ADLER Graduate Professional School Inc. (ADLER) is a non-sectarian, independent, commuter institution incorporated in the Province of Ontario. ADLER is governed by a Board of Directors elected by its Shareholders. The Board has responsibility for strategic planning, for management of resources, and for the financial well-being of the School. The Board, led by the Board Chair, appoints Officers, including the Chancellor, who is ceremonial representative of the School, and the Chief Executive Officer, who is responsible for hiring the Chief Financial Officer, Chief Academic Officer, Vice-Presidents for marketing, operations, and information technology, and the Registrar. The Registrar is responsible for student record-keeping and management. The Chief Academic Officer hires program Deans and Directors who are responsible for hiring and leading Core and Adjunct Faculty members. Core Faculty members are responsible for curriculum, admissions requirements, graduation standards, and faculty qualifications within each program.
Location
The main campus is conveniently located in downtown Toronto near major subway stops. In-person courses for degrees are offered at the main campus. Courses leading to certificates may be offered at the main campus or off-site in schools and colleges, locally and internationally, that have a long-term relationship with ADLER. Selected courses, such as those in the Master of Psychology-Psychotherapy stream, that can be taught effectively online may be offered by teleconference or other means, but psychology degree courses and most other courses are in-person, with resources provided through the School’s online learning platform.
History
ADLER was formed with the express purpose of offering degrees and other advanced professional education in the mental health and wellbeing professions to students from Ontario and around the world. Adlerian graduate-level professional education has been a presence in Ontario since 1978. When the Ontario government enacted the Post-secondary Education Choice and Excellence Act, 2000, members of the ADLER community recognized the opportunity, for the first time in Ontario, to establish an independent degree-granting graduate professional institution that could meet the professional needs of Ontario students. We first offered the Master of Arts degree in Clinical and Counselling Psychology (MPsy) in 2011, the Doctor of Psychology in Clinical Psychology in 2022, and a stream of the MPsy in Psychotherapy and Clinical Counselling (MPsy-PTH) in 2024. Although it is an independent organization, ADLER maintains collegial relations with other Adlerian institutions, such as Adler Graduate School in Minnesota and Adler University in Chicago and Vancouver.