There comes a time for most teenagers, when they must tearfully kiss Mom and Dad goodbye, pack a duffel bag full of books, and head off into the great unknown to study, expand their minds, meet new people, and learn the skills they will need for the rest of their professional lives.
And then some kids move to Quebec.
All kidding aside, Montreal is a wonderfully cosmopolitan city with some top-tier universities and colleges.
The two big ones for English-speakers are McGill and Concordia Universities. A brief rundown:
McGill University was founded by James McGill in the early 1800’s, and by the turn of the century was considered to have a prestige “only equalled in America by Harvard.” Canadians came from all over the country to attend McGill, and if you ask any of your grandparents, chances are one of them trained there! Today, McGill is one of the best universities in the world, with top quality research, graduate, and undergraduate programs.
Concordia University is composed of what used to be two separate collages, Loyola (founded in 1896) and Sir George Williams (founded in 1926). The two joined together in 1974, making it one of the more modern institutions in the country. A comprehensive university, Concordia offers a full range of arts, sciences and humanities, and is particularly known for its Business and Fine Arts Education.
Now, if you’re bilingual or a native French speaker you have more options. McGill and Concordia both offer French education, but there are also two Francophone universities within the city: Université du Quebec au Montreal (UQAM) and the Université De Montreal (UDM).
UQAM got its start in the late 1960’s as an amalgamation between a fine arts school and a classical French college. It is the largest branch of the University of Quebec, although there are branches in other cities. With a student population of over 60,000, it is the largest French-speaking University in the world.
UDM is another huge university, the second largest in Canada, with hundreds of degrees offered and a few affiliated schools. It is world renowned for its research and has been pumping out Bachelors, Masters and Doctorates since its inception in 1878.
Whatever your language, there are thousands of new students in Montreal moving here from around the world every year to begin studies at one of these institutions. Especially from conveniently close Ontario—Brampton movers in our network, for instance, told us that every August there is an exodus of 18 year olds from the city—all on their way to one of these four schools.
While it is more common for English-speakers to go to Concordia or McGill, Montreal movers know that UDM and UQAM get their share of newly arrived students as well, and the neighbourhoods surrounding each campus are riddled with students.
The fact that there are so many university-age students (well over 100,000) makes the city not just an education hotspot, but a cultural one as well. The youth culture of Montreal is extensive and an eagerly awaited dream for many small town high-schoolers.
And don’t worry Mom and Dad – the city is really quite safe!
