Named one of the best places to live in North America, Calgary has an international reputation of being an Olympic city and the centre of Canada's petroleum industry. Strong community links provide U of C students with hands-on learning opportunities, corporate and community partnering and excellent job prospects upon graduation. The university is a member of nine of the 14 Centres of Excellence. It is also national headquarters for many research centres, including the Canadian Network for Space Research. The University of Calgary is the only Canadian university to be designated as an International Tourism Education and Research Centre by the United Nations World Tourism Organization.
Students start their studies in first session.
Language of Instruction English. A generous awards program recognizes ongoing achievement. The U of C also offers substantial needs-based awards as part of its bursary program. The comprehensive mandatory first-year Orientation program, U of C 101 The Introduction, includes orientation, presidents' welcome, peer support, frosh interest groups, faculty orientations and student advisors. The campus in northwest Calgary houses the finest post-secondary athletic facilities in Canada, like Canada's only covered speed skating oval, Calgary's largest racquet centre and western Canada's largest indoor climbing wall, as well as the host site of the 1988 Olympic Winter Games and is easily accessible from downtown by car, bus or light rail transit.