The main campus is located on 42.5 hectares (105 acres) directly to the northeast of Downtown Ottawa across the Rideau Canal in the Sandy Hill neighbourhood.

[8] Placed under the direction of the Oblates of Mary Immaculate, it was renamed the College of Ottawa in 1861 and received university status five years later through a royal charter.

[20] The Canadian Officers' Training Corps, University of Ottawa Contingent, which comprised a company, headquarters and three platoons in 1939, was authorized to become a battalion in 1940.

[25] The Juniorat du Sacré-Coeur provided classical education for young men who wished to pursue a religious life and join the Order of the Oblates of Mary Immaculate.

[29] In 2020, the University of Ottawa attracted significant global media attention due to a controversy over academic freedom.

The main campus is bordered to the north by the ByWard Market district, to the east by Sandy Hill's residential area, and to the southwest by Nicholas Street, which runs adjacent to the Rideau Canal on the western half of the university.

[42] In addition to housing the university's collections, the library also maintains the Learning Crossroads, which features two lecture halls and more than 1,000 individual and group study rooms.

[43][44] It houses a wide range of cutting-edge technologies like a video wall, featuring a large 8K screen, virtual reality equipment and multimedia studios.

It provides graduate and undergraduate students a chance to develop curatorial and administrative skills, as well as, display their own art pieces.

[53] On January 24, 2018, the new Annex residence was officially announced to students in an email newsletter from the school's 'The Gee' news outlet.

In spring of 2017, an expanded rooftop patio was added to the university's 'UCU', allowing students to have a more open campus in a downtown setting.

Located on O'Connor Street in Downtown Ottawa, the centre is primarily used by the Telfer School of Management's Executive Master of Business Administration program.

[63] The centre includes one amphitheatre-style classroom, seven case rooms for team meetings, collaborative work and/or independent study and conference and boardroom spaces.

The RecycleMania program will continue to encourage and inform University of Ottawa students on how to change their consumption habits as well as recycle.

[73] The Social Sciences Building that cost a grand total of $112.5 million provides students and faculty with an array of space for individual studying and group work.

Some features that the building includes are: construction materials that were chosen due to their recycled content, a living wall that is five stories tall and composed of numerous plants that with act as an air filtration system, and a green roof.

[77] One of the faculty's goals is to achieve a LEED Gold Certification, which is given to green buildings that meet specific environmental guidelines.

Such powers include the ability to create and abolish faculties, departments, schools and institutes, academic regulations, admission standards, degree and diploma requirements.

[88][90] As stipulated in the act, the chancellor is the university's titular head and is accorded a place of honour at commencement exercises and other functions and may preside at examinations.

The increase is due mainly to higher expenses for salaries and benefits, scholarships and financial aid, and additional costs stemming from COVID-19.

The CCP is an administrative unit integrated within the Official Languages and Bilingualism Institute (OLBI) of the Faculty of Arts of the University of Ottawa.

In selecting a third-party institution to host the CCP, the Government is ensuring that the Program will operate independently to advance the rights and freedoms of all Canadians.

[103] Section 4 of that Act specifically states that an object and purpose of the university is "to further bilingualism and biculturalism and to preserve and develop French culture in Ontario", and "to further ... Christian principles".

The university has an average graduate employment rate of 97 per cent, providing a significant educational, research, and economic benefit to the National Capital Region.

Aid may come in the form of loans, grants, bursaries, scholarships, fellowships, debt reduction, interest relief and work programs.

The university cited the SFUO's handling of allegations of financial mismanagement, fraud, and workplace misconduct as the reason.

Varsity teams did not immediately adopt a name, leading others to refer to them by their colours–"Garnet and Grey" in English, Grenat et Gris in French.

In 2013, the university opened Gee-Gees Field a new stadium for its varsity football team located at Lees Campus.

[143] Graduates have found success in many fields, serving as the heads of diverse institutions in both public and private sectors.

Recipients of the Governor General's Award include Michel Bock, Christl Verduyn and Pulitzer Prize winner Carol Shields.