The University of Calgary is ranked one of Canada’s top seven research universities, combining the best of long-established university traditions with the city of Calgary’s vibrant energy and diversity. The U of C campus occupies a beautiful, park-like setting covering more than 200 hectares, an area larger than Calgary’s entire downtown. The university is home to scholars in 17 faculties (offering more than 100 academic programs) and more than 30 research institutes and centres. More than 27,600 students are currently enrolled in undergraduate, graduate and professional degree programs. The U of C has graduated 135,000 alumni over its 43-year history, including the Prime Minister of Canada, Stephen Harper. The university’s four academic priorities are prevalent in all the university’s work. The four pillars include leading innovation in energy and the environment; understanding human behaviour, institutions and cultures; advancing health and wellness and creating technologies and managing information for the knowledge society. The U of C is pursuing the biggest single capital expansion in its history. Fuelled by Alberta’s nation-leading economic growth, the university has embarked upon a plan to add capacity for more students and a host of new teaching and research activities. These major developments, including the Taylor Family Library (TFL), a downtown campus and the new Energy, Environment and Experiential Learning building, are fulfilling distinct academic strategies and creating progressive learning environments. mance theatres, two childcare centres and residences for single students and students with families. The U of C has 2,761 academic staff actively engaged in research, scholarship and teaching in Canada and around the world, and more than 3,000 staff, making it one of the four largest employers in Calgary. The university produces an economic impact of $1 billion in the Calgary area alone. Academics The University of Calgary has a full complement of academic programs ranging from pure science to social science in areas such as psychology and economics, to several options in the field of health sciences. With access to several professional schools, including the Haskayne School of Business, the Schulich School of Engineering, the Faculty of Medicine, the Faculty of Law, the Faculty of Education and the Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, students keep their options open, and discover their own personal passion. The U of C also encourages multi-disciplinary programs, meaning students can combine their interest areas and create an education that suits them. The University of Calgary has 17 faculties with more than 60 departments and more than 30 research institutes and centres. The 17 faculties are: Law; Nursing (Calgary); Nursing (Qatar); Social Work; Communication and Culture; Education; Environmental Design; Fine Arts; Haskayne School of Business; Humanities; Kinesiology; Medicine; Schulich School of Engineering; Science; Social Sciences; Veterinary Medicine; Graduate Studies; and Continuing Education. The university recently opened a campus in Doha, Qatar, offering internationally accredited nursing degrees to students in the Middle East. University of Calgary-Qatar will work with the Hamad Medical Corporation to offer world-class clinical nursing education to educate nurses for clinical specialties and to develop a sustainable nursing workforce. Graduates from the Qatar program will meet the same Canadian and international standards for nursing as students from the Calgary campus. Canada's fifth veterinary school and the first newly created program in more than 20 years-the University of Calgary's Faculty of Veterinary Medicine has an innovative four-year doctor of veterinary medicine program leverages the principles of integration, collaboration and technology to offer a multi-species/multidisciplinary core as well as four areas emphasis: Production Animal Health, Investigative Medicine, Equine Health and Ecosystem & Public Health.