Dynamic, modern, and highly learner-centred, we acknowledge all of our students as valued leaders of tomorrow, whose education and success are most paramount to our institution. Both campuses in Thunder Bay and Orillia promise the total university experience: a blend of academic excellence and opportunity with a rich variety of social and recreational activities. We also promise excellence in research; Lakehead is the proud host to nine Canada Research Chairs and revolutionary facilities such as our world-renowned Paleo-DNA Laboratory and our Biorefining Research Institute.
Lakehead University is your place to live and learn. Dynamic, modern, and highly learner-centred, we acknowledge all of our students as valued leaders of tomorrow, whose education and success are most paramount to our institution. Both campuses in Thunder Bay and Orillia promise the total university experience, a blend of academic excellence and opportunity with a rich variety of social and recreational activities. We also promise excellence in research: Lakehead is the proud host to 9 Canada Research Chairs and revolutionary facilities such as our world-renowned Paleo-DNA Laboratory and our Biorefining Research Institute.
Lakehead University evolved from the Lakehead Technical Institute (LTI), which was established in 1946. From LTI, Lakehead became the Lakehead College of Arts, Science and Technology in 1956. The Lakehead University Act was given Royal Assent by the Lieutenant Governor of Ontario in 1965, and Lakehead University was established. The first degrees granted by Lakehead University were in Arts and Science in 1965.
Lakehead is a comprehensive University with a reputation for innovative programs and cutting-edge research. At both campuses, our faculty, staff, programs, and services team up to provide an extensive range of learning choices and alternatives that offer an unbeatable combination of quality education at the undergraduate and graduate levels.
Our Vision
To provide a transformative university experience that is far from ordinary.
Our Mission
To be recognized as an innovative comprehensive university that provides an education that is about how to think, not what to think.
Our Belief
We believe our students make Lakehead University different. We believe that our students want an innovative comprehensive university where they have the highest chance of success. We believe that our students have the passion and drive to realize their dreams and succeed. We believe that our students want the intellectual freedom to pursue the unconventional. We believe in the diversity that comes from our students of many cultures and many nations. We believe that our students are passionate about both their own individuality and their communities. We believe in our students.
With over 50 years of history and an established reputation world wide, Lakehead University has a record of providing students with an outstanding educational experience.
Lakehead University has been included in the top half of the Times Higher Education’s list of top universities from around the world.
The 2019 Times Higher Education World University Rankings has Lakehead University in the 601-800 category out of nearly 1,400 universities from 92 countries.
“This is a significant achievement for Lakehead University,” said Dr. Moira McPherson, Lakehead’s President and Vice-Chancellor. “While helping acknowledge and promote Lakehead’s status among the world’s top universities, these rankings acknowledge our University’s ongoing drive and commitment to delivering high quality programs, fostering excellence in research, scholarly and creative work, and providing a unique and transformative learning experience that positions our graduates for success.”
Lakehead University is in the same section of the rankings as other, larger Canadian universities, such as Concordia, Québec, Regina, Sherbrooke, Ryerson and Windsor. This is the first time Lakehead University has participated in the rankings. Not all universities that take part in the rankings are ranked.
Lakehead University’s placement is above the worldwide median in three of the five categories: Research, Citations, and International Outlook.
“Our strong global performance in the Research category reflects Lakehead’s advancement in research and continued recognition as the number one research university in Canada in the primarily undergraduate category, a designation we have been awarded for four consecutive years,” said Dr. Andrew Dean, Vice-President, Research and Innovation.
In terms of Lakehead’s position in the International Outlook category, James Aldridge, Vice-Provost, International, explained that, “This is a testament to the efforts we’ve made to develop global perspectives through ongoing internationalization of Lakehead University, as well as the growth of our international student body.”
“In 2019, Lakehead is the university of choice for over 1,400 undergraduate and graduate students from more than 75 countries,” added Aldridge.
The Times Higher Education World University Rankings judges research-intensive universities across each one of their core missions: teaching (the learning environment); research (volume, income and reputation), international outlook (staff, students and research); citations (research influence); industry income (knowledge transfer).
It uses 13 carefully calibrated performance indicators to provide the most comprehensive and balanced comparisons, and all data is independently audited by professional services firm PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC), making the World University Rankings the only global university rankings to be subjected to full, independent scrutiny of this nature.
