Although having not yet secured provincial funding, the Université de Sudbury has pushed the “green button” and announced a series of French-language programs that will be offered locally in partnership with the University of Ottawa starting in fall 2025.
The partnership between the two institutions was announced in March after the province said “no” last year to funding the Université de Sudbury’s standalone francophone university project.
Students studying at the Université de Sudbury will be granted degrees from both U of S and the University of Ottawa.
Université de Sudbury has been working on its next steps since 2021, when the insolvent Laurentian University terminated its agreement with the three federated universities operating on campus, which previously offered courses for LU degrees.
“We’ve pushed the green button, right?” said Université de Sudbury president Serge Miville, in an interview with Sudbury.com. “It's wild. We've been working on this for three years. It's been up and down. So obviously, on the 30th of June, last year, almost to the day, they say no direct funding, and like, fine, we'll do it through partnerships.”
The two institutions have a memorandum of understanding to offer bachelor's degree level programs that are not available in the region and to meet the needs of the labour market in Northeastern Ontario.
Université de Sudbury will offer a series of programs in four major areas, said a press release. Other programs will follow.
In total, the university will offer 23 programs and program options in the arts, social sciences, management/commerce and health sciences. (See the full list at the bottom of this article).
“We're like, well how do we anchor this into something that will lead to gainful employment?” said Miville.
“Well, there’s a huge need for teachers, right, and they need a first degree and they need their teachables. So this is building back the teachable pool. So that's one element that we were able to anchor it on.
“The other element that really motivated us is that we just looked at the numbers — what are programs that actually bring students to Ottawa? And how do we offer pathways to ensure that they have the choice to stay up north and get one program, two degrees.
“Third was offering stuff that isn't offered currently, in the region. So part of it is building it back and part of it is just moving forward for the future.”
Miville said in a press release that the partnership is unique in Ontario.
“The ‘one program, two degrees’ formula allows students in the North to reap the benefits of two of Ontario’s most experienced universities, which are at the forefront of the knowledge and attuned to the needs of our economy,” he’s quoted as saying in the press release.
Sudbury.com reached out to the Ministry of Colleges and Universities on the Université de Sudbury’s latest announcement.
The ministry said it has not received any funding requests for this partnership from either Université de Sudbury or University of Ottawa.
“The Ministry of Colleges and Universities welcomes the partnership agreement between the University of Ottawa and the Université de Sudbury,” said the written statement from the ministry. “This agreement signifies a notable collaboration between French-language post-secondary institutions in advancing high-quality post-secondary French-language education in Ontario that will meet the needs of students.”
Miville said the Université de Sudbury is actually still working on its request to the province, as there are technical details to nail down in terms of costing.
“We're working on it diligently with University of Ottawa, to be able to get those numbers,” he said.
But he said it “looks promising, for sure,” in terms of provincial funding.
As part of the announcement, the Université de Sudbury said it will hire Grade 11 students to co-create the reimagined university student experience.
The Laboratoire appliqué de co-création will be the incubator, “by and for students,” of the key skills sought by employers: authentic teamwork, problem solving, adaptability, clear communication, mastery of digital tools, creativity and innovation.
Grade 11 students can find more information and apply online here.
List of programs and program options that will be offered at Université de Sudbury as of September 2025:
Management / Business Sciences
- Honours Bachelor of Commerce (B.Com.)
- Bachelor of Commerce (B.Com.) Honours—Project Management Option
- Bachelor of Commerce (B.Com.)—Human Resources Management Option
- Bachelor of Commerce (B.Com.) Honours—Marketing Option
- Minor in Management*
- Certificate in Management*
- Certificate in Human Resources*
Health Sciences
- Bachelor of Health Sciences (BScSan) (Honours) in Health Sciences*
- Honours Bachelor of Health Sciences (BScSan) in Health Sciences—Population and Public Health Option*
- Honours Bachelor of Health Sciences (BSc) in Health Sciences—Integrated Health Biosciences Option*
- Minor in Health Sciences*
Humanities and Social Sciences
- Bachelor of Arts (B.A.) with a major in History*
- Bachelor of Arts (B.A.) with a major in French Literature*
- Bachelor of Arts (B.A.) Interdisciplinary Studies*
- Minor in leadership
- Minor in Applied Ethics
- Minor in Geography*
- Minor in History*
- Minor in French Literature*
- Minor in Economics*
- Minor in Political Science*
- Minor in Humanities*
- Minor in Social Sciences*
*Asterisks indicate access to the equivalent University of Ottawa degree.
Heidi Ulrichsen is Sudbury.com’s assistant editor. She also covers education and the arts scene.
