French Canadians had at the time no opportunity to pursue higher education, and Bishop Bourget of Montreal suggested expanding the Séminaire de Québec into Université Laval.

Louis Casault, a priest who taught physics at the Séminaire de Québec, went to Europe to seek a royal charter and study the best university systems there.

The Séminaire de Québec was granted a royal charter on December 8, 1852, by Queen Victoria, at the request of Lord Elgin, then Governor-General of the Province of Canada.

[7] Pope Benedict XV approved the plan and authorized the institution to establish chairs of theology and confer degrees.

[8] In 1878, the university opened a second campus in Montreal, which became the Université de Montréal on May 8, 1919, by a writ of Pope Benedict XV.

This structure was modelled on the provincial University of Toronto Act of 1906, which established a bicameral system of university government consisting of a senate (faculty), responsible for academic policy, and a board of governors (citizens) exercising exclusive control over financial policy and having formal authority in all other matters.

[9]: 1904  In addition, graduate training based on the German-inspired American model of specialized course work and the completion of a research thesis was introduced.

[12] This location, at 1 rue des Remparts, Quebec, still continues operation as a centre for educating Roman Catholic priests.

[6][13] The Camille-Roy pavilion houses the restored Promotions Room, which can be rented as a venue for various types of events.

[15] After it was granted a university charter, several buildings were built in Old Quebec, including the School of Chemistry (1923), the addition on Ste.

Today's campus covers 1.2 km2 (0.46 sq mi) and has over 30 buildings (also called pavillons), including many iconic exemplars of modern architecture.

Its earliest buildings and landscapes were designed by Edouard Fiset (fr) from the 1950s, and of its lands, 56 percent are wooded areas, grasslands, and sports fields[citation needed] .