About us

Toronto Metropolitan University is at the intersection of mind and action. What our students learn in the classroom is enhanced by real-world knowledge and experience. We champion diversity, entrepreneurship and innovation. 

From the award-winning Student Learning Centre, to the upcoming multi-functional Daphne Cockwell Health Sciences Complex, the university is dedicated to building a better campus, and city, one building at a time.

Toronto Metropolitan University is supported by a team of dedicated professionals tasked with ensuring the university maintains its reputation as a student-focused institution of higher education.

Toronto Metropolitan University’s history is rooted in innovative, career-driven education with the goal of addressing contemporary societal needs. Originally named after Ontario’s first Superintendent of Education and leading public school advocate, Egerton Ryerson, now Toronto Metropolitan University, is a postsecondary institute designed to combine technical education with academic theory for the first time.

Pictured: Students gather outside the Gould St. entrance (formerly the Ryerson Institute of Technology, 1948).

The Ryerson Institute of Technology was established in 1948 in response to the need for skilled tradespeople following the Second World War. Built on the historical site of Ontario’s first teacher training college -- known as the Toronto Normal School -- approximately 250 students enrolled in the first year. The new institute offered theoretical and practical training in various skilled trades such as architecture, costume design and photography. The student newspaper, The Ryersonian (now On the Record

Following several years of institutional growth, “polytechnic” was added to the university's former title in 1963 to adequately represent its growing range of programs. Ryerson Polytechnic Institute, now Toronto Metropolitan University, gained degree-granting authority in 1971, and the campus continued to expand with the construction of Lake Devo in 1979. During this time, yearly enrollment exceeded 10,000 students, and the school launched various innovative projects including the Energy Centre and the option to take courses delivered over the radio.

Proving a commitment to build on its research capacity and academic reach, the institution gained official university status in 1993. In the following years, the university began offering graduate and doctoral degree programs and opened the G. Raymond Chang School of Continuing Education. In 2002, Ryerson Polytechnic University shortened its title to Ryerson University, reflecting the school’s rising profile as a full-fledged university with strong academic programming.