CANADIAN UNIVERSITY REPORT University profiles to help you choose

UNIVERSITY OF LETHBRIDGE

Lethbridge (main), Edmonton and Calgary

Students: 8,200

Cost: $6,000

Despite its small size, U of L has carved out a niche with its strong neuroscience department and leading bioengineering research. Students gave mixed reviews on a national survey, and the school struggles to retain students; a quarter of freshmen don’t return in second year. With only 1,000 residence spaces, many students are forced to commute to campus using Lethbridge’s mediocre public transit system.

Hotshot prof: Hans-Joachim Wieden works with a team of student researchers whose technology inventions netted the top prize at the 2013 North American International Genetically Engineered Machine Regional Jamboree.

Students say: The cozy university is welcoming. “I have built relationships with many of my professors because of the small class sizes and close community,” says Megan Sutherland, fourth-year mathematics.