Skip to main content
  • Undergraduate Programs
  • Graduate Programs
  • Associate Diplomas
  • Continuing Education
  • Areas of Study
  • Scholarships and Awards
  • OAC Research
  • Research Areas
  • Research Chairs
  • Institutes and Centres
  • About OAC
  • News
  • Our Shared Priorities
  • History
  • 150th Anniversary
  • Contact Us
  • Giving to OAC
  • John Cranfield, Dean of OAC
  • Industry Professionals
  • Alumni
  • Current Undergraduate Students
  • Educators
  • International Students
  • Media
Aerial image of Johnston Hall

About the Ontario Agricultural College

  1. U of G Homepage
  2. Ontario Agricultural College
  3. About the Ontario Agricultural College

The Ontario Agricultural College is a global leader of scientific knowledge and applied learning that aims to tackle complex challenges facing our world.

We are founded in agriculture and connected to all things related to food, animals, communities and the environment. The OAC community includes approximately 3,700 diploma, undergraduate and graduate students, 35,000 alumni, 140 faculty and 600 staff members.

Give to OAC
OAC News
OAC Events
Ranked #1 in Canada
for agricultural science research and food science
Ranked #2 in Canada
for plant and animal sciences
Established in 1874
150 years of impact
students walking and talking outside of johnston hall

Our Purpose:

To Improve Life by inspiring leaders, generating knowledge and creating innovative solutions for food, agriculture, communities and the environment.

Learn more about OAC:

Our Shared Priorities
Our Research
Our Alumni
OAC's 150th Anniversary
OAC's History

Discover OAC

three students outside at ridgetown campus

Ridgetown Campus

Located near London, Ontario, Ridgetown Campus delivers associate diploma, certificate, apprenticeship and continuing education programs and is utilized for agri-food research and learning. Throughout the years the campus has grown and evolved to include a wide range of innovative research, extension programs and business development activities.

Learn more
overhead photo of university of guelphs arboretum

The Arboretum

Established in 1970, The Arboretum encompasses 400 acres adjacent to campus featuring plant collections, gardens, walking trails, natural woodlands, wetlands, and meadows. The Arboretum is integral to many undergraduate courses, and acts as a 'living laboratory', providing support, expertise, and a wide variety of plants, species, and environments for researchers.

Learn more
two graduate students outside standing in a pond

Academic Units

OAC's impact extends to a province-wide network of campuses, field stations and research facilities, led by six academic units:

  • Department of Animal Biosciences
  • Department of Food, Agricultural and Resource Economics
  • Department of Food Science
  • Department of Plant Agriculture
  • School of Environmental Design and Rural Development
  • School of Environmental Sciences

Inspiring Tomorrow's Leaders

OAC is committed to developing and inspiring the next generation of sustainable leaders in the food, agriculture and related sectors. The below initiatives and projects illustrate OAC's commitment to career-focused teaching and learning.

a student inspecting a specimen in a wooden area, surrounded by sunflowers

Graduate Destinations Project

The Graduate Destinations initiative shares employment data of over 3,050 alumni who graduated with a master's or PhD from 1999 to 2019. OAC graduates are employed in all sectors including post-secondary, private, government, and not-for-profit.

Learn more
two students working in a lab, inspecting a specimen

Planning for Tomorrow Project

This OAC commissioned study determined there is a significant gap between the supply of graduates from OAC programs and demands of the agri-food sector. This initiative is evolving to prepare students with the skills needed to succeed and support the future of the agriculture and food sectors.

Learn more
two students working together in a food lab

Student Liaison Program

OAC's Student Liaison Program connects high school students with educational and professional opportunities that exist within the areas of agriculture, food, environmental sciences, and community development through unique experiential learning opportunities.

Learn more

The Ontario Agricultural College and its campuses, and various research locations are home to many past, present, and future First Nations, Inuit and Métis peoples. Our students, faculty and staff work, study and research around the world, primarily across what is known as North America. Each location has its own histories, often impacted by colonization and current-day contexts. Our campuses reside within the Dish with One Spoon territory, which reminds us that we all share the one dish and spoon. We are responsible for ensuring that the dish is never empty and that all can access the spoon.

Contact Us
OAC's Shared Priorities
uofg and oac logo

About Us

The Ontario Agricultural College is a global leader of scientific knowledge and applied learning that aims to tackle complex challenges facing our world.
We are founded in agriculture and connected to all things related to food, animals, communities and the environment.

Undergraduate Programs

Graduate Programs

Associate Diploma Programs

Contact Us

OAC Dean's Office
Johnston Hall, University of Guelph
50 Stone Road East
Guelph, Ontario, Canada N1G 2W1
oacnews@uoguelph.ca