The University of Manitoba is located in Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada and is the largest university in the province. The U of M has a student body of approximately 22,000 full- and part-time students. It awards undergraduate and graduate degrees in a variety of disciplines, including Arts, Science, Engineering, Agriculture, Law and Medicine.

The University has a main campus in Fort Garry, Winnipeg (on the banks of the Red River), as well as the smaller Bannatyne Campus in downtown Winnipeg (primarily for students studying medicine and related fields) and the primarily-francophone St. Boniface College. The university also maintains research stations at Delta Marsh, Manitoba; Star Lake, Ontario and Glenlea, Manitoba.

The U of M's athletic teams are officially nicknamed the Bisons, but usually referred to as "The Herd." Currently, the university fields teams in the following sports: basketball, cross-country, field hockey, football, golf, ice hockey, swimming, track and field, volleyball and wrestling.

Famous U of M alumni include: writer Marshall McLuhan, game show host Monty Hall and former Manitoba premier Gary Filmon.


History:
The University of Manitoba was founded in 1877, and was the first degree-awarding institution to be established in western Canada. Originally, the university was composed solely of three member colleges, but began accepting students in its own right at the turn of the century.

Other member colleges joined the university as the years progressed and in 1967 two of these colleges became separate universities entirely -- Brandon College became Brandon University and United College became the University of Winnipeg and took possession of the downtown campus. A complete list of the member colleges can be found below.


Member Colleges (with year of joining):
St. Boniface College - 1877
St. John's College - 1877
Manitoba College - 1877a,c
Manitoba Medical College - 1888b
Wesley College - 1888a,c
Manitoba College of Pharmacy - 1902b
Manitoba Agriculture College - 1906b
St. Paul's College - 1931
Brandon College - 1938c
St. Andrew's College - 1981

a: Manitoba College and Wesley College merged to form United College
b: Later became a separate faculty of the U of M
c: Split from U of M to form separate university in 1967



Personal Experience:
I attended the U of M on an off-and-on basis for six years, studying geology. My best memories of the school include writing for the campus newspaper (the Manitoban), drunken craziness at the annual Orientation Week celebrations and making an ill-fated run for the presidency of UMSU, the U of M Students' Union. Crappier memories include seeing many of the university's buildings fail fire code inspections due to poor upkeep, repeated faculty strikes, one of which shut the campus down for over two weeks and walking to school in -30C temperatures. (It was Winnipeg...)


Sources:
The University of Manitoba - http://www.umanitoba.ca

See: Manitoba's Universities

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