The University of Lethbridge’s Arthur Erickson-designed University Hall is surrounded by green hills that make it look like a ship amid an emerald ocean—fitting for a school that is always charting new territory. The university-wide Agility initiative prepares students for 21st-century careers through hands-on workshops, innovation zones equipped with cutting-edge tools, and resources, as well as scholarships and research grants that ignite ideas and help bring them to life. With campuses in Lethbridge and downtown Calgary, the school has star academics working in niche areas, and classes are small enough that undergrads can share in professors’ discoveries.

“Our faculty members are amongst the world’s leading researchers in a breadth of disciplines,” says president Mike Mahon. “What sets us apart is that they are not just working in the field; they are in the classroom, teaching students and involving students in that research work from the time they are undergraduate students through their graduate programs.”

Lethbridge has roots as a liberal arts university and fosters an impressive fine arts community. Students in the Dhillon School of Business have a high-tech trading centre as well as spacious team workspace on both campuses. Lethbridge is creating opportunities and support for Indigenous youth through a partnership with the Blackfoot Confederacy and the Mastercard Foundation. Meanwhile, all students can take part in a variety of work-integrated learning opportunities—on or off campus—recorded in a MyExperience Transcript that can be shared with future employers.