Who we are

Study highlights Concordia's economic impact

Concordia is a major contributor to the economic, cultural and social development of Montreal and Quebec. A study shows that the university is a wealth generator, creating jobs and adding to Quebec’s productivity, competitiveness, capacity for innovation and pool of human capital.

• Read the executive summary or the full study in English: Concordia: an Economic Force Connected to its Community
• Read the full study in French: Concordia : une université en osmose avec son milieu

Concordia’s highly accomplished faculty members adopt inter-disciplinary approaches to learning and focus on offering the best possible scholarship, research and training.

The university boasts a unique legacy for supporting and developing individuals and their aspirations to help contribute to the world’s wealth of knowledge, bridge communities and make it possible for individuals to grow academically, professionally and personally.

In its classrooms, labs, and libraries at its downtown Sir George Williams and west-end Loyola campuses, the Concordia community is resolutely anchored to the real world — open and engaged, compassionate and caring. It’s an approach that dates back to the founding of Concordia in 1974 following the merger of Loyola College (1896) and Sir George Williams University (1926).

Concordia offers more than 300 undergraduate and 200 graduate programs, diplomas and certificates in four Faculties, a School of Graduate Studies and a School of Extended Learning.

More than 11 percent of the university’s student population is international. In fact, Concordia welcomes students from more than 150 countries, and maintains formal ties with more than 100 institutions in 33 countries.

Recognizing that research drives big thinking, more than one quarter of our students are enrolled in graduate studies, raising the university’s community’s intellectual temperature and elevating its ambitions.

Early in the new millennium, the world faces extraordinary challenges—ones that are already generating big thinking at Concordia.

Vision

Concordia’s vision is to rank among Canada’s top five comprehensive universities within the next decade, and to be a first choice for students and faculty locally, across Canada, and internationally in a wide variety of defined areas of research and study.

Values

Concordia’s core values stem from those long prized by its founding institutions. Concordia has adopted the motto of the city of Montreal, Concordia salus, which speaks to well-being through harmony. The union of two very different institutions of higher education has led to an exceptionally successful synthesis of compatible and timely values.

Opportunity

Concordia values the openness and respect necessary to provide opportunities to a highly diverse student and faculty population. Diversity at Concordia is interpreted broadly. In addition to embracing diversity in ethnicity, gender, language, and accessibility, for example, Concordia provides students with different and original ways of exploring their interests. Enabling faculty, staff and students to make a progressive impact on their world in ways that respect and engage the uniqueness of each individual is a hallmark of Concordia.

Quality of Life

Concordia values a secure and respectful learning environment and workplace. Concordia is committed to promoting a healthy, safe and sustainable campus and to enhancing the quality of life of the community in which we live.

Excellence

Concordia values the curiosity and engagement of its faculty, staff, and students. Curiosity about the world around us, respectful engagement with those who inhabit it, and strong determination to improve it lead to a productive exploration of current understandings, a rich spectrum of creative activity and practice, and the creation and dissemination of new knowledge.