Laurier in Milton

Laurier will Call Milton Home in 2024

Wilfrid Laurier University is excited to extend the university's high-quality academic and student experience along the Toronto-Waterloo Innovation Corridor to the fast-growing community of Milton – giving students from the Halton Region the chance to study close to home.

As a multi-campus, multi-community university, Laurier is known for offering unique programs that make each campus its own, while retaining the essence of Laurier’s strong community culture that binds us together.

Note: Note: all images are for illustrative purposes; the physical campus will develop over a number of years and the campus may look different as development evolves.

year Milton campus opens
acres donated by the Town of Milton*
+
programs with a STEAM and planetary health focus

*33 acres of developable land and 70 acres of undeveloped greenbelt land.

Timeline

Subject to change based on regulatory approvals.

June 2021

Government of Ontario approval.

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July 2021 – February 2023

Master planning, design and approvals.

Winter 2023

New program approvals.

Spring 2024

Apply to Laurier in Milton.

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Fall 2024

Doors open.

Campus Design

Evolving over multiple phases and a number of years, Laurier’s new campus represents a milestone in Laurier’s strategic multi-campus growth.

Guiding Principles

Laurier’s Milton campus will be lively, safe, accessible and inclusive, promoting wellbeing and fostering personal and community connections. The network of pedestrian greenways will promote learning, socializing, and experiencing nature, while Laurier’s facilities will also reflect the focus on sustainability and planetary health, with state-of-the-art technology resulting in deep-green buildings with a minimum zero-carbon footprint.

1.

Create a net zero campus that is rooted in sustainability and innovation.

2.

Adopt Indigenous worldviews and perspectives in the design and programming of the campus.

3.

Recognize and honour the rich diversity of those who inhabit the campus by creating an equitable, inclusive place where everyone can belong and thrive.

4.

Foster personal and community connections through the design of buildings, open spaces, and a network of pedestrian greenways.

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5.

Create a lively, healthy, and safe campus whose design promotes wellbeing through learning, socializing, and experiencing nature.

6.

Encourage land stewardship by reinforcing visual and physical connections between the campus, the greenbelt, and the Niagara Escarpment.

7.

Showcase natural ecologies, systems, and research in stormwater treatment within the Greenbelt lands.

8.

Balance immediate campus needs with a flexible and resilient long-term vision.

Campus Location

Located on land provided by the Town of Milton, the campus will be part of a comprehensively planned Milton Education Village in west Milton, encompassing land alongside the Niagara Escarpment. With plans for postsecondary education along with residential, commercial and recreational uses, this future community is the perfect site for a growing campus.

map showing location of Milton campus
map showing Milton campus property boundaries

Greenbelt Lands

The Milton campus bird’s eye view illustrates the current condition of the lands as undeveloped greenfield, with a large portion of the Greenbelt Lands as low-lying wetland and woodlands.

Natural watercourses drain surface runoff from the eastern portion of the Milton Education Village area into the Greenbelt watershed.

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Student Experience

Laurier’s Milton campus is part of Laurier’s powerful multi-campus identity where each of our locations offer distinct programming and cultures that complement each other and work together to create the overall thriving community that makes Laurier unique.

Students studying at Laurier in Milton will have the opportunity to take the best part of Laurier’s student life and academic excellence that have been honed at our Waterloo and Brantford campuses and be a part of building a culture that is uniquely theirs in Milton as our campus evolves.

Laurier’s Milton campus will offer the exceptional student experience the university is known for — prioritizing health and wellness activities designed to build resilience, a flexible approach to program delivery that meets the needs of all our students, and a vibrant set of community building programs, experiences, and activities.

Campus Renderings

Milton Renderings

Note: Scroll to view more photos. All renderings are for illustrative purposes only; the physical campus will develop over a number of years and the campus will look different as development evolves.

Student Spaces

Rooted in Indigenous principles of land stewardship and placekeeping, the Laurier Milton Campus, once developed, will exemplify approaches to ecological sustainability, innovation, and inclusiveness.

As the physical campus and its buildings are developed over the years, well-connected open spaces and state-of-the-art buildings will create a living laboratory that fosters hands-on learning and research, connection, and wellbeing for students, staff, faculty, and the broader community.

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A Connected Campus

Laurier’s Milton campus will be a connected one, where remote and in-person learners can connect seamlessly to every aspect of campus from wherever they are – fostering collaboration and community far beyond campus borders.

Once developed, the campus will weave throughout the surrounding natural ecosystem, allowing learning and ideas to flow throughout the campus, from the classroom to the lab and out into the natural landscape.

The campus layout plans are based on accessible, universal design, so campus spaces will be accessible and inclusive of all learners.

It will also be flexible, with spaces and technology that can be reconfigured to suit a range of pedagogical approaches that let users adapt spaces to their changing needs.

Indigenous Focus

With a campus design and programming that adopts Indigenous worldviews and perspectives and is rooted in Indigenous principles of land stewardship and placekeeping, the Laurier Milton campus will exemplify approaches to ecological sustainability, innovation, and inclusiveness.

