University of Alberta is a 5-star charity. It has an A results reporting grade, which is above average. Its overhead spending is within Ci’s reasonable range. Excluding donor-endowed funds, University of Alberta has reserve funds to cover its annual program costs for nine months.

Founded in 1908, University of Alberta (U of A) is a public research university in Edmonton. U of A has five campuses. Four are in Edmonton: the original North Campus, South Campus (agricultural research), Campus Saint-Jean (French-language) and Enterprise Square (downtown campus). Its North Campus is next to the North Saskatchewan River Valley, North America’s largest urban park. Augustana Campus (formerly the Camrose Lutheran College) is in Camrose, Alberta. The 2024 Times Higher Education Impact Rankings placed U of A at #1 in Canada and #6 in the world. U of A has two main programs: Academics and Research.

In the fiscal year ended March 2023 (F2023), U of A spent 58% of program spending on Academics. This includes 5% of program spending on special purpose expenses. Special purpose expenses include scholarships, bursaries, and academic programs funded by restricted grants and donations. U of A offers over 200 undergraduate and over 500 graduate programs. In F2023, it had 44,069 students. 35,591 (80.8%) were domestic students and 8,478 (19.2%) were international students. U of A had 1,914 self-declared Indigenous students in F2023. In partnership with the Government of Alberta, U of A plans to add 2,600 students in high-demand areas by 2026. These areas include health care, business, engineering, and science. U of A aims to grow enrollment to over 60,000 students by 2030.

University of Alberta spent 27% of program spending on Research in F2023. U of A has over 120 active spinoffs. In F2023, it added 13 new spinoffs. U of A reported 72 new inventions in F2023. It filed 82 patent applications and reported 31 patents granted. U of A executed 52 revenue agreements in F2023. These agreements included licenses, royalties, and options. In F2023, U of A had 91 Canada Research Chairs.

Remaining program spending went towards facility operations and maintenance (10% of program spending ) and ancillary services (5% of program spending).

University of Alberta is a Major 100 charity, one of Canada’s largest charities in terms of donations. In F2023, U of A received $154.2m in donations. It received $962.7m (45% of total revenue) in government funding and $458.5m (21% of total revenue) in student tuition and fees. Administrative costs are 11% of total revenue (excluding investment income) and fundraising costs are 4% of donations. Overhead spending is 15%, which is within Ci’s reasonable range. For every dollar donated, 85 cents are available for the cause. In F2023, U of A spent $1.5b on its programs (70% of total revenue).

In F2023, University of Alberta had a surplus of $411.2m and spent $139.2m on capital expenditures.

At the end of F2023, University of Alberta had $2.9b in reserve funds. $1.7b of reserve funds are donor endowed. Excluding donor-endowed funds, U of A has reserve funds to cover 83% or nine months of its annual program costs.

This charity profile is an update that was sent to University of Alberta for review. Changes and edits may be forthcoming.

Updated on June 26, 2024 by Thea Clark.