. Retrieved 2012-01-02. 

External links

• Université du Québec à Montréal (French) – official website