In the winter semester of 2025, the SWC health promotion team conducted the Canadian Campus Wellbeing Survey (CCWS) among McMaster students.
CCWS is a research survey created by a team of investigators at the University of British Columbia. Tailored for post-secondary students, the CCWS asks questions revolving around student experience, mental health, health service utilization, physical health, academic achievement, substance use, food security and sexual health.
McMaster University has participated in the CCWS 3 times over the last 6 years (2020, 2022, and 2025); other McMaster departments implemented the previous versions of CCWS.
A randomized sample of 7000 undergraduate and graduate students were selected to receive an e-mail with an invitation to participate. A total of 950 students participated in the survey between January 2025 and April 2025.
We received 950 responses to our survey (and the total population of McMaster is over 40,000), slightly short of significant sample size, so results should be taken with caution as they may not be generalizable to the entire population.
To view the report, click here: CCWS-2025-Winter-McMaster-DeploymentReport-2025-06-06
McMaster has historically used data collected from the National College Health Assessment, as well as the Canadian Campus Wellbeing Survey to identify the wellness needs of the student population. This information is then used to inform education, programming, and policies at the university, and improve services currently offered by the Student Wellness Centre and other McMaster departments.
Results from the CCWS have identified some key areas of strength and opportunity for the Student Wellness Centre and University as a whole. Some of the areas of strength include students feeling a sense of belonging on campus, and students’ knowledge of where to access resources for physical activity, mental health and emotional health. Some opportunities identified include addressing loneliness, mental health challenges and distress. The data will be made available to campus partners, who can then utilize the findings to inform future programming to address any concerns and opportunities.