Founded in 1876, OCAD University is dedicated to art and design education, practice and research and to knowledge and invention across a wide range of disciplines. The university continuously builds on its traditional, studio-based strengths, adding new approaches to learning that champion cross-disciplinary practice, collaboration and the integration of emerging technologies.

OCAD’s programs and research bridge fields of digital media and design, sustainability, health and wellness, cultural diversity and indigenous cultures. The university has more than 4,500 students and 16 undergraduate programs. Field placement and internship opportunities are available in almost every program. The university’s ability to offer graduate students a unique experience is solidly rooted in its 139-year history of delivering uncompromising art and design education. Its graduate degree programs offer the next generation of artists, designers and industry leaders a level of scholarship that is virtually unmatched in Canada.

OCAD University is a 100 per cent commuter campus. With lots of students travelling hours a day to get to school and home again, it can be challenging to meet new friends and get involved on campus. Campus Life, within OCAD U's Student Success Programs, ensures that students have access to social, learning and development opportunities outside the classroom. The programs encourage enhanced personal growth, connection, engagement, leadership, self-confidence, interpersonal and team-building skills.

OCAD U is situated at the heart of the nation's art, design, business and new media capital, on the ancestral and traditional territories of the Mississaugas of the New Credit, the Haudenosaunee, the Anishinaabe and the Huron-Wendat, the original owners and custodians of the land on which we stand.