McMaster University (commonly referred to as
McMaster or
Mac) is a
public research university located in
Hamilton,
Ontario,
Canada. The main campus is located on of land near the residential neighbourhoods of
Ainslie Wood and
Westdale, adjacent to Hamilton's
Royal Botanical Gardens. The university operates six academic faculties: the
DeGroote School of Business,
Engineering,
Health Sciences,
Humanities,
Social Science, and
Science. It is a member of the
U15, a group of research-intensive universities in Canada. The university bears the name of Honourable
William McMaster, a prominent Canadian
Senator and banker who bequeathed
C$900,000 to the founding of the university. McMaster University was incorporated under the terms of an act of the
Legislative Assembly of Ontario in 1887, merging the Toronto Baptist College with Woodstock College. It opened in
Toronto in 1890. Inadequate facilities and the gift of land in Hamilton prompted the institution to relocate in 1930. McMaster was controlled by the
Baptist Convention of Ontario and Quebec until it became a privately chartered, publicly funded non-denominational institution in 1957.