The University of Western Ontario (known as Western, as well as UWO or Western Ontario) is a research university located in London, Ontario. It is one of Canada's oldest universities, having been founded in 1878 by Bishop Isaac Hellmuth and the Anglican Diocese of Huron as The Western University of London Ontario. Huron College, established in 1863 as an Anglican theological school, provided the basis for the new university.

The first students graduated in arts and medicine in 1883. The University covers 1.6 km of land on the north branch of the Thames River. The main campus consists of 75 buildings; the university has extensive land holdings outside of the main campus.

Language of Instruction: English

Course Registration:
Courses in the following departments are sometimes limited, and not always available to exchange students:

• Administrative & Commercial Studies
• Economics
• Education – not available to any exchange student; Western’s program is one year only.
• Kinesiology
• Psychology
• Political Science – upper year courses have limited enrollment
• Richard Ivey School of Business – if you are interested in attending Ivey as an exchange student, please contact your University Exchange Coordinator to inquire about eligibility.
• Law – students must be attending a University that has a specific agreement with the Faculty of Law at Western in order to take courses.

Course Descriptions: http://www.westerncalendar.uwo.ca/

Academic Calendar:

• Fall semester: Early September to Mid December
• Winter semester: Early January to Late April

On-campus:
All students who are accepted for an exchange to The University of Western Ontario are offered a space in one of Western’s on-campus residences. A residence offer will be included in the acceptance package. All students who return their housing application form and payment by the deadline set by the Housing Office will receive guaranteed accommodation.

For more information, please visit the housing website at http://www.uwo.ca/hfs/housing/residence/index.htm.

Off-campus:
Exchange students may also choose to live off-campus during their exchange. The University of Western Ontario offers assistance through the Off-Campus Housing Service (http://www.has.uwo.ca/housing/offcampus/). This site offers listings for both apartments and houses, in a variety of price ranges. There is a map available so you can view the general location of the listings.

Please note that all inquiries about housing at Western should be directed to the Residence Admissions or Off-Campus Housing Service. The Exchange Office will not be able to provide detailed information to students regarding housing.

Health Insurance:
International students are NOT eligible for coverage under the Ontario Health Insurance Plan (OHIP).  Because of this, Ontario universities have put together a MANDATORY health care package (University Health Insurance Plan or UHIP) for international students and their dependents.  UHIP offers many of the same benefits as OHIP.  Make sure to thoroughly read the description of coverage to ensure that you understand the details of the plan. The current UHIP premium will be included in your tuition fee bill. You should confirm that the correct premiums have been charged to your tuition account.

For more information, please visit http://www.uhip.ca.

Visa Matters:
Canadian Embassy website for student visas and residence permits are located at
http://www.cic.gc.ca/.

Useful Links:

• University homepage: http://www.uwo.ca/
• Student development services: http://www.sdc.uwo.ca/int/exchange/index.html?incoming
• International Pre-Arrival Guide: http://www.sdc.uwo.ca/int/services/index.html?prearrival

Estimated Cost of Living: