MARKHAM, Ont. -- A new hybrid university-college campus is in the works in Markham, north of Toronto.

The Ontario government says it has chosen the York University -- Markham Centre campus, a partnership with Seneca College, as the first in a series of new post-secondary projects aimed at meeting future demand for undergraduate education.

The province says the new campus is expected to serve about 4,000 students in York Region, and offer a broad range of programs that incorporate experiential learning with an academic focus on business, arts and social sciences.

The new campus is expected to add "additional capacity" to the postsecondary education system by 2020-21, a spokeswoman for the Ministry of Training, Colleges and Universities said.

Funding details for the project will be finalized once the province reviews all procurement options and costs, May Nazar said.

"In the current fiscal environment, affordability for the province was a key factor in the evaluation of proposals and institutions were expected to include substantial third-party resources in their proposals," she said.

"The government will work intensively with York and Seneca, Infrastructure Ontario and other relevant parties to ensure efficient use of taxpayer money throughout the process."

The project was one of 19 submissions to a provincial call for proposals issued to post-secondary institutions last year.

The government says it judged the proposals based on a number of criteria, including the ability to serve areas with growing demand and avoid any unwarranted duplication of existing programs.

It says another call for proposals will be issued next spring for a facility to serve Peel and Halton regions, which are the fastest growing in the province after York.