How Université de l’Ontario français is Preparing Students For Meaningful Careers

Every fall, hundreds of thousands of students begin classes at Toronto’s numerous leading universities. And steps from the city’s waterfront, the city’s newest—and under-the-radar—accredited university is uniquely preparing the next generation of critical thinkers, bridge-builders, and changemakers.

Launched in September 2021, the Université de l’Ontario français (UOF) is Toronto—and Ontario’s—first full-fledged, fully autonomous francophone university. But that’s just one thing that sets UOF apart, says Dr. Isabelle Dostaler, a management specialist who joined the university last winter as vice-president of academics and research. 

“The Université de l’Ontario français is the brainchild of a number of people—Canadians, francophones, faculty members from various universities in Ontario, Quebec, and beyond. They wanted to have a francophone university for the education continuum from kindergarten to Grade 12 to university in Ontario. But more than that, they really wanted to create something different,” Dostaler says.

UOF’s vision of creating interdisciplinary, values-driven post-secondary programs in French wooed Dostaler during her own recruitment—and she’s even more excited by what she’s seen firsthand since joining the school’s leadership.

“I’m originally from Quebec and we tend to think French only happens in our province. Well, quite the contrary,” she says. “Our school is a small community, but it’s a very active one. We’re connected to various trade organizations, community organizations, social enterprises—we’ve created a whole community ecosystem we bring into our classrooms.”

With unparalleled interactivity and small classes, Dostaler says, UOF’s bachelor’s degree programs offer “a different approach to knowing and learning.”

Accelerated Four-Year Bachelor of Education

“Our education program is our mothership,” says Dostaler. “Most programs take up to six years to do both a bachelor of art and bachelor of education. But our new program answers the need to be able to complete both rapidly.”

With classes offered online, UOF’s concurrent bachelor of arts and bachelor of education program  is a convenient way to fast-track French speakers into teaching placements, a career experiencing high demand in Ontario. As well, grads are certified under the Ontario College of Teachers. “It’s another layer of regulation ensuring the quality of our program,” Dostaler says. “There’s such a need for teachers in the school system right now in every province—our students are fully prepared to be professionals when they graduate.”

Bachelor of Business Administration

“Our school’s DNA brings quite a flavour to our bachelor of business administration program,” Dostaler says. “Specifically, the ideas of social justice, diversity, and so on.”

Although students in UOF’s BBA program receive high-quality training in areas such as HR and finance, there’s also a focus on developing entrepreneurial skills and aligning business practices to students’ social values. “What type of career does this prepare students for? Well, anything,” says Dostaler.  

Communications and Digital Media

“This is an exciting one,” Dostaler says in reference to UOF’s newest program, which was recently expanded to include a full spectrum of digital advances. “We’ve integrated things like artificial intelligence and virtual reality—it really is about the whole digital world we’re living in now.”

The program gives students both the practical skills they need to lead digital communications and other initiatives as well as ethical frameworks to consider the impact of incorporating innovation into their work. 

“It’s a well-rounded education around everything that is digital media communication. Our students can do anything once they graduate,” says Dostaler. “When we sent our first students to do their internships this year, employers were amazed at how our students were able to help them leverage their digital communications. Our students are very well-trained technically, but beyond that, they’re also very sensitive to the whole social and ethical elements around social media.”

Visit uof.ca to learn more.