University of Toronto Faculty of Applied Science and Engineering

The Faculty of Applied Science & Engineering is an academic division of the University of Toronto devoted to study and research in engineering. Founded in 1873 as the School of Practical Science, it is still known today by the longtime nickname of Skule. The faculty is based primarily across 16 buildings on the southern side of the university campus in Downtown Toronto, in addition to operating the Institute for Aerospace Studies facility. The faculty administers undergraduate, master's and doctoral degree programs, as well as a dual-degree program with the Rotman School of Management.

The School of Practical Science (S.P.S.) was created in 1873 by an act of the Legislative Assembly of Ontario. The school was to serve the needs of a growing economy at a time marked by rapidly evolving sciences and technologies. In 1878, the school enrolled its first class for a three-year curriculum in the subjects of mining, engineering, mechanics and manufacturing.

The school was established as an affiliate of the University of Toronto, but operated as a separate institution. The first classes were held in a red-brick building that was known as the "Little Red Skulehouse" by attending students. The school was renamed as the Faculty of Applied Science and Engineering on June 20, 1906, when it officially became part of the university. In 1949, the University of Toronto Institute for Aerospace Studies opened for graduate studies and research in aeronautical and space sciences. The original Skulehouse was finally demolished in 1966, by which time the faculty had already expanded to occupy a dozen other buildings that formed an engineering precinct in the southern part of campus.

The Bahen Centre for Information Technology was completed in 2002 for the electrical and computer engineering department, as well as the division of Engineering Science. Designed by Diamond + Schmitt Architects, the $111 million facility contains 20,000 gross square metres and is named for John Bahen, the president of Peter Kiewit and Sons. The centre was described by Canadian Architect magazine as "a complex interweaving of urbanity, public space and sustainability", and it won the Ontario Association of Architects Award, the City of Toronto Architecture and Urban Design Award, and bronze in the environmental category of the National Post Design Exchange Award.

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