Founded in 1948 as Ryerson Institute of Technology, the name was changed in 1964 to Ryerson Polytechnical Institute. It became a degree-granting institution in 1971, and in 1993 Ryerson received full accreditation and changed its name to Ryerson Polytechnic University. In June 2001, the school renamed itself yet again, assuming its present identity as Ryerson University.
The university currently has about 14,000 full time students as well as over 52,000 continuing education registrants per year.
It specializes in more technical fields than the other Toronto universities. It is best known for its journalism, film studies, and drama programs.