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This article is cross-published with The Cord.
In preparation for the arrival of the Milton campus’ first class of students at the end of October 2023, Wilfrid Laurier University invited prospective students to get a feel for the new campus during Milton Preview Day.
Milton’s Mayor, Gord Krantz, made an appearance at the event.
“Laurier and the Town of Milton have enjoyed a longstanding, collaborative partnership for more than a decade,” a university spokesperson said in an email to The Cord.
Planning and creation of the Laurier Milton campus has spanned nearly three years with the campus expecting to welcome its first class of students in fall of 2024.
The Milton Preview Day was to open houses on the other campuses, with students being given the opportunity to tour study spaces and connect with future professors and classmates.
The majority of people who came to the event were high school students looking to study close to home, said the university’s spokesperson.
They described the campus as “commute-friendly”, given its access to public transportation and class schedules that are designed to avoid early mornings and late nights.
In their first term of operation, Laurier Milton will operate out of the Laurier Milton Academic Centre, and the campus will offer two areas of study; psychology and computer science — two of Laurier’s most popular programs.
The university has future plans to create a developed campus located in the Milton Education Village Innovation Centre.
This centre will contribute greatly to the university, providing academic institutions, research and development facilities, outdoor recreation, and a long-term care community to the area.
According to the Town of Milton’s website, the village will be home to a campus suitable for 3,000 students by 2031.
For its inaugural class, the campus’s top 100 applicants with confirmed offers will receive the donor-supported Laurier Milton Groundbreakers’ Scholarship.
This scholarship grants students $1,250 for each of the four years of their undergraduate degree, said Laurier’s spokesperson.
In a news release posted by the university in June 2021, it was announced that the Town of Milton had donated 103 acres of land.
Off this total donated acreage to the new Laurier community, 33 acres are developable land while 70 acres are Greenbelt land.
“Laurier Milton is an exciting first step on the road to higher education in Milton, and represents a key milestone as partners in the Town’s vision for Milton 2051 as a place of possibility,” said the university’s spokesperson.
More information regarding Laurier Milton and to see campus renderings, visit the university’s page on Laurier in Milton.