Laurier’s Milton campus will honour Indigenous pedagogies and ways of knowing, such as circle and land pedagogy, throughout the design.

Indigenous student centre

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Programming

Building on strengths developed in Waterloo and Brantford, Laurier will develop and deliver our Milton programming with a problem-based, future-focused approach to learning that integrates disciplines, partners with community and industry for co-op and work-integrated learning and provides market-ready research.

Focusing on Planetary Health

Students in the Halton region will experience Laurier’s sense of community, along with programming, research and experiential learning in STEAM (science, technology, engineering, arts and mathematics) under a planetary health umbrella as the campus and its program offerings evolve.

This focus is especially suited to the Milton campus, which will be adjacent to Greenbelt lands and the Niagara Escarpment and connect with the neighbouring urban environment.

Studying with a planetary health lens will bring students beyond looking at individual aspects of human and environmental health to looking at the intersection between the two.

This unique academic environment will foster new developments in clean and green technology, sustainable development and more through academic programming, a living lab, knowledge mobilization and commercialization of planetary health solutions.

Diverse Programming

Embodying principles of accessibility, equity, diversity and inclusivity and Indigenous ways of knowing, Laurier’s programs will equip graduates to be change-makers who can work across many contexts and cultures.

Students will find something at Laurier’s Milton campus to suit their diverse personal and professional learning needs at all stages of their lives with a range of innovative credential options and pathways and experiential learning.

Details about specific programs and when they will be offered will be confirmed following internal and external approval processes.


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Research and Innovation

Laurier’s Milton campus will be research-intensive, with a multi-disciplinary approach committed to excellence and a focus on solving local, regional, national, and global environmental challenges under a planetary health umbrella. Research activity at the campus will focus on the Greenbelt and Niagara Escarpment lands as a living laboratory for students and collaborative research partnerships with industry.

With partnership as a pillar of our development, the campus and its programs will be a significant element of a Milton hub for sustainable, purpose-led innovation and entrepreneurship and will provide short- and long-term economic benefits for the Town and the Province of Ontario through community and industry partnerships related to planetary health, sustainability, climate change, and water.

Laurier’s Milton campus will ensure strong linkages among businesses, the community and the university, creating a focal point for economic activity and research and innovation with numerous experiential learning opportunities for students, such as co-op placements, volunteer opportunities, workplace projects and community service-learning.

Areas of Research

  • Environments and sustainability;
  • Indigeneity and EDI;
  • Innovation, entrepreneurship and technology; and
  • Commercialization and IP generation for good.

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Partnerships and Economic Benefits

The Province of Ontario announced its approval for a new Laurier Milton campus June 17, 2021, demonstrating confidence in Laurier’s academic excellence, community-building and the strength of our partnerships with the Town of Milton, Conestoga College and other community partners.

With partnership as a pillar of our development, the campus and its programs will be a significant element of a Milton hub for sustainable, eco-focused innovation and entrepreneurship and will provide short- and long-term economic benefits for the Town and the Province of Ontario through community and industry partnerships.

This milestone represents the evolution of Laurier’s powerful multi-campus identity where each of our locations offer distinct programming and cultures that complement each other and work together to create the overall thriving community that makes Laurier unique.

Existing Laurier Programming in Milton

Laurier Milton Lecture Series

The Laurier Milton Lecture Series provides a wonderful opportunity to engage in a public dialogue with citizens of Milton on a broad array of important topics. Presentations represent the current research and analysis of members of different faculties, departments and programs at Laurier.

Faculty of Social Work Professional Development

Laurier’s Faculty of Social Work Professional Development program offers non-credit certificate programs and workshops, such as Dare to Lead™ and Counselling Techniques, through the Milton Education Village Innovation Centre. All of the workshops are led by highly qualified instructors who bring their practical experience in the field into the classroom.

Master of Education

Pursue a Master of Education (MEd) with the Interdisciplinary Focus program of study offered in Milton. The program provides professional learning in collaborative learning and instruction, innovative education through emerging technologies, and high-impact practices for teaching, learning and leadership.

The program is attractive to educators, aspiring professionals and professionals from a wide range of education-related disciplines, including health, corporate and not-for-profit organizations.

Laurier Milton News

For more Laurier news and stories, visit wlu.ca/news.

Milton’s student honored with Wilfrid Laurier University's Scholars Award

ca.news.yahoo.com

Latest Laurier Milton Lecture to tackle educating educators

miltonnow.ca

Laurier university dean will host lecture in Milton about future of teaching

insauga.com

Laurier experts provide insight into homeless encampments as part of Milton Lecture Series

www.wlu.ca

Milton lecture on homelessness being held this week

miltonnow.ca

Canada’s natural resources the topic for latest Laurier Milton Lecture

miltonnow.ca

Milton set to host world class supply chain summit

insidehalton.com

Milton partners with Wilfrid Laurier University for virtual lecture on cannabis market

insauga.com

Milton Campus Development Photos

As Laurier works to bring its Milton campus to life, we are pleased to share photos as development progresses.

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