One University, Three Experiences: Exploring the University of Toronto Campuses
Roughly a third of the University of Toronto’s 100,000-plus students study outside downtown. They earn the same U of T degree, yet the university’s three campuses feel like different schools.
Downtown, St. George mixes 19th-century halls with urban life. West of downtown, the Mississauga campus sits on a protected greenbelt along the Credit River. Scarborough, in Toronto’s east end, pairs landmark concrete architecture with a creek valley.
Historic Halls and City Life at St. George
Founded: 1827 | Students: nearly 70,000 | Colleges: 7 | Subway stations: 4
Toronto surrounds the oldest campus on every side, and St. George Street cuts straight through the grounds. Every Arts and Science undergraduate joins one of seven colleges, each with its own residence and student life:
That system turns an enormous campus into a set of smaller communities.
Landmarks Around King’s College Circle
Start on the front lawn, the heart of the old campus. University College has faced it since 1859, and Parks Canada lists the Romanesque Revival building as a National Historic Site. Inside, the University of Toronto Art Centre runs free exhibitions from Tuesday to Saturday. Across the grass, graduates from all three campuses have crossed the stage beneath Convocation Hall’s dome since 1907. Ceremonies take place each spring and fall, with guests requiring tickets requested in advance by graduates.
A few steps away, Hart House opened on November 11, 1919, one year to the day after the Armistice. You can grab coffee in its Arbor Room, browse the Justina M. Barnicke Gallery, or buy theatre tickets at the front desk. Attached to the building, Soldiers’ Tower honours the university’s war dead with a 51-bell carillon.
Beyond the lawn, the walk heads toward Bloor Street and the main libraries:
- North of Hoskin Avenue, Philosopher’s Walk traces Taddle Creek, which Toronto buried in 1884, up to Bloor Street and the Royal Ontario Museum.
- Rare book lovers can see weekday exhibitions at the Thomas Fisher Rare Book Library on St. George Street.
- Next door, Robarts, the main humanities and social sciences library, requires a TCard for regular entry. Visitors who need to consult specific print materials can request a one-day pass in advance.
Visiting St. George
A student-led tour covers most of this ground.
- Tours: Two-hour walks leave the Nona Macdonald Visitors Centre, 25 King’s College Circle, at 11 a.m. and 2 p.m. on weekdays. Some Saturday slots appear as well.
- Subway: Four stations serve the campus: St. George, Spadina, Museum, and Queen’s Park.
- Parking: Beneath the front lawn, the Landmark Garage charges $4 per 30 minutes, up to $22 a day.
Green Space and Wildlife in Mississauga
Founded: 1967 | Students: 17,000+ | Grounds: 225 acres | Distance: 33 km west of St. George
The campus began as Erindale College, with one temporary building and 155 students. Since then, it has grown across a protected greenbelt along the Credit River, where large natural areas remain set aside for research. A tour here pairs easily with an afternoon exploring the rest of the city, from the Port Credit waterfront to the shops around Square One.
Wildlife and Standout Buildings
Nature turns up on an ordinary walk between classes. Watch for the resident deer, often a mother with fawns. Near Parking Lot 4, a stormwater pond draws birdwatchers. Along Principal’s Road, a stone bridge crosses an ornamental pond beside Lislehurst, a heritage house from around 1885.
The Terrence Donnelly Health Sciences Complex, home of the Mississauga Academy of Medicine, received a Governor General’s Medal in Architecture. Another building carries an Anishinaabemowin name from the Mississaugas of the Credit First Nation: Maanjiwe nendamowinan, or gathering of minds. It replaced the temporary building where the campus began.
Visiting UTM
- Tours: Sixty-minute walks leave at 11 a.m. and 2 p.m. on weekdays, and a residence visit adds about 30 minutes. Check in at room KN 1270 in the Innovation Complex.
- Buses and trains: MiWay buses 1, 44, 48, 101, 110, and 126 serve the campus. The nearest GO stations are Erindale, on the Milton line, and Clarkson, on Lakeshore West.
- From downtown: An intercampus shuttle links UTM with St. George in 60 to 75 minutes. Anyone outside UTM’s student body pays $7 per trip, using tickets from machines at either stop.
- Parking: Every lot charges around the clock. From Monday to Friday, Lots 4, 8, and 11 cost $2.75 per 30 minutes, up to $15.50 a day.
Bold Concrete and a Creek Valley in Scarborough
Founded: 1964 | Students: nearly 16,000 | Grounds: about 300 acres | Setting: the Highland Creek valley
In January 1967, Time put Scarborough College on its cover, a year after its first building opened. Australian architect John Andrews conceived it as two long concrete wings. A skylit hall called the Meeting Place joins them and works as the campus town square. Many call it Brutalist, but Andrews disagreed: “It isn’t brutal. Scarborough College is a very human building.” The structure won the Massey Medal and now carries his name.
Art, Swimming, and a Trail into the Valley
Inside the Academic Resource Centre, the Doris McCarthy Gallery opens Tuesday through Saturday at no charge. It honours a painter who lived on the Scarborough Bluffs and earned her UTSC degree in 1989, after four decades of teaching.
Toronto and U of T co-own the Toronto Pan Am Sports Centre, which opened in 2014 with two 50-metre pools and a dive tank. The pools have since hosted Canada’s Olympic swimming trials and other national meets that draw athletes and spectators from across the country. Visitors have different options depending on their plans:
- For $4.96, tax included, you can reserve a City of Toronto lane swim online.
- Access to the fitness facilities comes with the centre’s own adult day pass, at $15 plus tax.
Down the slope, the Ma Moosh Ka Win Valley Trail descends 20 metres into the Highland Creek valley along a fully accessible, 500-metre path. Its Cree name, which replaced Valley Land Trail, reflects people coming together with the land for healing and restoration.
Construction has closed sections of the nearby Highland Creek Trail in Morningside Park, so look for notices before a longer walk.
Visiting UTSC
- Tours: Ninety-minute walks begin at the admissions office in Highland Hall, on dates the campus posts online.
- Buses: The 905 Eglinton East Express runs from Kennedy station Monday to Friday, and the 38 Highland Creek connects with Rouge Hill GO.
- Parking: Weekday rates in Lots A and H run $6.05 an hour, with a four-hour maximum.
Tips for Any Campus Visit
- Every tour requires online registration, and current students lead each one. Downtown and Mississauga tours go ahead rain or shine.
- Schools bringing a whole class to campus can request group tours at all three campuses. Mississauga asks groups of 10 or more to book at least two weeks ahead.
- All three campuses run virtual tours for anyone who can’t visit in person yet.
Letting Your Program Point the Way
Beyond scenery, programs and daily routines can settle the choice.
Scarborough has run co-op for more than 50 years, in Arts and Science, Management, and International Development Studies. Joint programs with Centennial College pair a U of T degree with a Centennial diploma in fields such as journalism and paramedicine. The campus also has around 1,500 residence spots.
Mississauga houses Canada’s oldest academic forensic science program, complete with a crime scene house for training. With about a quarter of downtown’s enrolment, it suits students who want green space within reach of Toronto.
Only St. George has the college system, and it puts the subway, the museums, and the rest of downtown at your door.
Whichever way you lean, visiting all three campuses in person is the surest way to find the experience that feels like yours.
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